Power Conditioner Question

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guitaristic

guitaristic

prophet of Dave
Hello everybody :) So I'm in the market for a power conditioner...I barely know squat about them but I know that I want one. Right now I'm using one of those despicable $10 strips :facepalm:

I guess my range is between $100-$200 if that is realistic. I would really like one that could take a hit and not die, but I realize those may be out of my range...so feel free to suggest anything really.

I'm putting this in the Newbie section because I can't really decide where else it belongs and plus due to me not knowing much about them makes me feel like a n00b :D
 
Don't know much about them either but I hear Furman is the standard choice
 
Are you having power problems that are affecting your recording results or just looking for something to protect against potential spikes ?
 
What exactly do you think you need/want when you say "power conditioner"...?

There are a few types... better quality surge suppressors/AC noise cleansers...all of that plus voltage regulation...full-tilt balanced power units.

I've used voltage regulators w/surge & spike/AC noise suppression for some time now.
Currently I have some Furman units. They do a great job of voltage regulation, but are a little old technology-wise when it comes to surge and noise. I've been considering adding a separate unit just for that in front of the voltage regulators...or maybe e one day going all out for a balanced power unit and run that together with the voltage regulators.

There's a variety of prices depending on what you want/need...though Furman does cover most types.
For < $200...you're mostly looking at surge and AC noise suppression.
If that's all you want, go for the 20 Amp P-8 Pro series II...that will cover a lot of gear, just fan out additional power strips from it.
Check on eBay for best prices....you might score for $200.
 
jaygee said:
Are you having power problems that are affecting your recording results or just looking for something to protect against potential spikes ?
Click to expand...

miroslav said:
What exactly do you think you need/want when you say "power conditioner"...?

There are a few types... better quality surge suppressors/AC noise cleansers...all of that plus voltage regulation...full-tilt balanced power units.
Click to expand...

Whoops my lack of knowledge is showing :D

Yeah, mainly just to protect against lightning and the occasional noise. I'm not really having problems with it at the moment, but I'd hate for lightning to fry like $1,000 (basically 50% lol) of my wee little home studio!! :eek:

So Furman, huh? It can take a surge and keep on ticking? :)
 
I've been using a Geek Squad UPS and two ART rack mount power conditioners for several years now and never had a problem.
But...I've only had one brown out while I was in my room and the UPS kept me going til I could shut down.
And...I wasn't in my room when lightning hit my tree.

So I dunno....maybe they're shite and I'm lucky. :D
 
Why don't you invest in a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) that has filter and spike protection? That way you get what you want and the UPS holds up when if there is a mains interruption so you don't loose your work. I am sure you will get one for under $200.

Alan.
 
I run the DAW system through a UPS, so that saves my computer work...but the analog rack gear, guitar amps, console, tape decks...that stuff is on the Furman voltage regulators. Tracking to tape, if the power goes out, you don't really lose anything, the deck just stops recording/playing. :D

It would have to be one monster UPS to handle all that gear, and plus, the AC you get from most typical UPS boxes is square-wave, which isn't a great choice for audio, though that might be a minor point for most folks doing the home-rec computer thing with only a small amount of outboard gear. For the real picky, there are UPS boxes that put out sine-wave AC, but they cost a bit more.
 
miroslav said:
I run the DAW system through a UPS, so that saves my computer work...but the analog rack gear, guitar amps, console, tape decks...that stuff is on the Furman voltage regulators. Tracking to tape, if the power goes out, you don't really lose anything, the deck just stops recording/playing. :D

It would have to be one monster UPS to handle all that gear, and plus, the AC you get from most typical UPS boxes is square-wave, which isn't a great choice for audio, though that might be a minor point for most folks doing the home-rec computer thing with only a small amount of outboard gear. For the real picky, there are UPS boxes that put out sine-wave AC, but they cost a bit more.
Click to expand...

