Power Conditioners: Any ideas?

[gogoPilot2]

I was thinking about investing in one for our practice space, who knows maybe even for gigs to power amps, pedals ...to protect equipment keep from dropping volume, yadda yadaa

Not sure what to look for?

Anyone got any experience or advice on the matter?

[baytamusic]

I like Pantene Pro-V myself although I've switched to Pert Plus all in one dandruff formula recently.

[nguideau]

I like Pantene Pro-V myself although I've switched to Pert Plus all in one dandruff formula recently.

I don't know what's worse -- that you made the joke, or that I actually laughed pretty hard.

[baytamusic]

Also, I know nothing about power conditioners. Sorry.

[Randy Bass]

I wouldn't trust Pantene to protect my equipment .

[blackcloud45]

Don't know how much stock to put into it but I've been researching this stuff for my PA and here's what I found:

Conditioner vs Regulator

Conditioner - glorified power strip w/ filtering to reduce 60 cycle hum, the fancy ones have lights and voltage meters on them. Protects gear from massive spikes in voltage. $50-$500

Regulator - Magically supplies a continuous 120V to gear so that it runs at optimal voltage. Some reduce hum and have meters. $550+

Sacrifical vs Non-Sacrificial protection

Apparently, the older sacrificial technology works like the secret service. It protects your gear at the cost of it's life. In other words when it blows it's gone, no reset. Obviously, non-sacrificial circuits can reset to be used again. They cost more starting @ $850+

Furman seems to be the standard and Monster makes some stuff too. After watching a friend's band struggle through a gig w/ the bass cutting in and out and clipping the power amp at low volumed due to a tested at the wall w/ a volt meter low voltage I have decided to give a regulator a try. I'm hoping I can plug my amp into the front of it for those crappy outside gigs where my amp sound bad (I assuem due to humidity / low voltage) Hope this helps...

[bclaire]

Hands down, I would recommend the Furman Power Conditioner with either LED voltage readout or digital voltage readout. Think it's the PL-Plus and M-8DX. Here's why:

In an extreme voltage spike it will take the hit and protect your gear. Mine did and I didn't even know it. It stopped working and my repair tech said that it had absorbed a voltage spike and protected my gear.

Second, it is a HUGE help to have the voltage readout there- when you're playing out you have no idea how many other things are plugged into the same circuit. If there's a lot and the voltage is dipping, you have a way to present your case and find an alternative outlet. Plus under low voltage conditions, your amp isn't going to sound as good as it will with the proper voltage- add to that that
my AD amps won't channel switch below a certain voltage- kind of Ade's way of saying 'don't play this amp in low voltage situations.'

[blackcloud45]

Hands down, I would recommend the Furman Power Conditioner with either LED voltage readout or digital voltage readout. Think it's the PL-Plus and M-8DX. Here's why:

In an extreme voltage spike it will take the hit and protect your gear. Mine did and I didn't even know it. It stopped working and my repair tech said that it had absorbed a voltage spike and protected my gear.

Second, it is a HUGE help to have the voltage readout there- when you're playing out you have no idea how many other things are plugged into the same circuit. If there's a lot and the voltage is dipping, you have a way to present your case and find an alternative outlet. Plus under low voltage conditions, your amp isn't going to sound as good as it will with the proper voltage- add to that that
my AD amps won't channel switch below a certain voltage- kind of Ade's way of saying 'don't play this amp in low voltage situations.'

That's the thing though... the way I understand it, the conditioner only protects while the regulator actually makes it a workable situation AND protects.

[baytamusic]

Nobody used protection in the 60s.

[Randy Bass]

Nobody used protection in the 60s.

Yeah, but they were dealing with much smaller loads back then.

I hate hippies .

[a.hun]

Nobody used protection in the 60s.

Yeah, I'm living proof of how wrong that can go!


Andy.

[baytamusic]

haha!

[bclaire]

Hands down, I would recommend the Furman Power Conditioner with either LED voltage readout or digital voltage readout. Think it's the PL-Plus and M-8DX. Here's why:

In an extreme voltage spike it will take the hit and protect your gear. Mine did and I didn't even know it. It stopped working and my repair tech said that it had absorbed a voltage spike and protected my gear.

Second, it is a HUGE help to have the voltage readout there- when you're playing out you have no idea how many other things are plugged into the same circuit. If there's a lot and the voltage is dipping, you have a way to present your case and find an alternative outlet. Plus under low voltage conditions, your amp isn't going to sound as good as it will with the proper voltage- add to that that
my AD amps won't channel switch below a certain voltage- kind of Ade's way of saying 'don't play this amp in low voltage situations.'

That's the thing though... the way I understand it, the conditioner only protects while the regulator actually makes it a workable situation AND protects.

Yes and no.

If you're regularly in a situation where low voltage is a problem, then I can see the need for a regulator. However, look closely at the specs of those regulators and see what the "range" is that they will put out. All of the ones I looked at had such a wide (and low) range that to me, they didn't justify the cost.

A power conditioner is going to clean up the RF interference, tell you what the voltage is that you're getting (PL-Plus), and protect your gear from disaster.

[blackcloud45]

Agreed, definitely a valid point.

[bclaire]

The Furman AR1215 is the typical power regulator that I know of. In the specs it says:

"Provides regulation ±5V in 120V mode from 97 to 141V"

So that would mean it would provide a range of 102V to 136V, right?