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Power Conditioners: Why different inputs?

sjeesjie

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I have this Dynavox X7000 power conditioner and it has 6 inputs. Four of them are filtered the manual says, two are unfiltered. The analogue devices need to go in the unfiltered, the digital devices (cd player, dac etc) need to go in the filtered. Can anyone explain why this is? I thought it would have been best if everything is filtered? Filtered = cleaner so especially for the amp, but this is not the case?

It's also the case with the Vincent PF-1 Power Conditioner and probably more? Only Vincent calls it the analogue and digital inputs. The manual can be read here: https://www.vincent-tac.de/fileadmin/pdf/BDA/Powerfilter/BDA_PF-2_DE_EN_FR.pdf
 

adw

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I think well designed components are relatively immune to line noise. Therefore filtered doesnt mean cleaner sound reproduction.
 

Dialectic

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Can anyone explain why this is? I thought it would have been best if everything is filtered? Filtered = cleaner so especially for the amp, but this is not the case?
These different outputs are provided to enhance the illusion that the power conditioner is doing something to improve the sound.

I've tested different outputs on an old Panamax conditioner that I have, and I can tell no difference.
 

stunta

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My only worry with "audiophile" power conditioners has been if they limit the current. A long time ago, I read somewhere that some of them do and that can be a problem for amplifiers. Maybe the filtered outlets limit current more? I have no idea so hoping someone who does can clarify.
 
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sjeesjie

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These different outputs are provided to enhance the illusion that the power conditioner is doing something to improve the sound.

I've tested different outputs on an old Panamax conditioner that I have, and I can tell no difference.
Have you measured it though? Maybe your power was clean to begin with. I could tell a difference myself.
 

Dialectic

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Same can be told for this, what I reacted to...
So there are three explanations, none of which are mutually exclusive:

1. My hearing is terrible.
2. My gear is properly designed and doesn't pass through power line noise.
3. Power conditioners generally don't do anything to improve sound.

When I had my hearing tested last December, I was found to have acute hearing (equivalent to that of a small child except for a slight 4 kHz notch in my left ear), so explanation 1 is out.

Explanation 2 is a good bet, as I've unloaded all the finicky audiophile stuff I used to own.

Explanation 3 is also a good bet. (Ok, ok, some power conditioners do something, and when I engineered recordings, I used an immense Furman 20A voltage regulator to power mic preamps and A/D converter.)

Figure out how to do some blind tests of this stuff, and then please let us know how consistently you perceive the differences. No peeking!
 
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sjeesjie

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Lol with explanation 3 you’re covering yourself in (some do something).

There’s a fourth explanation: you don’t care, or you don’t want to care. That’s not a problem but these power conditioners are certainly no snake oil. Hear the hiss in your speakers when you turn up the volume? What’s that?
 

BDWoody

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StefaanE

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That’s not a problem but these power conditioners are certainly no snake oil. Hear the hiss in your speakers when you turn up the volume? What’s that?
Noise floor of your amplifier?
 

Dialectic

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Lol with explanation 3 you’re covering yourself in (some do something).
Yours probably doesn't do anything except through the placebo effect.
There’s a fourth explanation: you don’t care, or you don’t want to care. That’s not a problem but these power conditioners are certainly no snake oil. Hear the hiss in your speakers when you turn up the volume? What’s that?
That's the noise in all of your components, and the extent to which it is audible depends heavily on the gain structure of your system. Nearly all active speakers produce a small amount of hiss because they incorporate tweeters that are connected directly to amplifiers with no attenuating crossover components in the circuit.

If the hiss is somehow coming from the power line, then a component has an inadequate power supply. Otherwise, the hiss has nothing to do with power, despite what Paul McGowan and other snake oil salesmen would have you believe.
 
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sjeesjie

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Yeah well I do believe there's a lot of snake oil, power conditioners isn't one of them. I'll take an A/B test anytime.
 

FeddyLost

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Most probably it's 2 high-power non-filtered inputs because this filter is cheap and can't filter properly amp line without current limiting.
High power means high current, low losses, big inductors with thick cables and big capacitors and all this is not cheap at all.
Also, good amps usually have nice power supply with some kind of filtration due to still prevalent linear PSU with transformers.
 

3125b

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Chromatischism

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My APC G5 units have a couple of receptacles designed for high current devices that bypass some of the internal filtering I guess. These APC's aren't "audiophile juju", they're just practical ways for me to get 8 switched outlets with surge protection.
 

Astrozombie

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My Belkin has 8 outlets, I don't even want to know how much OP paid for that one to only have 6 :facepalm: I'm looking at a Panamax in the future but they come with 11 (if it is indeed snake oil, it better have enough inputs and then some)only because I like the way they look in an AV rack.
I was told if you have an electrical issue, it's the house and you need to have a professional look at it.
 

Frank Dernie

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I have this Dynavox X7000 power conditioner and it has 6 inputs. Four of them are filtered the manual says, two are unfiltered. The analogue devices need to go in the unfiltered, the digital devices (cd player, dac etc) need to go in the filtered. Can anyone explain why this is? I thought it would have been best if everything is filtered? Filtered = cleaner so especially for the amp, but this is not the case?

It's also the case with the Vincent PF-1 Power Conditioner and probably more? Only Vincent calls it the analogue and digital inputs. The manual can be read here: https://www.vincent-tac.de/fileadmin/pdf/BDA/Powerfilter/BDA_PF-2_DE_EN_FR.pdf
Mine has 3 different types of output.
One pair for power amps with filtering but no power restriction, one set for low level analogue like my preamp and phono stage and a set for digital. They have different sort of filtering for low level analogue and digital.
Having written that the manufacturer subsequently added filters to the actual components in later models so the device is now obsolete.
Most modern electronics will be sensibly filtered to avoid anything nasty getting in from the mains, incompetent/bad engineering if not IMO.
 
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