Me too. UPS for PC's/drives/interface. Furman for rack gear. Most convenient deal with the Furman, is a power switch on top of the rack. :D
 
miroslav said:
It would have to be one monster UPS to handle all that gear, and plus, the AC you get from most typical UPS boxes is square-wave, which isn't a great choice for audio, though that might be a minor point for most folks doing the home-rec computer thing with only a small amount of outboard gear. For the real picky, there are UPS boxes that put out sine-wave AC, but they cost a bit more.
Click to expand...

Yes I should have asked how much gear was going to be plugged in, you will need 1200VA for a modest control room or 2400VA for a larger one. I was thinking home studio and 1200Va should cover it. To make sure you don't get a crap square wave UPS you need to go to a proper supplier of this stuff, not the discount store. If you talk to guys that sell UPS's for a living they will know all about which UPS's are suitable.

Alan.
 
witzendoz said:
Why don't you invest in a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) that has filter and spike protection? That way you get what you want and the UPS holds up when if there is a mains interruption so you don't loose your work. I am sure you will get one for under $200.

Alan.
Click to expand...

I've never even heard of those! :D

So that would be more efficient than just a power conditioner? I'm so new to this realm lol :)

As for gear that's gonna be plugged in, I'd like to fit my KRKs, Tascam interface, laptop, keyboard, and maybe 2-3 other random things if that's possible...what are some good brands to look at?
 
guitaristic said:
I've never even heard of those! :D

So that would be more efficient than just a power conditioner? I'm so new to this realm lol :)

As for gear that's gonna be plugged in, I'd like to fit my KRKs, Tascam interface, laptop, keyboard, and maybe 2-3 other random things if that's possible...what are some good brands to look at?
Click to expand...

It will be the same as a power conditioner if you get a UPS that has power conditioning on board. In fact its better than a conditioner as a good UPS will maintain voltage at the proper volts when the mains fluctuates. You won't need a super large one for your size studio, if you add up the consumption of each item of equipment and then add 50% more for future gear and a safety margin you can work out what size you need. The gear will have consumption written on it or it will be in the manual.

The other thing about UPS systems is that the rating also has to allow for how long the internal battery will keep the gear going in an outage, usually you would want 10 Mins so you can save your work and shut down. The guys selling them can give you all the information on this when you give them the consumption.

As for brands, I don't know what brands are available in the US but the wholesale guys next door to my day job (where I got my UPS) sell "Nikko" and they get very few warranty returns.

The One I use for my control room is 4.5 Amps @ 240 Volts (Australia) = 1100Va, however I don't have my monitor power amps in the UPS as the current draw on these almost doubles the current and also my effects racks are not on the UPS. The power amps and racks are on a standard spike filter. I have the Recorders (hard disk recorders), Computers and console (on board automation) plugged in to the UPS to save the work if the power goes off. If the power amps and racks go off that's not a problem. However in your case you could run all the gear from a UPS.

I also have 2 smaller UPS's that I take to location recording to back up the power to the recorders and computers. Saved the day more than once when someone pulls my power before the recording has saved.

Alan.
 
The UPS I use is only 685VA, but it does it's job just fine for PC/drive/interface protection. In fact a few days after I purchased it, the power company was working on something and the power went on and off 3 times. CyberPower CP685. Here is a review from a lady with a totally annoying voice. lol!
 
Actually, this is the one I have. I would definitely run your interface as well as comp from a UPS. A voltage surge can destroy mic's too. :eek:
 
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One problem I've seen with some UPS systems is that when their batteries get kinda' old, but are still registering as "OK"...when there are really fast power drops that only last for a split second...the UPS would actually "blink" and cause some things that are sensitive to lose power, while other devices that are connected directly to outlets survive the fast power drop.

Maybe the newest crop of UPS boxes have improved transfer circuits, but I've seen this too many times in the computer environment. People would complain that their computer would shut off, even though there was a UPS connected. The UPS would beep for second and quickly cycle back on, but I guess the transfer to battery and back wasn't seamless, so the connected device would still shut off...???

I'm sure it's directly tied to the age of the battery in the UPS.
 
K cool, thanks for the info everybody! :) You guys are awesome.
 
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