[arthur]

has anyone heard this conditioner? it's reviewed on soundstage
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/audiophileaps_purepower1050.htm

[JLM]

$2500 and a fan, without one of their awards?

I'd look into other options first.

[Ulas]

Interesting: That may be just what I need.

I live out in the country and that is a blessing and a curse. The blessing is the environment is noise free: both acoustical and electrical. No traffic or industrial noise and no neighbors. Because there is no RFI/EMI, I can use unshielded interconnects and phono cables: A big plus, in my opinion. The curse is unreliable AC power with unsteady voltage, harmonic distortion, and frequent outages from ½ second to ½ day. For the longer outages I have a backup generator; it’s the shorter outages that play havoc with the audio gear.

You should know the Audiophile APS Pure Power is more than a power conditioner. It is a power regenerator and should be compared with PS Audio Power Plant and the Exact Power EP-15A, although the latter is power corrector, not a regenerator. Power conditioners are just filters that reduce high frequency noise but do little to correct voltage and wave shape.

I tried Exact Power and liked what it did for my system but I didn’t like the transformer hum: The other curse of a quiet environment.  The Audiophile APS should be able to keep the power up during the short dropouts and reduce the wear and tear on my amp’s power supplies. I hope it is quiet enough.

[arthur]

the price does bother me. is it this high because it is new technology? why isn't there enough competition to lower the prices? i would love to own something like this, but for that much money i can upgrade my speakers and get a lot more sound for $

this is the times when i wish i got my degree in electrical engineering.

[Jon L]

the price does bother me. is it this high because it is new technology? why isn't there enough competition to lower the prices?

There's absolutely nothing "new" in their "double conversion technology."  All the cheapo computer UPS devices use the same technology.  

What the $2,500 gets you, though, should be much better implementation.  Where most UPS's fall short is the crappy parts quality, crappy build quality, and no consideration for sound quality in design.  This shows up in the bad "regeneration" part where sine wave is regenerated from battery, which doesn't look like a sine wave at all.

In theory, if this process is well implemented, it could sound incredibly good. The wires, circuit boards, parts must not be bottlenecks.  The battery must be of high quality, and the last conversion must regenerate a perfect sine wave.  

I use a very similar device for my system, and there's no going back once you taste a properly done "double conversion," "battery power," "regeneration" or whatever.  

I will say, however, that for the 1000 watts rating, the product in the review does seem to be priced a bit on the high side...

[ekovalsky]

I use a very similar device for my system, and there's no going back once you taste a properly done "double conversion," "battery power," "regeneration" or whatever.

Jon, what exactly are you using?  Is it a commercial product or a DIY-design?

[Jon L]

I use a very similar device for my system, and there's no going back once you taste a properly done "double conversion," "battery power," "regeneration" or whatever.

Jon, what exactly are you using?  Is it a commercial product or a DIY-design?

I modded a XS Technology "Strata" battery-backed conditioner, which retailed for like $1200.  The company is no longer around, though.  

In stock form, the purity of sound was ear-opening, but I could "hear" some bottlenecks.  I did very simple mods including bypassing the crappy surge protector, changing internal wiring to Belden 83802 and/or Teflon/solid silver, installing an IEC inlet and using a DIY Shotgun 83802 power cord (1 foot long), installing 20A cryo'd ACME AC outlets, etc.  

One thing the review didn't mention was how the unit sounds plugged vs. unplugged from the wall.  I've tuned/tweaked my unit so the "plugged" sound is almost (sigh) as pure as "unplugged" but is actually more dynamic..

[JLM]

A friend brought over his PS300 power regenerator a couple of years back and it barely made a difference.  But perhaps I'm blessed with clean power to start with.  I've heard the difference when nearby factories shut down at 11 p.m. in an old light industrial neighborhood and it was significant.

I'd look for a source to borrow one for use at home to see if you have problems with dirty power, or else check Audiogon for a used PS300.

