Has anyone built a power conditioner?

Well, with the Monster stuff there is always something to repair. Asian contract work. The Belkin ones were really better built (and better looking).

It depends what is seen as a conditioner but a used medical grade isolation transformer can be an improvement. Combined with a mains filter this can work out very good. I would call it a conditioner when it has active circuitry and conversion like the PS Audio stuff.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Ixnay
I haven't had any problems with the HTPS 7000. They were manufactured in Thailand, BTW. Richard Marsh went there and made sure they were done right.

A good isolation transformer can help, but its only one AC line per transformer. HTPS7000 has 5 duplex outlets, each individually filtered and each with a very nice common mode choke. Two of the outlets have back to back isolation transformers. With the Signature Edition version, the back to back transformers can be used in balanced or else unbalanced mode. There are GFIs on each of those two outlets for safety in balanced mode. Also the outlets can be individually timed delayed at turn-on and turn-off for power sequencing to prevent pops, etc.
 
Last edited:
The standard reply when someone has luck his did not go yet. It is apparently very important who designed stuff but this sometimes/regularly does not translate into reliable hardware as that does not seem to be priority 1 or it simply is not the expertise of that person. Certainly when stuff is put together elsewhere. See Hypex, Audiolab. I recently got an Audioquest mains filter/power distributor that died. Besides mediocre quality it was outperformed by my DIY mains filter and an old Belkin PF30.

Anyway these devices are very nice to put together DIY with less features and therefor way higher reliability. One can choose western quality parts while still available. Good sturdy switches and good filters, stuff for mains use should be without any suspicion. Always think what is expected from the device and if the added features are really necessary or even double. You previously used your equipment without it, remember? 🙂
 
Last edited:
As many others out there, I went through a few isolators, conditioners and the like. In the end, I wanted something that didn't take a smart phone to operate, and got a BPT isolation transformer. I forget which model it is but it will support 10 amps, and has five different secondary windings. The each winding has its own filtering (of course). The outlets are tight, and the case extremely well made. It is one of the very few components that I have taken the top off of, looked inside, and said "There is absolutely nothing that I can improve upon in here." Just fine in every way.
 
First tell us what you expect the conditioner to do.
Here that can mean a voltage corrector, with switching relay / triac to adjust the output voltage, taps on auto or double wound transformer.
And high - low cut off is normal, noise filter is not.

And most audio equipment does not really need isolation grade transformers, unless you are in a noisy location, fact is that a step down transformer is a decent noise absorber, with the smoothing caps and rectifier involved as well.
Then buy one, a one off is a headache to get parts, and might violate insurance, that might be an issue.

Just check off what you need, see an earlier post on Page #1 in this thread.

There is a company here that makes power conditiooners with an IGBT drive, and noise filtering chokes, claims 15 mS response, line regulation within 1 Volt on a 220V rated output.
They are expensive, but in a noisy place like welding robots...very very good, each time the spot welder makes a weld, there is a voltage and noise problem.
There was an auto company with a sheet metal welding line, they got one almost as a free sample to try from the seller here...a week later they wanted like 50+ units ASAP, they had issues with robot and weld failures.
That is an extreme case, not really needed in my opinion on audio equipment in the house, a studio is a different matter.
 
With a "power conditioner" one has to decide whether you want to go the audio route, slippery from snake oil dripping out of some gear and the questionable price/ performance relationship, or take something that people who really need clean and safe mains power take. Computer networks for example.

Surprisingly, the no nonsense and computer realted devices sometimes even come with an insurance included, while being only a fraction the price of audio gear.
In Europe, look for "DIGITUS", Brennenstuhl, "REV" they do a lot of these devices. Try to avoid AMAZON, you may get the same product for half the price at shops not enslaved by Bezos.
 
Problem (IMHO) is the meagre quality of many many devices out there where one has to deal with plastic or chinese stuff that breaks. On the risk of being called a geezer telling everything used to be better I say things electrical items used to be better. I recently bought electrical stuff from the 1930's and to my surprise most of the switches and sockets/plugs are in good shape (not the cabling). Look carefully and see that stuff you know for decades is slowly being replaced for same looking but cheaper made stuff.

230V areas: if all you need is filtered power distribution with a real main switch separating all your gear from the grid then buy known quality switches, Schuko chassis mount mains sockets by for instance Mennekes, IEC inlet with main filter/fuse holder by a German brand while you still can. A nice cast aluminium casing and a surplus medical isolation transformer (watch that VA rating) and put it together with quality mounting stuff. Have it checked and measured by a person that knows electrical installation. Rewarding AND functional. The Noratel ones are silent till about 500VA. For true OCD one can have a transformer per device and build a square meter power distributor. With isolation transformer leakage currents become way lower. It seems leakage currents are overlooked just like RF is overlooked. Or build a relatively small power distributor and a smaller isolation transformer (88 x 53 x 48 mm) IN each device like this silent and affordable one:

