Power Conditioners. Opinions?

[ArthurD]

Hi guys, I will travel to US next month and I'll bring some equipment to my country.
Someone once told me that getting a power conditioner like Equi=tech or even Furman would improve my sound.
I never had ground loop or hum problems in my studio, so buying this instead of an API pre is a good choice?

Any opinions on this?
Are you guys using anything similar?

Tell me your experiences.

 

[-Noodles-]

Do you use the same voltage as the Americans?

If so - then it's worth taking or purchasing a power conditioner.
If you're using a transformer, due to different voltages, then it might not be worth it.

 

[Mutant]

Obviously the dirtier your power is the bigger impact will the conditioner have on your sound.
You can check it by looking at a frequency spectrum of your recorded silence.
If the silence (noise floor) looks smooth - the power is good, but if there are some spikes...
OFC you can also just amplify that silence to hearable level and listen
It should sound smooth like "shshshshshshsh", not gritty like "zzzzzzzzzzzz"

 

[ArthurD]

@-Noodles-: We use transformers here.
@Mutant: It defenitly sounds like "shshshshshshsh" without spikes.

I was a bit concerned on buying an Equi=tech (1800 USD), since the only availiable forum feedback I found was at Gearslutz... And Dammit, they are addicted.

Do you guys use Furman or other similar?
Is it recommended to use with Amp Heads? (someone on gearslutz said that Equi=tech is fine)

 

[Adrian Warren]

I've heard a lot of people say power conditioners are degrading the sound quality. Never had the chance to try it out myself though.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I've owned a Furman PL-8 (I think thats the one) for years and never noticed any increase/decrease in sound quality. It's the cheaper model with no LED readout of voltage; just a green light for "Good" and red for "Bad". The power in our practice space is horrible but our bassists Furman reads just under 120V so I guess its ballpark.

 

[Mutant]

It is not only about the stability of the voltage, the main thing is that the advertised frequency is not the only frequency you may have in your outlet, all the other frequencies are the dirt which the conditioner takes care of, giving you a nice pure sine wave.
There is one 100% free way to avoid some of the dirt - record very late at night when your neighbors have all their electric appliances turned off.

 

[ArthurD]

There is one 100% free way to avoid some of the dirt - record very late at night when your neighbors have all their electric appliances turned off.

I see... I almost never record early... Most times late at night.

Guys, you made me make a decision. I'll buy another piece of hardware instead of the power conditioner. Thank you so much.
Hope this thread helps someone in my situation on the future.