[Huck]

Huck

Although mine is the PE II, I think you should hear a difference (I would bet for the better) with the PE I. There have been numerous posts from happy users of the PE. Check Alan's website out - www.alanmaherdesigns.com

Best Regards
Dennis

 Thanks! I just ordered 3 basic PE's, although they are out of stock, some orders should be filled soon! Thanks, Huck

[gme109]

It seems he has a version III in his Product list and is now taking orders for delivery in Jan 2008.

The PE II has 5 wide band filters installed, and the PE III, which is more expensive, only has 4 wide band filters installed. Seems like it should be the other way around. Any idea what's going on here?

[RPM123]

Just wondering if I would notice a difference for the "good" if I were to use just one Basic PE?. All my gear is plugged into a Furman power conditioner and right now my system is dead quiet,but like most, I am looking for that 'little extra" as far as good quality sound goes!. Has anyone here actually used just one PE and heard a positive effect? Thanks,Huck

I have and there was a definite improvement, in fact so much that I just received another one and may go for a third! One of the best things I've noticed is that my system sounds consistently better from day to day and at any time of the day. I also find that I do not have to turn up the volume as much, which my wife appreciates.  Alan offers a 30 day trial, so there is really nothing to lose except some shipping. BTW - Alan informed me that the standard PE is the "closest thing to the live event that we offer". He suggested that the bulk of the PEs should be the standard model. The other PEs "highlight tonal colors within the event". Happy listening.

Glenn

[Huck]

 satfrat- Just wonderin what is the most noticeable to your hearing, these PE's or the wool tweeter surrounds?. I know it's early to tell for the PE's, but I am gonna be in the same boat cause I have a pair of wool surrounds and 3 basic PE's coming soon. I guess I should try just the wools for a while then maybe add the PE's soon after. I guess the PE's don't have a ground prong? Thanks, Huck

[95bcwh]

Hi Robin,
  In the case where you have a duplex outlets, does it matter which one you plug the PE into??

Thanks
barry

[denjo]

Hey Robin
Glad to hear you are very happy with the additional PE and of how it is working out for the better for both audio and video. Can't wait till I get another! I am only using one PE and the improvements are unbelievable. A friend of mine dropped by last night for a listen. usually, he would just listen for a very short while and then start conversing with me. Last night he just sat glued, turned to me and said, "when I am sitting down real quiet, that is a good sign!"

Enjoy your music - and pictures!

Best Regards
Dennis

[Phil]

Now that I have been using 3 PEs for about three months I can say they are great in the long term.  The benefit I'm most pleased with, since I got used to the great sound months ago, is consistency of sound.  Before the PEs the sound differed quite a bit day to day even though I was already using two dedicated outlets and a equi=tech balanced power unit.   

I continue to use the Ayre system enhancement disc's glide tone (yes, this really does work), but only once every few weeks and I only use the 60-second track.  So, I tweak less and listen more.

It seems to me that getting the best from digital playback requires the cleanest power you can get and that takes some work.   Robin is obviously a guy who takes the idea of clean power seriously!

[carusoracer]

How do you order one? I emailed the Website...

[Huck]

Just gotta do another post on the video improvements. Let me start out by saying DirecTv digital sucks, period.  Being a C-band satellite dish owner (hense my name), I'm fussy and I'll say right up front, the only reason I got DirecTv in august was for the flood of HD channels, up to 74 with around 100 by years end. But being a sports freak, I'm on top of the FXsporys chhannels which are hands down the worse compressed channels being offered. Yesterday I saw an improvement that made keeping these PE's a given even if they hadn't panned out with the audio. But today with having 2 PE's in series, the improvement to these compromised channels is startling.  I am not embelishing this improvement in the least. Watching Ulique Whips on Speed channel right now, I'm watching the digital channel instead of the high definition just because I'm stunned by this drastic change.

It's pretty neat to actually see what drastic improvement using 2 PE's in series and corrulating this into what I'm hearing.  aa  I can say w/o reservation that for me, in my system, having 2 PE's, 1 before/ 1 after a conditioner that holds your components is a no-brainer + must-have installation and I'm damn glad I didn't wait til the weekend to do this. Ya listening Huck? 


Cheers,
Robin

 Robin: I hear ya! What does one before and one after the conditioner mean? Explain like you tellin an 8 year old! Thanks, Huck

[Phil]

Robin,

Being simple minded, I simply followed Alan's directions.  So, one PE shares the dedicated duplex outlet with my amp (a Butler), one shares the dedicated duplex outlet with the equi=tech and one is plugged into the equi=tech itself, in the same duplex that my source (universal player with volume control) is plugged into.  That's it. 

Once I was satisfied that this sounded great, I experimented a bit by removing all PEs and reinserting one at a time.  Two things became evident (for my system):  1) the greatest impact was on the digital source by placing the first PE in the same duplex as the equi=tech (which really surprised me), and 2) the additional PEs have less impact on the sound than the first PE but they still make enough of a difference to be beneficial. 

I can't think of where to place more PEs so I stopped at three (whew!).   You now have me thinking about my TV, which sits in another room.

