Power Conditioner?

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alonso

alonso

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What is the difference between a power conditioner and a voltage regulator or are they both the same thing? The thing is that i know that i want to get one for my soon to be home studio, but was wondering which one would suit my needs.. i've seen some furman an samson models, but since i have never bought such thing, their specs and features are all greek to me. Care to shed some light???
 
A power conditioner gives you surge protection and filters unwanted line noise. Some tell you what the voltage is at the outlet.

A voltage regulator keeps the voltage constant. It raises it when its a bit low and brings it down when it gets too high.

Voltage regulators are much more expensive too. The condiotioner is nice. I just got a Rack Rider power conditioner w/o lights for 29 bucks at Mars. It definitely lowered the noise floor of my equipmemt in the studio.

Thats the laymans explanation.
 
but is there a box that regulates the voltage and conditions the power, or do i need to buy them both??
 
I was in the same situation a while back because my house was built in the late 50's and none of the outlets where grounded. i was concerned about fluctuations in voltage but for the price of a power conditioner i had an electrician put my studio on its own circuit and ground the outlets. i just bought that same $29 rack rider at mars. i am sure there are benifits to conditioners, like if you have really expensive rack gear you take from club to club or whatever. i just couldn't shell out the 400 bucks for one.
 
alonso said:
but is there a box that regulates the voltage and conditions the power, or do i need to buy them both??
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that most units that do voltage regulation also offer surge protection and whatever else an inexpensive power conditioner would do. So, no, you don't need both.
 
This is just a guess, but I would think if your line voltage is stable to within a few percent (and I think it is in most places in the US), and you have a surge supressor to kill any high voltage transients like from lightning, that the voltage regulators in each individual power supply of your equipment would be adequate. If anybody knows different, chime in.
 
the thing is that i don´t live in the states and i really don´t think that my voltage is so stable, there are always small increments...so i think i really need a regulator
 
I bought one of the aforementioned rackrider conditioners and it really helped reduce noise and hum quite a bit, especially from the fridge, washing machine, etc. I'm not sure how important it is to have the voltage regulated because, to my knowledge, most pro audio equipment has it's own voltage regulation if it needs it.
 
I've got a samson PowerBritePro7, when I bought it for about $120 it was for protection against cheap wiring in some of the grungy clubs i was playing at. I didn't know about line regulators at the time, but the guy at the store told me that this piece will give me 120 volts from any power source from about 110 to 130 volts, there is a little meter on the front to tell you the incoming voltage. When I bought my Mesa, it seemed like a good investment. So I think this is a power regulator, but it's not $400. When I turn big things like the AC or dehumidifier on the voltage meter sometimes waivers, I take it that this is caused by all of the appliances on that circut. So If your gear isnt plugged into a seperate "studio" circuit. Maybe someone will let me know that the sales guy ripped me off and this is not a regulator, but if not you should check of the Samson PowerBritePro7.

Eric
 
from what the specs on the POWER BRIGHT say it looks to be just a power distributor with a voltage meter. they say nothing about regulating voltage only that you can monitor the voltage. you did't get "ripped off" though, just lied to. a good line regulator cost anywhere from 400 bucks on up period. putting your room on a dedicated circuit doesnt ensure constant voltage either, but it doesn't hurt, and it doesn't cost as much as you think.
 
The meter on the powerbrite has a green a yellow and then a red section, maybe the salesperson was trying to say that devices plugged into the powerbrite will function as long as the meter stays in the green, is that possible, or should a 120 volt device require 120 volts?
 
I checked into this subject a bit and found that power conditioners just filter and surge protect, like I said. The more expensive ones have lights and fancy meters, and sometimes higher voltage handling. For my low power draw, the 15 amp was plenty, so $29 bucks was well spent. The voltage regulator is a different beast. It does just what the name implies--keeps the voltage at a constant. Companies like Furman sell them for over $400. However, there are some computer peripheral companies that sometimes have them for much less. Just check the amp rating.

As for voltage regulators in musical equipment, I have no idea. I only know that my computer has one and it adjusts to fluctuations in line voltage.
 
One other point to consider is that voltage regulators usually have pretty poor transient response, which doesn't much matter for most low-powered studio gear... however, if you're using it in a live rig behind big power amplifiers, you may find you have less effective power for loud passages/ musical peaks.
 
Take what I have to say with a grain of salt because I am repeating things I have read or heard. But I would avoid buying a computer dealers voltage regulator if that is what you go with.

I know nothing about the technical aspect, but I guess it has something to do with square waves and sine waves or something, but basically, the furman's are meant to be used with musical equipment. The ones for computers are not, and can cause problems or damaged. Someone more informed could tell you why.

Those of you who have bought power conditioners, you said it really lowered the noise? Damn! I wanted to buy one before I recorded our band because my outlets aren't grounded either, but I couldn't afford it at the time. The noise coming out of the amps was just so damn loud...not a problem during distorted parts, but kinda annoying during slower clean parts. At least I know to buy one now!

josh
 
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