[jtwrace]

Anybody here use them?  If so, what have you used and what do you think?  Tell us about it.  I saw the pretty demo at RMAF and was intrigued but never went back for more talk. 


FX2 with F0e

[Folsom]

They use a bunch of capacitors, covered in something.

It's not clear if they use all compression, or if some actual current is on soldered connects.

I'm sure they offer improvement.

But I can tell you there are negative returns at some point, as you can't load your service to the outlet you use with too much capacitance. The limit is high, but real.

[Big Red Machine]

I tried one and returned it.  Made nothing but  buzzing noises.  It might work for you.

[jtwrace]

I tried one and returned it.  Made nothing but  buzzing noises.  It might work for you.

That's strange.  What did Gilbert say about that?

[WireNut]

I tried one and returned it.  Made nothing but  buzzing noises.  It might work for you.

BRM,
Hmm, that's good to know. I thought about buying 2 of them but never took the plunge.
Do you know what the problem was?

[RDavidson]

That is strange. Wonder if there was a bad solder joint in it something?

[Folsom]

Since it's just capacitors, it's basically impossible for a correctly built one to be making "buzzing". I don't know if you can open them up ever again however, to fix a bad solder/compression.

[Big Red Machine]

That's strange.  What did Gilbert say about that?

I sent it back and they built one w/o one circuit and it still buzzed no matter which circuit in the house I connected it to.  So I then got a refund.  They were perplexed.  I wasted my time except for the lively banter back and forth - cool kats regardless.

[Bemopti123]

I sent it back and they built one w/o one circuit and it still buzzed no matter which circuit in the house I connected it to.  So I then got a refund.  They were perplexed.  I wasted my time except for the lively banter back and forth - cool kats regardless.

I have a BPT 2.5 and since I got sometimes it produced a transformer sound....but usually it did not.  I was about to send it back but then, with the situation of it being sporadic, I realized that there must be some sort of contamination in my circuit.  It is next to impossible to fix this sort of situation unless there is a multiple approach in looking for the source of the DC contamination.   That is my 2 cents about power conditioning. 

[Folsom]

I'm not sure they have enough capacitance to actually intercept DC.

I'm curious why they could buzz. It's a perplexing issue really. It's entirely normal industry wide to have capacitors like they do, just no in the same amounts. Perhaps there's a problem with orientation and the fact that they are epoxied in.

[jtwrace]

I'm not sure they have enough capacitance to actually intercept DC.

I'm curious why they could buzz. It's a perplexing issue really. It's entirely normal industry wide to have capacitors like they do, just no in the same amounts. Perhaps there's a problem with orientation and the fact that they are epoxied in.

I asked for an opinion on the BC forum here. 

[Folsom]

Hm, interesting.

Perhaps there's some kind of resonance with a common house hold item that's a serious issue; and/or something that's a power sink in another frequency. That's a complex issue.

However, their mention of the "complicatedness" of their conditioner I don't really believe. It's clear the PCB they use is structured in some deliberate ways with different sized capacitors in different spots; no doubt to help deal with impedance at the least.

[jtwrace]

I don't know enough about this stuff.  What I do know is that a Felix buzzes in my house.  CMC even made custom parts for me that were potted.  No dice.  Still audible.  Bring them down the street, silent.  It was very odd.  I can't use them here though. 


Maybe Occam (Paul) can comment on this stuff.  He's way more knowledgable than me with this stuff.  Oh, that's right, he's an EE.   

[jimtranr]

Installed a 6-outlet PLC Thingee FX2 X0e (the latter a low-frequency filter) on October 27th to--if it worked out--replace a first-generation Shunyata Hydra. Connected to it are a:

Conrad-Johnson Premier 17LS tubed line stage
C-J MF2500 SS amp (rated at 240 wpc)
Sony Bravia 40" flat screen
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-Ray/SACD/CD player
Motorola Cable Box
Blue Circle Yalu Bulala surge protector

Speakers are Paradigm SE-3's. The 14'6"x29'6"x7'8" listening (really the living/dining) room is treated with GIK soffits and 244's.

With the standard BC line cord connected for the first 50 hours of operation, and with respect to audio, it immediately proved superior to the  Hydra in terms of blacker background, less-constricted amp dynamics, heftier and better-defined low-frequency output (first commented on by my wife), smoother top end, and improved imaging and intra-soundstage delineation. Program sources were primarily vinyl, SACD, and CD. These qualities improved with burn-in.

At around 50 hours I replaced the stock power cord with a spare Wireworld Electra 5-squared PC I had on hand. That resulted in another jump in top-to-bottom resolution, soundstage expansion, spatial rendering (I listen to a lot of symphonic and other orchestral material typically recorded in large venues, and spatial cues previously masked by the noise floor emerged full-blown), bass solidity, and improved midrange/top-end detail and liquidity.

Video-wise, the several-years-old Bravia looks transformed with much sharper images, brighter colors, more pronounced contrasts, and--on good source material--improved depth and three-dimensionality. That's the case with either 1080i cable or 1080p Blu-Ray.   

For this system the Thingee's easily a keeper.

[iluzun]

I've two after trying out several individual plug ins, the 6x & the 0xe, during RMAF.  I own a AudioMagic Nexus that I've been rolling caps into for the last year.  It has two individual 'legs', & I've 3 individual 10g lines coming from a sub panel. 

I took one by 'my friends' and only got a brief listen b4 having to leave it for the weekend.  He called me Saturday afternoon to tell me it had been 'stolen'....  Ie... He liked what it was doing and I concurred that I thought  things had seemed more spacious and smoother the day I dropped it off.  He has a great music collection of jazz and blue having been a dj long ago but no 'conditioning' on his rig.  No isolated lines ect....

So if you r coming from zero, it's very smart money & well spent w/Gilbert.  Hez's a 'kick' & definitely marches to his own drummer.  In a good way...

I've retrieved my 'stolen' unit & it's still doing burn in on my rig.  I've played around a bit and have come to some conclusions but I need a bit more time b4 I'll dish on 'me.  Playing the new 'Floyd', The New Basement Tapes, and Jaco Pastorius Big Band Revisited 2nite via Yamaha A-S2000 & CD-S2000 on a pr. Of Kef LS-50s.

More to follow...