Phil

[Phil]

Robin,

The equi=tech model I use (discontinued, I believe) was made specifically for source equipment.  I don't think I have ever tried running the Butler amp from the balanced power.   I did have my previous amp, a "digital" amp, plugged into the equi=tech and that sounded fine, but eventually plugged it straight into the wall and found some improvement.  Equi=tech does make models that can support amps as well as source equipment.  I'm happy (or lazy) enough not to try to mess with it all.

I'm enjoying reading about your experiments. 

Phil

[95bcwh]

Now..this gets interesting. The PE is so big, on most duplex, there's only one outlet it will fit without impeding the other one. So I don't think we have the option of plugging it in on either socket.

I had a clarification today from Jen Maher on what's a series connection verses a parallel connection and I thought I should clarify what i had misunderstood. On most duplex outlet, only 1 outlet is actually connected to the circuit wiring and the other outlet shares this connection. i guess the only way to know for sure is to pop the cover off and take a look,,,, after making sure you've shut the power off that circuit. Safety first!

OK, if you plug the PE in the socket that's connected, then plug your component/conditioner into the tope outlet, then you're in series.

If you plug the PE in the shared outlet and plug your component/conditioner into the connected outlet, then you're in parallel.

Jen advised against using silver paste on the pins of the PE (too late ), and she also advised against using power strips to try and increase the number of PE's on 1  shared outlet. I can't see how there's really any choice except to try it and see,,, I mean hear a difference. She did give me a choice that I will explore. That's using 1 PE in the shared dedicated outlet with my BPT power cord and using 3-5 PE's on 3-5 separate duplex's on the back of the BPT. In this scenario, I would put my video gear on a power strip for the 5th duplex. This sounds like a promising scenario where my Sunfire processor, Butler 3150 amp, Butler 3150 amp, and HTPC computer source would all share there own PE on the back of the BPT. And depanding on the power strip I use,I could possibly use a 5th PE on the last duplex for the power strip. Themorre I think about this idea, the better I'm liking it. Just sharing ideas here,,,, 

Stay tuned,
Robin

[95bcwh]

Oh really? I thought there was a in-phase, out-of-phase issue that I read somewhere?? Hmm.....

Why wouldn't you? You're either pointing the PE body down for the bottom outlet or up for the top, right?

I was confused because I was thinking there was a polarity issue when there is none, it's just a filter. The tuning issue with these things are simply series vs parallel on a circuit.

[HumanMedia]

Oh really? I thought there was a in-phase, out-of-phase issue that I read somewhere?? Hmm.....

Why wouldn't you? You're either pointing the PE body down for the bottom outlet or up for the top, right?

I was confused because I was thinking there was a polarity issue when there is none, it's just a filter. The tuning issue with these things are simply series vs parallel on a circuit.

As per Alan Maher's instruction, the PE must be plugged in preserving power plug polarity.  That is, must hang down if your socket ground is at the bottom.  If your sockets are installed upside down with ground at the top, the PE must be plugged in upside down, so the 'bottom' sits up.

Also something to consider for Australian and European users, where active and neutral are swapped - you must use an adapter that preserves polarity.

If its installed with reverse polarity it will shunt RFI onto your active line and make things worse, not better.

And for those who are space restricted at the outlet, you can attach the PE to a burn-in adapter at the end of a powercord without performance detriment.

[JenMaher]

Power Enhancer Installation:

Introduction:

The Power Enhancer is designed to offer passive power factor correction, energy storage, and RFI/EMI filtering...

The Power Enhancer can be used for passive power factor correction. Passive power factor correction (PFC) is a technique of counteracting the undesirable effects of electric loads that create a power factor that is less than 1.

The Power Enhancer is considered an energy storage device. The Power Enhancer can store small amounts of voltage to help fill in the gaps in voltage drops over the course of the day. The Power Enhancer can not replace a voltage regulator or a Universal Power Supply, but it can help with the minute by minute voltage fluctuations that occur 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

When the Power Enhancer is installed on the circuit, it is connected in parallel with the component / appliance power supply. The Power Enhancer will shunt away and conceal current fluctuations from the primary power source to provide a "clean" power supply for your audio / video components.

The Power Enhancer can be used as a RFI filter. Small Arcs and voltage spikes can be absorbed when the Power Enhancer is placed at the source.
 
The Power Enhancer tuned circuit can reduce stray electromagnetic fields on the circuit. Electromagnetic interference (EMI / RFI) is a disturbance caused in an electrical circuit by electromagnetic radiation emitted from an external source. The disturbance may interrupt, obstruct, or otherwise degrade or limit the effective performance of the circuit.
 
 
Installation:

The orientation of the filter on the circuit to the system plays a role in the filters tonal quality. Part of the Power Enhancer design is to fill in the harmonic gaps that are moving throughout the circuit. The gaps are caused by component power supply crosstalk. When two power supplies interact on the circuit they create peak and dip harmonic nodes. These nodes are what people perceive as RFI and EMI noise. The Power Enhancer reduces the peak and boosts the dip to provide a flat harmonic response for the entire circuit. We can control the amount of ringing heard by altering the placement of the Power Enhancer on the circuit.
 

