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Topic: Power Conditioners |
Gary Steele
From:
Columbus, Ohio, USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2008 3:28 pm |
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Which one do you guys like best. Monster cable Co. sells one called a 2500 for 200.00
And a 3500 for $300.00 and they say it regulates the power and is awesome. I have a Furman with LEDS and two pull out lightes that cost close to $100.00. Brad said he thought it was plenty good for a steel RIG. Just curious about any other ideas.
Gary. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 2 Apr 2008 4:42 pm
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| I agree with Brad, what you're using is probably fine. Over 90% of the players don't use any at all! |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 2 Apr 2008 4:42 pm
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| The Furman one for $100 is really more of a spike/surge protector. A true conditioner regulates what is delivered to the AC jacks and keeps it there (120v)and generally a street price is about $450-$600 used. |
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KENNY KRUPNICK
From:
Columbus, Ohio
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Brad Sarno
From:
St. Louis, MO USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2008 4:44 am
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I don't know the Furman line that well, but assumed that the basic one was a power conditioner. Jim maybe you're right that it's just a surge/spike protector. I often use the cheaper model by Monster, the purple one that says "Clean Power" on it. It's about $80, and is their entry level true "conditioner". Their cheaper strips are not conditioners, just protectors. I have heard the sonic improvement on audio gear when using the "Clean Power" strip. Most of our homes tend to have decent power, but lots of gigs have all kinds of crap on the AC line from neon lights, big freezer and fridge compressors, and other stuff that spews noise onto the AC line. Any audio amplifier and/or digital device will sound better when the power is clean. So it's generally not a bad idea to have one for gigging, just as a general precaution.
I just read that the Furman PL8 does have some actual line filtering in it as well as surge protection. Gary, I think that's what you said you had right?
Brad |
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Jim Palenscar
From:
Oceanside, Calif, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2008 5:37 am
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You can tell a good one because it doubles the weight of your rack  |
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Matthew Carlin
From:
Lake County, IL.
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Posted 3 Apr 2008 5:44 am
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Check out my buddy Mikes stuff... He just crossed over in to the world of Music from High-end A/V.... I use his AVP-16 powercable on my amp... its like night and day..
Most folks have thousands in Gear and $0.50 worth of powercables/strips
http://www.essentialsound.com/products.htm
IMHO..This stuff blows M**ster away and Mikes a great guy to deal with!
Sorry, if this sounds like a commercial but I just love this stuff!
_________________
"Just tryin to make some music in the money business" |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 3 Apr 2008 6:44 am
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This is the one I use:
It seems to have all the bells and whistles.
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2008 6:01 am
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If you play a lot outdoors at festivals (with portable power) or old clubs with "creative" wiring, you need FAR more than a surge/spike protector; you need a unit that also is a voltage regulator, *especially* if you are using any digital equipment/effects.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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David Yannuzzi
From:
Pomona , New York, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2008 7:37 am
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I just got the cheapest Monster rack conditioner . its the 900 model
I have noticed a big difference and it was only $100
The guy at the store said the $80 Furman rack was not really a conditioner,just a protector .
hope that helps
-Dave |
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Stephen Gambrell
From:
Over there
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Posted 4 Apr 2008 7:51 am
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| Jim Sliff wrote: |
| If you play a lot outdoors at festivals (with portable power) or old clubs with "creative" wiring, you need FAR more than a surge/spike protector; you need a unit that also is a voltage regulator, *especially* if you are using any digital equipment/effects. |
Jim's right. Most of the Furman units sold to musicians, are simple voltage meters or surge protectors. I wouldn't use one, reason being, if I look at the display, and I'm reading 100 VAC, instead of 110-115, I'm gonna worry about low volage, and how it's affecting ALL the equipment.
A REAL power conditioner is like an autotransformer, in that, it would take that 100 VAC, and raise it to the proper voltage. And they're out there, but you can't get one for 100 dollars. |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 4 Apr 2008 7:58 am
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A line conditioner is better than nothing - surge protection, spike filter, and so on.
But I use a rack-mountable Furman AR-1215 voltage regulator. Perhaps a bit less fancy than Erv's, but it does just fine. It's gotten me out of plenty of problems with bad power at clubs and especially festivals, as Jim mentioned. The downside is that this unit is over $500.
You should probably look at this thread, where Dennis Wallis talks about non-rack-mountable voltage regulators for about 10% of this kind of money. I haven't gotten one yet, but I'm going to for home use.
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=129973
I put in a link to Office Depot's 1200 VA (APC Line-R) unit:
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/726332/VOLTAGE-REG-120V-127V/
As I said, I haven't tried it but plan to. Obviously not as convenient as something that can ride around in my rack, but a lot cheaper. I looked at the spec sheet on this unit here:
http://www.apc.com/prod_docs/results.cfm?DocType=User%20Manual&Query_Type=3&Value=67
It says that on the 120 VAC US setting, it can handle voltage swings from 85 to 140 volts. That's pretty durned good. Maybe there's some specmanship, but that's actually a little better spec than the Furman. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 4 Apr 2008 1:59 pm
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The unit that I have pictured can be bought off of the internet for $279.95. It is about a $500 unit.
It regulates the current being delivered to your equipment. It's fun to watch the light when you turn it on and see just what the voltage is where you are playing. If the voltage is too out of whack, eigher high OR low, it will disconnect you. |
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