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Isolating-Transformer-0-208-230V-230V-23VA/dp/B0CHJXSQTW/ref=sr_1_12?crid=371WM62HUUUN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.4XrdPDSFf58gVP1w_IQEvndwkDz59GygjvtB8BZM_F6sljK8xG870i2C35eIGVzdesyuhGT4GGrMdZGpXiMqiam-9csZNms7Efm57O4HZEfQCteZsoJQcl4bfTLwEwcUfjPq91EsOTwYVhKKH0V8M38Hu2EL_gURXqgl2OWpfbJf7u2c8pETsyAJLq6h1gJX0zpK8GIuQKjgE_eHcTcfom296K00KC-fkzMordpD0bTljR4o0NDvWbtmlg10M8adHj4dGhpe0x1hxMokqGYPd3AyXkJIyidldfgEHOubijg.xBcNzZzMNt1IKqETB_ztDH1pV0rgS4EkrNpwS4pEXS8&dib_tag=se&keywords=isolation+transformator+230V&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1731652871&sprefix=isolation+transformator+230v,aps,64&sr=8-12

Anyway my message is that one can buy cheap light weight plastic ChiFi to ones likings or build terribly sloppy "I just do something" projects but be sure to have a sturdy and reliable power distributor and switch off all your (DIY) stuff with just 1 x 16A DPST switch from the grid at night or when you go away from home. No hidden power consumption, no unattended melting SMPS, no risk of fire.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: madis64
In the past various power conditioners have past in these premises (a search may be revealing), varying from serious mains filters, such as AC line filter of John Risch (see the long thread at Audio Asylum) or Lampizator ( http://www.lampizator.eu/AC FILTER/SILK/SILK.HTML ), up to conditioners that regenerate mains voltage by a sine generator & amplifier.
Jon Risch was picky on the inductor type; do not use just a 'normal' one, but a powdered iron rod core inductor with DCR less than 0.03 ohms. The only issue is to distinguish a 'normal' inductor from a powdered iron one,which is only possible with a known source. He did also mentioned clearly that his mains filter works better when load with a 100 power resistor or light bulb.

Back then I have build the Felicia Balancing Power Conditioner (see the Constructor's thread at https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=18443.420 ). Works fine, but the secundary voltage appeared somewhat unstable. On the list is to add a conditioner that regenerates mains voltage by a sine generator & amplifier for a turntable as per a somewhat recent thread at diyaudio.
 
See #48
OP has not replied, it seems that he / she/ it got confused, and possibly influenced into thinking a power conditioner is some sort of super remedy.
Now maybe thinking if really needed.
The concept or goal of installing and using the equipment must be clear, and that takes experience, which is what this forum is about.

German quality was good at one time, now many of the old brands are gone for ever, or shifted to China, and they have lagged in electronics design.

And gradually the Chinese suppliers have taken over the company for which they were the OEM suppliers, Preh (pots), Bosch (power tools), Philips TV, NAD audio and so on.
The Chinese made equipment may or may not be to European quality standards, given the tiny quantities in Europe (hardly any new houses being built, for example), that sometimes makes the big suppliers say leave it.
The Europeans can be fussy, meagre quantities, and sometimes totally arrogant, and the volumes are frankly a joke for those used to bulk production.
And if you are an outside EU manufacturer, the regulations are too tough...not worth the investment in some cases.

Then the Europeans complain good quality is gone....all I can say is that you can always get them shipped in, or find good quality used equipment, and use it.

I used to make a medical device, 100-150k per year, somebody from Netherlands wanted 5k, that was about $6,000 worth, and he wanted my principal to appoint an attorney in EU who would be criminally liable if product defective, for three years, that would have cost $300,000...we said eff off...he was most offended. Silly man.
We told him it is a tiny order, he could not believe it, he thought we were a bullock cart country, and beggars looking for small orders.
Now the potential markets are away from Europe, and attention is towards satisfying those demands.

We are seeing the components demand in the USA is also gradually reducing, may parts are getting erratic to obtain, relays for example.
 
Just an isolation transformer is simple and does the trick in a city with shite ac maims. . of course.forvlow voltage source . And pull earth..tripp lite makes good units. If you care to understand physics, LiFePO4 best low impedance DC Power Supply and SQ is astounding to my ear off grid. For city folks. I feel you pain... Carry on Peace
.
 
find good quality used equipment, and use it.
That is a system. Same goes for switching materials preferably NOS. If you have known the real good stuff it is easy to weed out the vast amount of mediocre stuff. Especially relays have undergone a transformation from reliable to cheap no name stuff that hums, wears out etc. Problem if one knows what used to be good is to see that all seems to go the same direction: 2...5 years and then recycling.

Therefor it seems a wrong investment to buy such stuff. Better keep it simple and choose materials carefully IMHO and build something that will last 20 years 🙂
 
Last edited:
I remember reading a very old study from back when mains synchronized clocks were the norm and had to be 100% reliable or major issues occurred. As I recall they learned that the clocks that were made to withstand 6000V surges virtually never failed. I would guess this is because that is the voltage which will reliably arc across Romex out of the insulation somewhere between the surge source and the appliance. But then again many buildings back then could still be using knob and tube wiring which would permit much higher voltages to appear at the appliance socket, in which case it would be the socket where the unintended spark gap occurs.

A good study on worst case mains conditions with empirical results on what works would be invaluable in the design of any mains conditioner. This is totally missing in the DIY solutions that I have seen.


A huge issue for mains filters is that the use of diode rectifiers in appliances causes the peak current draw to be something like 2-8x the average current draw (the metric for this is called rectifier form factor and the math can be quite extensive). This hugely inflates the necessary size for inductors used for filtering since they must withstand peak currents without saturating. Suitable inductors are very expensive or very low in value.