http://www.equitech.com/products/rack/modelqav.htmlI have been borrowing Carlman's Equitech 1.5Q power conditioner for the last 3 months. Thanks for the loan Carl - better call the cops, you're not getting it back.
When I first got it, I was doing Carl a favor, humoring his enthusiasm, thinking to myself, "it's a powerstrip dude.." I read the literature when I got home, "OK, maybe it's more than a powerstrip." I figure I'll listen to the thing while he's not using it, store it until he needs it back, maybe catch a lightning bolt, whatever, hohum, yawn....
Anybody who knows me knows that I am never bored with new audio toys even if they are very minor change.
The thing is heavy as a mutha (80 pounds!) and not small. It contains a gigantic toroidal transformer made of super high qualty steel core and oxygen free copper windings. It is wired to intake 120V single ended AC, and spit out balanced +/- 60VAC through all of the dozen or so outlets on the rear. In doing so, the quality of power is supposedly markedly improved in many ways. Much more detail on how it works is eloquently described in the white pages and articles on the Equitech website, here:
http://www.equitech.com/articles/articles.html I kind of understand how it works, the description makes sense, more than I can argue against anyway. Technically oriented audiophiles whom I admire like JoshK, Occam, Bruce Rosenblitz, and Carlman, use balanced power which are valuable endorsements for me. A thread on
Frank Van Alstine's Audio Circle evaluates the concerns against using balanced power in gear intended for single ended power. Pro's and cons are well covered there. Included here for completeness.
As a non technical consumer I look to the claims and reviews to try to analyze the value prior to purchase. Uh-oh. Lots of claims, lots of promises, lots of happy customer comments. My impressionable gullibility is about to be tempted yet again. But at least this time, I have it in my house, listening to it everyday for 3 months. I can hear it for myself.
When I first got it, I just stuck it behind the rig and plugged everything in. At the same time I was swapping tubes in the minimax and moving the room around, deciding on new speakers, etc. So lots was in play and changing all the time. I heard a noticeable improvement, but did not consciously attribute it only to the Q, although I did note that it did improve when it was installed, but not sure the precentage due to Q or new tubes, or whatever else.
Not til last night did I take the time to directly compare the Q to the not-Q (straight into the wall.) I listen a lot, so if I don't make a change for a day or so I get pretty accustomed to the sound. I had just finished listening to Prokofiev Cello / Piano sonatas. A great recording, lots of space, tone, bass, delicacy, intimacy, power, a good audition suite. I simply listened to it with the Q, then unplugged the Snapper amps and plugged them into the shared 15A circuits, on separate but shared outlets on the same circuit.
I remember that the dedicated 20A outlet that I used to use did make the Snappers sound a lot better than putting them together on a single shared 15A outlet, but that 20A outlet is on the side of the room now that I have twisted the room 90 degrees for the improved acoustics. The Q is plugged into the same shared 15A circuit as used by the amps in this comparison, and the preamp is always plugged into the Q with a stock vinyl PC. A Black Sands Silver Ref5 goes to each amp. Source is battery powered DAC. Signal wires are Grover IC and JPS SC.
I will try to compare the Q to the dedicated 20A outlet soon. I'll have to put the amps on the floor, but I think the cables can reach with some fiddling. But I only have one dedicated outlet, so preamp still have to be plugged into the shared 15A circuit whose ground means the dedicated circuits ground only at the service panel 60 feet away. Not sure how vauable that test will be. Maybe just leave the preamp in the Q as done in this comparison.
OK so how does it sound? These are the notes I wrote when I first switched from powering the Snappers through the Q to plugging them directly into the wall outlets:
"Immediate sense of dullness. Clouded, less dynamic. Tone of violin and upper cello metallic ringing. Bass is smaller and looser. Piano transients are aggressive and harsh. Music is confusing, tense, cluttered. How many musicians are there in this trio? It feels like people coming and going. Muffled, tone thin. Background noise (hiss) without music is audible for first time in months (since before Q.) Noticeable during music as missing the black background that makes colors clearer and brighter. But the noise is subtle compared to the music distortion which is blatant and obvious. Piano sounds like bells, imagine a toy Fender Rhodes on the attack. Sustained tones are thinner."
I left it that way for a while to get my brain somewhat adjusted to it. It was difficult because the sound was so harsh and confusing, dull.
Putting it back in I noted:
"Clarity, bass impact, low noise, tonal perfection, piano delicacy, harshness gone. Dynamics greater, but more subtle. Relaxing, intimate, presence of the performers is felt - "they're back...." Instrumentalists are people, not just sounds and notes. Harmonic inner detail is intensely clear. The difference is obvious. I can't wait to try this on other people's systems to see their reactions!"
It's hard to believe that I have been listening to music without Q for so long, I never knew how much power quality could affect the musical performance. I don't know if it is just clean purified power, or if +/- 60V works better in the amp than SE 120V, I guess it doesn't matter. Prior to Q, my BSC power cables and dedicated line made a nice difference when compared to the "not," but nowhere even close to this. Other power filters and even tripplite super strip I have tried ruined the sound of the tube amps I use. Q makes them sound much better! This difference is so obvious in listening, I'm sure it must be evident in THD analysis of an amplifier. Maybe we can do that sometime. Some amps may have more or less benefit from it.
The Q doesn't seem to care what kind of power it gets, or through what wire it is fed. Replacing a BSC Statement One with plastic computer cord
on the power input side of the Q made no obvious difference to my ears in casual listening. The advantage of plugging it into any outlet of any quality and rebuilding the power from scratch to power the whole system with a closeby floating ground, cancelling comon mode noise in the power line is very cool. Something important is going on inside that big heavy black box. I love it! Thanks for the tip Carl!
Rich
