[R_burke]

I've been considering the Furman 20i, but $2,100 is a lot of money for me.

[Speedskater]

Some modern power amplifiers with a SMPS (power supply) are not happy working with some regenerators or UPS's.

[BruceSB]

I had a PS Audio power conditioner (AV5000) for about fifteen years until it started humming really loudly (then threw it in my red bin!).
Did improve the sound but I always doubted its value to my power amp,
But boy it was useful with all those outlets on the back!!!!
Started looking into Power Regenerators, Power Conditioners & Balanced Power supplies.
Let me tell you what I have discovered (you are welcome to do the searching yourself but I suspect that you will come up with similar findings!).
Power conditioners, regenerators & balanced power supplies are all pretty good for low power units, that's say, pre amps, phono preamps and so on and possibly some power amps (make that a big maybe!).
The power amps with large transformers, lots of high power supply capacitors and so on are just not suitable - the units just can't keep up the power amps demands (sometimes!!), in a nut shell it robs the dynamics!
As an interesting exercise, at the last HiFi show I went to (November last year), I made a point of looking for setups that ran their power amps through some sort of 'unit' - did not find a single one.
Hey, I might have missed the odd one but power amps were run from distribution boards or straight from the wall but had no 'conditioning' or 'regeneration'.
Even spoke to some people at stands and they confirmed my observations!
I am sure there will be the odd disagreers - there always is.
PS Audio maker great regenerators but they cost a lot and you should not run them much more than maybe fifty percent of their capacity - think the same goes for conditioners and balanced power supplies.
Balanced power supplies can sometimes hum but I think if you get the transformer potted it won't hum.
Think there is a massive variation amongst the various power conditioners.
So, what is my advice?
What am I going to do myself?
Look at lowish power balanced power supplies with all the bells & whistles (electrostatic shielding, potting, circuit breakers, etc) and use it for the phono pre amp, preamp, and other low wattage units where you can take advantage of the lowered noise floor but not have the current drain.
But ...
That's just me - I could be talking a lot of rubbish.
Why not go to a HiFi show when things get back to normal and see what the displays are doing regarding those three types of power 'treatment' and then there is of course battery power supplies!!!!!!
Hope that I have helped rather than confused.
All the best.
Bruce

[Mike B.]

Bruce has done a excellent job of providing info.

[Elizabeth]

 have owned several power conditioners and two regenerators over the years.
Currently I use a Furman REF20 for a lot of gear and for a few digital bits I use a PS Audio P600 regenerator, and have had them in my system for over ten years.
My amp is just direct to wall. (I HAVE used it to the Furman and not, right now it sounds best direct.)

What I would say is they both help some. and I was willing to spend $$$ replacing ALL their outlets with Furutech GTX-D duplex. some Gold some NCF rhodium.
(that is 10 duplex outlets in total)
Anyway in general I would not use a regenerator to power any amplifier or integrated.
The other thing to remember is a regenerator is NOT a perfect sinewave. it is  better shaped sinewave, but still has a % of noise.

Is a regenerator better? no just different.
As anything if you want to know, you have to actually hear it in your system

And the ONLY reason I bought the PS Audio P600 was to use it's ability (with optional board) to alter the frequency fro 60 Hz.. (1 HZ steps from 60 to as high as 120Hz AC frequency. why is a whole different thread. (and no, do not ask)

[mick wolfe]

I've been considering the Furman 20i, but $2,100 is a lot of money for me.

If you can get by with a Furman 15PF series conditioner, Audio Advisor recently had them on sale for a shade over $600.

[ketcham]

In my home application a balanced isolation transformer was monumental.  For tube gear, and Torus Power agrees, you have to over spec the transformer to avoid transformer noise.  10A demand ideally would need a 40A rated transformer.  I used a wall mount 75A and have 8A demand.  My application was designed this way for other reasons and found with stellar results.

Allnic Electronics, which I represent, can and tend to have noise with PS Audio AC power re-generators, noted in both amplifiers and phono stage preamplifiers. 

Another consideration is a used Audience Adept Response - which does not seem to choke current for amplifiers.  Highly recommended.

I prefer balanced isolation transformers (Torus Power) but each application is unique and Audience should be considered. 

[NoDisco]

I just took my integrated off of a ps audio power strip...I get better dynamics. I’m using it with a pre that still is on the strip. I just readded it. Integrated doesn’t need it really, but hey.  Might take that off too...then I have experiments with power cords planned. No hum in current setup in case you’re wondering.

I regret no trying this sooner, I used to think all of this isolation/regeneration stuff was super important. Then I got really good at just removing ground loops from my system.

Advice: run the minimum amount of components to get good sound...if you want to add monos etc...work out the bugs with an integrated first.

[NoDisco]

Seems like the preamp prefers the ps audio...by a hair...over plugged in straight to the wall.

[Jon L]

Audiophile companies, by their nature, charge way too much money for their power regenerators.

