Power Conditioner

P

phredi_5

New Member
Just wondering, I see alot rigs guys have posted here. Most of them of a power conditioner, are they necessary?

Cheers and thanks
 
Some people swear by them while other people say that they are a complete waste of money.

With that being said, personally after spending a few thousand of dollars on gear, I feel much better with my Furman PL-Plus CE over a $10 surge protector.
 
Depends on what's in your rack. I'd be reluctant to run an expensive piece of electronics without at least a surge protector.
 
I'de say there are cheep insurance that adds weight to your rack and gives you the convenience to turn everything in your rack on and off at once.
 
Everything sounds better through my Furman P-1800 PF R. It removes that high-end gritty noise that comes with dirty power sources. Go get a space heater, and plug it into the same socket your amp is plugged into and turn it on; that's the same difference the Furman makes. My buddy's Budda sounded way better through my Furman than directly into the wall.
 
I ordered a Furman with the pull out lights and dimmer switch off Amazon for $68.00, should be here tomorrow. Proper power supply anywhere as well as superb protection for my expensive rack toys is a no-brainer!
 
Did a gig in a country town about 20 years ago... transformer outside the bar blew up during our first set. Every piece of Korg and ROLAND gear died - some cooked, some blew their Non volitile memory. Fuses popped on my Mesa MkIIIs and thermal protection saved the FOH amps and desk. All the Yamaha stuff survived as if nothing happened! (tells ya something right there)
Have been carrying around Furman power conditioners ever since. I have three PLC-8Es in my studio here in Thailand, just in case...
 
phredi_5 said:
Just wondering, I see alot rigs guys have posted here. Most of them of a power conditioner, are they necessary?
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Many will recommend it because it makes them 'feel better'. How many have answered by even reading spec numbers on that Furman?

Many protectors and line conditioners are little more than a direct wire connection from the wall receptacle to electronics. But that wire is inside a magic box. A $4 box with ten cent parts sells for $45 or $100. So it must be better! Does the word scam sound appropriate? View and post its spec numbers to have a useful answer.

If you have $thousands in equipment and have not spent less money to earth one 'whole house' protector, then you only have superior protection that exists inside electronics. How often are you replacing dimmer switches, GFCIs, and digital clocks damaged by transients. Those appliances typically have less line conditioning. And those must also be protected by the only solution that actually does protection.

So again, where are manufaturer spec numbers for that line conditioner? More hard facts. First electronics turns incoming power into some of the 'dirtiest' inside the house. 120 volts is converted to well over 300 volts. And then converted to high frequency spikes. Does anything on your AC mains look that 'dirty'? Of course not. Then superior line conditioners inside electronics converts that much 'dirtier' power into some of the cleanest low voltage DC. Where is line conditioning that is so superior? Already inside every electronic appliance.

So what is that expensive line conditioner doing? The question (and your post) means answers always with numbers. Any subjective recommendation means propaganda from advertising. A useful response means numbers. Where are numbers for that line conditioner? A recommendation without parameters is bogus.
 
I now have my Furman installed in the rack case. Does the order in which I turn everything on and off really matter? The Furman has been first on and last off and figure that makes to most sense but was just curious if there is any technical order that should be followed. Manual did not say anything about this. Just curious:geek
 
Jason Haverfield said:
Does the order in which I turn everything on and off really matter?
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Elecricity only flows when an electric circuit is completed. No current flows until the last switch closes. All current stops when the first switch opens. Does not matter if the switch is inside the appliance, on a Furman, or at the generator station. Either current is flowing or it is not. So what has you concerned?
 
I think that there are some really good power conditioners some give more info then others wether it's in the form of specs or the front panel. The better ones are going to tell you more obviously, but I have always thought of a middle of the road power conditioner as more of a voltage meter/surge protector. Most have RFi filters but none of that will do you any good if the outlet is wired wrong in the first place ie; hot to ground.

The other thing you can't control are the places that are not wired to support a gig. One circuit to support all the gear being used PA, Amps, lights. All one can do is to check as best you can prior to plugging in, test plug polarity ask if there is more then one breaker that provides power at the stage. This kind of precautions do work and are probably more likely to be encountered more often then dirty power.
 
westom said:
Elecricity only flows when an electric circuit is completed. No current flows until the last switch closes. All current stops when the first switch opens. Does not matter if the switch is inside the appliance, on a Furman, or at the generator station. Either current is flowing or it is not. So what has you concerned?
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I don't know Mr. Franklin....I guess nothing ;)
 
I believe he means turning on the order of gear in his rig.

I always turn my power amp on last, and turn it off first. Helps to save the speakers from damaging audio pops when other gear goes on and/or off.
 
I dont know where the OP is based, but in the UK and most of mainland Europe at least, the mains power is pretty stable. So you may not need a power conditioner for that alone. However I find my power conditioner really comes in handy to prevent noise issues created by dimmer circuits and bad 'lighting' in various venues. The inbuilt RFI and EMI clamps take care of all that, and I don't need to worry about it.
 
All I can say is I like mine, and I think it was worth the money. I've got the Furman PL-8C E.

*I like the lights: "weehoo lights! switch on switch off switch on switch off - hours of fun" and they even have a dimmer! "weehoo dimmer! dim up dim down dim up dim down".

*I like the way everything is connected to the same outlet: I can power up all my gear from one source and know that they will have fresh humfree power.

*If something is causing bad electricity then it shuts off - saving your gear.

*I don't have to replace anything in it if it shuts down as earlier models needed.

*You could probably get the same protection from a cheaper floor-unit but that one could get "lost" during the cleaning of a stage or something.

* I like what it does and what it does, does it for me in terms of what it should :)

*It's kind of cute:

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