[Fife12]

Heres a review of the Audiophile APS 1000 for those interested.
http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/accessories/audiophile-aps.html

[ekovalsky]

A friend brought over his PS300 power regenerator a couple of years back and it barely made a difference.  But perhaps I'm blessed with clean power to start with.  I've heard the difference when nearby factories shut down at 11 p.m. in an old light industrial neighborhood and it was significant.

I'd look for a source to borrow one for use at home to see if you have problems with dirty power, or else check Audiogon for a used PS300.

I've never had a P300, but I did have a P1000.  Actually three of them.  The first one worked great but then failed within a month for no apparent reason.  The second one ran so hot, even when in standby, that it was a serious fire hazard.  Touching the heatsinks when it was running would cause a second degree burn within a few seconds.  It must have been idling at 750-1000 watts at least.  I bailed with the third one -- it was sold "new in box" on Audiogon.  PS Audio's support was exemplary (they paid all bidirectional shipping costs and cross shipped replacement units) but enough was enough.

I did feel the P1000 made a nice improvement to my system, in no doubt in part because I have a lot of dimming and fan controls as well as computers in the house.  

One interesting thing about the P1000 was that it disrupted an X10 lighting control system whenever plugged in, even though it was on a dedicated circuit.  This told me two things about the P1000 -- it was putting something back or taking something away from the power mains and that dedicated circuits aren't truly dedicated.  Since every circuit in the house ultimately goes back to a subpanel then onto the main utility line, it's all interconnected.

After selling the P1000 I went a BPT 3.5 Signature which I have been happy with.  It is a step up from my previous unit, a Furman IT-1220.  Although technically a "pro" model it was amazingly good and a real bargain at the price.  Furman now has a more expensive audiophile series which must be superb.  I have found these "balanced power" units (probably the Equi=Tech and ExactPower SP also) seem to give the greatest benefit with the fewest drawbacks among the various types of power conditioners.  

Currently I am considering selling the 3.5 Signature and getting the "Plus" version (the factory upgrade is NOT cost effective at all) or maybe trying the ExactPower EP/SP combo.  I'll have to read more about the Audiophile APS too.

[Ulas]

There's absolutely nothing "new" in their "double conversion technology." All the cheapo computer UPS devices use the same technology.

I think you missed the important difference between the Audiophile APS and an ordinary UPS. The APS is always regenerating the power and outputs a pure, clean sine wave at 120 volts and 60 Hz. On the other hand, a UPS passes the power from the wall socket through to the "protected device" without modification. It's only when the power fails that the UPS generates power from its battery and the wave form is a stair-stepped approximation of a sine wave and at a considerably reduced voltage. In my experience, most UPSs have low-level transformer hum when in standby mode and significantly louder hum when operating on battery power. IMO, the noise is tolerable in a typical computer environment but intolerable when used in a quiet listening environment.

[Jon L]

I think you missed the important difference between the Audiophile APS and an ordinary UPS. The APS is always regenerating the power and outputs a pure, clean sine wave at 120 volts and 60 Hz. On the other hand, a UPS passes the power from the wall socket through to the "protected device" without modification. It's only when the power fails that the UPS generates power from its battery and the wave form is a stair-stepped approximation of a sine wave and at a considerably reduced voltage. In my experience,  ...

Actually, what you are referring to are "SPS" devices (Standard Power Supply), which "regenerates" AC from battery only when power is cut.  APC "Smart UPS" line would fall into this.  Of course, these manufacturers have no right to call these SPS devices "UPS," but they do.  But even then, when power is cut, these SPS devices still uses "double conversion technology," so the technolgy itself isn't new at all.  The expensive unit in question just implements  the double conversion better.  

There's also the "Hybrid" UPS's that use ferroresonant technology with battery to bridge the gap.  

True UPS's by definition regenerate the AC wave at all times with or without wall power.  They run hotter, are more expensive, and sound much better.  Even these lofty units use the same "double conversion technology" as the cheapo SPS units, just better implemented.  

Don't get me wrong.  I love UPS devices and think they are the way to go.  I just am not impressed when a company comes out advertising "Double Conversion technology" as some sort of new breakthrough technology.  It's possible they have the best implementation so far, but the concept is the same.