tillmbil Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 I have been considering purchasing a line conditioner for my 2 channel system. Is there any sonic gain, or will I just get the added safety of a better surge protector? I have been looking at the monster2600 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 It can't hurt. If your amp's power supply is built right, it won't help except for the most unusual spikes/brownouts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurs Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 I had the 2600 and now have the 5100, can't tell you I honestly heard any audible difference, but to your point I like the security. I have friends who swear conditioning has improved their sound however. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 ---------------- On 1/4/2004 8:40:21 AM tillmbil wrote: I have been considering purchasing a line conditioner for my 2 channel system. Is there any sonic gain . . .? I have been looking at the monster2600 ---------------- Bill, I don't have any experience with those, but, at a much pricier level, I have been using a PS Audio P-300 power regenerator and have had notable sonic improvement in some components. Go to www.psaudio.com for more information. It converts line current AC to DC and re-synthesizes a pure AC sine wave. The company states that it is not a filter or line conditioner. The AC output frequency can be varied, which some claim benefits a variety of components. I, however, use it only for my CD player, turntable, and cassette and reel-to-reel tape decks, whose motors of course require 60 Hz. The good news it that, oddly enough, it effected an audible sonic improvement in all the above components, even the TT. The disadvantages are (1) the regeneration process approximately doubles the power consumed so it's not very green (or cool in the summer); (2) the P-300 is limited to 300 watts output, which is no problem with the items I use it with; and (3) it adds a step or two to turning everything on. Fortunately, I found no advantage to using it with my pre-amp or tuner, and I felt no need to consider having to get a more expensive higher-power version for my amps. PS Audio will sell these with a full 30-day money back guarantee. The customer pays shipping both ways, and one must keep and return with the original packing materials. Anyway, an interesting item, if not very reasonable cost-wise. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted January 4, 2004 Author Share Posted January 4, 2004 Doesn't sound good or bad so far. I have just been getting that itch to see if I can produce better sound. Hey Larry, good to hear from you. How are the Khorns treating you? The ones Jazzmansound are selling are really appealing. If only I had more room I would definitely be interested. Kenny Loggins playing on the MMF-7, wow what a treat for a .50 goodwill purchase. I wish I could find some more good scores, but I have raped all the good albums from goodwill and the latest trips have turned up nothing new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 ---------------- On 1/4/2004 10:21:31 PM tillmbil wrote: ...I have just been getting that itch to see if I can produce better sound. ...How are the Khorns treating you? The ones Jazzmansound are selling are really appealing. If only I had more room I would definitely be interested. ---------------- Bill, I/we'll be interested to hear how it all sounds after you get all the electronics in place -- maybe you won't need any tweaks or accessories. Your current listening room looked terrific in the earlier pics; can you fit K-horns in another room, like I did with mine? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBRichter Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Till, I wasn't able to look at the 2600 but I did pick up a 5100 and my wife noticed the difference as well as I did. The sound is much more cleaner. The depth is better as well. My surround (5.1) sounds fanastic. I even had to turn down the sharpness on my RPTV. I would talk to MonsterCable tech and ask them if they think there would be a difference between the 2600 and the next model up and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srbaker Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 I am using the Monster HTS 5000. When I ordered it I was 50/50. Not anymore. Hard to pin point, but the system just sounds better. Even my wife noticed the improvement. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 Howdy, I have the Monster "one-eye" job that I like, but only for the video gear and audio pre-amp. I bagged using it on the CD player and it really is inadequate and inappropriate for the main power amp. However, as long as you do not run a power amp with it (it limits the available current) I would recommend virtually any conditioner as better than a simple power strip. Note that you may hear a very frequency "thing" ; I cannot accurately describe it, but it is there. It seems to me that a slight "whitening" in the high end occurs that I find annoying but regard the surge-suppression capability as a valuable commodity. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tillmbil Posted January 5, 2004 Author Share Posted January 5, 2004 Great to hear there is some sonic improvement available. A connectiona t work gave me three ONEARC line conditioners. They are mainly used for computers and hospital equipment nad I tried them. Only problem is they can only handle 2 watts and eventually tripped on my amps. So guess what shows up today at my office? You guessed it, a new 36amp ONEARC. I hope this one handles it. I was really looking forward to purchasing one but for free you have got to try it. Our verizon phone rep at work gave them all to me. What a great connection. Any idea how many amps a MC240 uses? Larry, I keep running through my mind how to fit a pair of Khorns, but it just won't work. I did tell the wife the next house will have an upstairs room just for me and they will be added. She said with a new house it would be OK. The deal seems kind of expensive; new bigger house for a set of Khorns. What do you think? Anyone heard of ONEARC? I have visited there website, but they do not specifically spell out stereo use with there product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted January 5, 2004 Share Posted January 5, 2004 at the risk of getting attacked..... most power in the u.s. and canada is really pretty good..... will a power conditioner make a difference???.... maybe.... get one from someplace with a good return policy.... if you can hear or see a real difference then keep it..... and be honest with yourself.... have a friend or significant other change the power cords so you don't know which is which..... however, i do recommend getting a high quality surge protector...... do a search on this forum and you will find some very good discussions about surge protectors..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 ---------------- On 1/5/2004 10:22:56 PM tillmbil wrote: Larry, I keep running through my mind how to fit a pair of Khorns, but it just won't work. I did tell the wife the next house will have an upstairs room just for me and they will be added. She said with a new house it would be OK. The deal seems kind of expensive; new bigger house for a set of Khorns. What do you think? ---------------- I don't think I want to touch that one! K-horns are a beautiful presentation as furniture, IMO, especially since they tuck nicely into corners. I wouldn't want them too hidden away. Did you get your Grado, and how does it sound? Can you get a trial of a Monster power unit if this one doesn't work out? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 tillmbil: I have been running a Tripp Lite LCR2400 Rack Mount, Line Conditioner http://www.tripplite.com/products/product.cfm?productID=211 on my equipment rack for a year now. Although, I cannot tell you whether or not the LCR2400 makes a difference in the sound quality of my HT, because I would never run my equipment without this type of protection, I can tell you that the voltage correction feature works seemlessly and as expected. I am not here to flame anyone, so despite the statement that was made by another member that "most power in the U.S. and Canada is really pretty good", I live in Michigan near the U.S./Canadian border. We, being an industrially-driven state have enormous amounts of power available to us from tens of nearby power plants. One would think that good, clean, well-regulated power should not be a problem for someone living where I do. WRONG! I have a voltage meter that reads the line voltage going into the line conditioner and one that reads the voltage coming out. Quite often, the status lights on the front panel of the LCR2400 indicate a "High" line-voltage condition. The meters confirm this. Very often the input voltage is between 120 and 125 volts. The LCR2400 faithfully regulates it back to 110 volts. The benefit? I know that my equipment is operating at its design-intended voltage so that it will perform as expected. A bonus: The Tripp Lite LCR2400 can be purchased through vendors on the web for much less than a lot of the competing brands, including the Monster 2600. I paid $245 for mine. And, this unit handles a 20-amp load (2400 watts)! It powers my entire rack and projector! There are 14 outlets (12-rear & 2 front). Although this unit does not protect coax cables, a separate in-line, coax-surge suppressor can be had for just a few dollars. Tripp Lite makes one of those, too (Model DCATV) and I use it on my incoming cable. I hope this information helps you. Best of luck! -Picky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Picky's right. My Fridge turning on causes line noise on my house circuit. Electric heaters, fans, Freezers, welders, etc. all cause noise. Just imagine what a REALLY BIG noise-makin' load like an aluminum plant does on the local grid. If you think that you can't hear any noise, have you ever noticed that your stereo sounds better late at night? There you go. I've decided that ANY available filtering is a good thing. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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