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Power conditioner help

Hi All,

 Posting this here since there is no section devoted to power products. I also posted it in the miscellaneous section. 

If you had a choice between PS Audio P10 power plant and a Transparent Powerisolator Reference, which would you choose and why? Both available at reasonable prices, though P10 is still quite a bit more. I have a pretty high end system with a Musical Fidelity NuVista 800 integrated amp, NuVista CD (the new one), Scoutmaster turntable, SDS/ADS, Herron VTPH2, Wilson Sashas, and all Transparent Ref MM2 cables. System sounds great, but my present Powerbank 8 is quite old now, so I want to upgrade it.

Thanks for your opinions.
arsh
ptss
1,649 posts
 
sorry.for mis-spelling. Atmasphere.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
An isolation transformer would be beneficial; 2 would be better. 1 for your digital player and 1 for analog source; however "balanced transformers" like Equitech are better yet.
An isolation transfomer that is being used as a passive device will contribute harmonic distortion to the AC output if loaded past about 50% of their rated capacity. One should always observe this characteristic when using isolation transformers! Otherwise the resulting harmonic distortion (particularly the 5th harmonic) can have highly deleterious effects.

For those with an interest in this topic, Fluke has published a number of papers on the topic over the last 20 years. Here is a good example:
http://support.fluke.com/find-sales/Download/Asset/1260362_6003_ENG_K_W.PDF

Atmaspere; nice to hear your thank you to Michael Percy. My experience with him goes back to the early 90's and I've appreciated his knowledge and integrity.
One time when I was visiting Michael he was servicing out one of the Elgars similar to the type I mentioned earlier. That was over 25 years ago! That these conditioners hold their value as well as they do says something.
arsh OP
309 posts
 
There is a wealth of information here. Atmasphere, where does get one of these Elgars now?
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
7,068 posts
 
Ebay and Valuetronics are two good sources.
ptss
1,649 posts
 
From Atmasphere "An isolation transfomer that is being used as a passive device will contribute harmonic distortion to the AC output....  "  I suggest we must also keep in mind transformer impedance drops whenever it's used at less than rated capacity.. 
Another challenge for transformers is the multitude of AC line harmonics coming into homes , and harmonics being generated by electrical devices within homes,from laptops to phone chargers to microwaves. I feel 
"Electro-Pollution" concerns will be increasing to average consumers in the near future. GREENWAVE is one company focused on this.The newer 'noise sniffers' I see becoming rental products. I much appreciate products like Equitech's Q series of balanced transformers with additional noise filtering. I think any balanced transformer, actually any transformer, would benefit greatly from a reduction in incoming ac line harmonics; just as industrial users do. Suggestions atmasphere?

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