Best bet is to find a reputable "On-line double-conversion" UPS units from reputable industrial companies.  Actually, while cheaper, the good units don't come cheap, either, but I wouldn't be without one in my audio system. 
I found a refurbished one for cheap, performed some minimal mods, e.g. change to silent fan and substitute for some nicer AC outlets, and the sound quality improvement is remarkable vs. straight from wall, various isolation transformers, balanced power conditioner, etc I have had over the years. 

I do agree most folks with "normal" speakers requiring hefty power amps are better off powering the amps from the wall straight. 
However, I have had great success plugging in my 3-watt, 5-watt, and 8-watt tube amps into the regenerator.   

[toocool4]

Power regenerators are worth having depending on what you are trying to fix. Yes good ones are not cheap, if you do get one make sure you get one that regenerates pure sine wave.
You need to calculate your power requirements and i would say get one that produces twice what you need.

In my old house the voltage fluctuated from about 227V to 239V and i had noise issues. With the power regenerator i got, i can set the voltage i want it to put out. I set it to put out a steady 240V no matter what is coming in, a steady voltage is better for your equipment  than a fluctuating voltage.
The first time i used it, the first thing that hit me was how much lower the bass of the system went and the noise was gone.

In my new house the voltage is about steady 245V which is not a problem as it’s steady, but since the regenerator is set to put out a steady 240V that is what the system gets.

So if you can find a good one to demo, i would say give it a try.

P.S. I agree with Jon L a good double conversion unit from a reputable none audio manufacturer is better and cheaper then from an audio manufacturer but still not cheap. I use an Emerson Leibert 3000VA 2700W unit, yes i had to install 2 high quality quiet fans.

[Dormouse99]

As PS Audio regenerators are well beyond my budget, I've gone low end and am using APC H10s and H15s for my equipment. They're not regenerators per se but do have automatic voltage regulation, and the tolerance can be adjusted. You can often find used ones on ebay for $100 to $150.

[trianglezerius]

I tried the APC and found that it killed the sound. Especially the dynamics.

[sebrof]

I tried the APC and found that it killed the sound. Especially the dynamics.

What did you plug into the APC? Generally it is considered best to plug in electronics (DAC, TT/Pre, preamp, etc.) but not amplifiers, amps go straight into the wall.

[trianglezerius]

At one point it was for my Rogue amp ,Jaton pre/pro and other ss and tube ear I have owned but it works great for my video gear though. What I do keep going back to is my Pi Audio Group ubber buss.

[Mr. Big]

I have owned several different types of conditioners, all made a system sound "different" but so what, different was not right, then I purchased a PS Audio for my front end gear, the P-12 model, and in 20 years of trying different conditioners from passive to balanced the P-12 has given my system the noise-free background, along with better dynamics, deeper, I deeper bass and mid-bass, the whole foundation that supports the higher frequency brings out the highs more present and clearer but with no grain or brightness. Unlike balanced tyes that strip the body for hyper detail. Many power supplies do not like balanced AC, they were not designed around balanced AC nor voiced using balanced AC. The P-12 based on my experience is here to stay unless I step up to a P-15 at some point, I just tried an AQ 1200 unit, in it went and after 2 days out it went. Forward, aggressive, and bright but it would make you go wow what a huge "difference" but that was short-lived. As one review said after pulling it out and going back to the wall, the soul of the music can back, well with the PS Audio unit you can have your cake and eat it too in my experience.

[Craig B]

10 or 12 years ago I got a deal on a demo PS Audio P-500, and I used it happily until last fall, when I took advantage of the company's liberal trade-in policy to replace it with their little P3 Stellar regenerator. I didn't need anything bigger. It improved on the primary sonic advantage I heard with the P-500, namely quieter, blacker backgrounds that allow more detail to come through. I'm very glad to have it in my system.

[Early B.]

You guys who are plugging your amps straight into the wall -- are you concerned about potential power surges? That's the only reason I haven't done it. We get frequent power outages where I live. I don't want to worry about my amps getting fried.   

[WGH]

You guys who are plugging your amps straight into the wall -- are you concerned about potential power surges?

No. My electrician installed an Eaton CHSPT2MICRO 8 years ago for whole house surge protection. The unit is wired to a 15 amp unused breaker for 36,000 amps surge protection. The current catalog doesn't have the CHSPT2MICRO, it looks like it has been replaced by the CHSPT2SURGE.

The CHSPT2ULTRA has 108,000 Surge Current Capacity with a $75,000 limited lifetime product warranty. The breaker box will need a 2-pole 50 amp breaker installed.
--> Amazon link <--



Catalogs and installation instructions are available to download
https://www.eaton.com/content/eaton/us/en-us/products/backup-power-ups-surge-it-power-distribution/surge-protection.facets$4075134296.html

[Early B.]

No. My electrician installed an Eaton CHSPT2MICRO 8 years ago for whole house surge protection. The unit is wired to a 15 amp unused breaker for 36,000 amps surge protection. The current catalog doesn't have the CHSPT2MICRO, it looks like it has been replaced by the CHSPT2SURGE.

From what I've read about this product, it provides added protection, but doesn't replace your local surge protectors.