Best Power Conditioner?

I have owned the PS 300 the Hydra and the CF-X. In my systems the CF-X is clearly the best, second to the CF-X would be the Hydra and then the PS Audio unit. Word has it that the Audio Magic Stealth is better than the CF-X and quite a bit cheaper too.

The PS Audio products are current limiting and choke down the sound. The do quiet things down a bit, but the expense of what is lost is not worth it.

I did not get a chance to spend a whole lot of time with the Audio Magic Stealth (1 week with a broken in unit), but my experience was that of being underwhelmed to say the least. It probably is a good value at the price, but that is it.

The Sound Application is excellent. It can sound a bit lean and thin in some systems, but it really does a good job.

The HYDRA is my favorite out of the bunch. It limits nothing and allows everything you want to hear come through. Although I am a Shunyata dealer, I can say that this recommendation should be taken seriously because they are not available anymore. There is a new model called the HYDRA Guardian (?) which will be out in a few months. I cannot comment on it as I have not heard it yet. What I have heard is that it is projected to be quite a bit less expensive than the HYDRA with uncompromising surge protection to boot.

Another recommendation I have which is not on your list is the Jena Labs Fundamental Power 6.1. It is an all out assault on power conditioning and has done amazing things in my system. If you decide you want to listen to it, I am sure I can setup an audition for you. The only drawback is that it is very expensive. The retail cost is 6k.

Jtinn: While i do not have a PS unit, i was curious as to how much of a load you were pulling and what model PS was being used when you observed a "lack of dynamics" / "current limiting" ?

I can understand such a thing occuring if one was trying to get at or near rated output from one of these devices on a steady state basis. This would be no different from trying to run a power amp near rated power for extended periods of time. Chances are, it would not sound good for long and / or the flaws of the design would become quite apparent pretty quickly.

Personally, i would figure on the PS 300 being good for about 180 - 200 watts of output, the PS 600 being good for about 350 - 400 watts of output, the 1200 being good for about 700 - 800 watts of output, etc... Following these guidelines, one should not run into a problem with any type of current limiting and / or compression, excessive heat, etc... I say that as these figures would allow any of the units to operate at appr 60 - 70% of rated capacity. This results in AT LEAST 30 - 40% dynamic headroom above and beyond what was being drawn on a steady-state basis. Following these guidelines, these units become even MORE expensive as their "usable" power ratings are effectively reduced in order to maintain the "necessary" ( at least in my mind ) amount of dynamic headroom. Sean
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I know its not on your list, but the Equitech "Q" series balanced power conditioners are what I feel are the best. They have very powerful units that are still shelve "mountable". They even have in-wall units powerful enough to run your entire home's electrical system. The PS Audio regenerators sound very nice, but they are too inefficient to be pratical. You cannot run power amps from them at anything but very low volume levels. If you have subs, a plasma or other high current requiring devices, forget it.

I have quite a bit of experience with the PS-Audio products and I think Jonathan is right in as far as I had loaded a 300 pretty much to its limit at a current draw of about 210 all together. I later switched to a 600 and had no limiting of dynamics whatsoever. So I guess Sean's hypothesis above is pretty much correct. Cheers,