Example:

1. If the Power Enhancer is placed prior to the system (in series filtering), the Power Enhancer will provide a brighter sound in the upper midrange and lower treble.
 
2. If the Power Enhancer is plugged into the same outlet as the component, the Power Enhancer will provide a more neutral frequency balance. The user will experience an enhanced soundstage, increased signal to noise ratio, increased dynamic range, and true to life musical reproduction.
 
3. If the Power Enhancer is placed after the system (parallel filtering) on the circuit, you might experience a warmer sound quality or maybe nothing at all. This is not considered a defect in the Power Enhancer design, but rather an interaction problem with the Power Enhancers placement on the circuit. A simple fix is to change the Power Enhancers location to either same outlet or series placement.

Series Placement: Circuit Breaker > Power Enhancer > Duplex Outlet / Component
Parallel Placement: Circuit Breaker > Duplex Outlet / Component > Power Enhancer

Duplex Outlet Series Wiring: In-wall wiring installed into bottom screw/receptacle.  Power Enhancer plugged into bottom receptacle.  A/V system plugged into top receptacle.

Duplex Outlet Parallel Wiring: In-wall wiring installed into top screw/receptacle.  Power Enhancer plugged into bottom receptacle.  A/V system plugged into top receptacle.


System filtering vs. filter orientation:

1. Series and same outlet placement provides power factor correction, energy storage, and RFI/EMI filtering. The orientation of the Power Enhancer (How it is plugged in) will determine its tonal quality on the circuit. The Power Enhancer is designed to act as a polarized parallel filter. In a normal install never plug the Power Enhancer in the top receptacle with the body pointing up toward the ceiling. The Power Enhancer body should always be pointed in the direction of the earth ground pin on the front of the duplex outlet. If the ground pin is on the bottom half of the receptacle, then the Power Enhancer body should hang to the floor. If the ground pin is on top half of the receptacle, then the body should point toward the ceiling. Available room always plays a role in the install process, but it you want the best performance out of the Power Enhancer it is suggested that you follow these simple rules.
 
2. Parallel placement provides mostly increased magnetic coupling.  Magnetic coupling occurs when a varying magnetic field exists between two parallel conductors typically less than a wavelength apart, inducing a voltage across the receiving conductor.  The amount of induced items on the circuit (isolation transformers, ferrite chokes, etc) will also play a role in the Power Enhancers effectiveness. Experimentation is required.


Listening for best placement:

1. Allow the Power Enhancer 15 to 20 minutes to charge on the circuit before listening for harmonic changes. Take note of the detailed descriptions up top to make it easier to dial in the circuit. It is best to plug the Power Enhancer into the brightest sounding duplex outlet available on the circuit. Each time the Power Enhancer is moved from location to location please allow 15 to 20 minutes for the filter / circuit to readjust to the new location.
 
2. After installation is complete, allow the Power Enhancer 7 to 10 days to properly set up on the circuit. During the first several days you will experience a roller coaster effect of harmonic swings if properly installed. At times you will experience bass bloat, no bass, exaggerated highs, no highs, and then finally everything snaps back together to reveal a neutral and dynamic sound quality. Usually around day 5 the system snaps back together and continues to refine over the next few days.
 
The Power Enhancer can also be used for circuit tuning on the same electrical phase as the audio / video system. The filtering effect of the Power Enhancer is very strong and can travel up to 250 feet from circuit to circuit on the same phase. Adding 1 to 3 Power Enhancer’s per circuit will provide additional benefits back at the audio / video system and reduce the harmonic ringing of the entire phase.


Note: The Power Enhancer is a parallel filter design. We do not use drain resistors in the design to allow the filter to stay fully charged at all times. When handling the Power Enhancer please is careful not to touch the ac blades to prevent a small shock from the stored voltage. We recommend wearing leather or suede gloves when handling the filter.  If you own a cheap power strip with a lighted on/off switch, you can safely drain the Power Enhancer by plugging it into the power strip. Unplug the power strip from the wall and allow the lighted on/off switch, in the on position, to absorb the stored voltage inside the Power Enhancer. When you notice the light of the switch go out then the Power Enhancer is safe to handle.

[95bcwh]

So if my duplex looks like this, and I am using one of the receptacle for my electronic:




I think the PE can only go on the bottom receptacle, whereas my component will go on the top receptacle. I was wondering if this is 'parallel" or "series" filtering?


Ok...I re-read Jen's post above...sounds like I have to take out the duplex and check if the wiring is on the top receptacle or the bottom.

[JenMaher]

Looking good!!!

[JenMaher]

Keith-
What Alan is trying to describe is the ringing balance of a circuit.  Think about it this way:

PE treated circuit:

common mode rejection via magnetic coupling > PE > Harmonic ringing > Component.

The PE leaks on the neutral wire to created increased magnetic coupling between the hot and neutral wiring.  The increased magnetic field creates a small natural choke that does not require an inductor.  Anything placed after the PE only experiences the ringing character that is injected onto the circuit by the PE.  The PE uses the ringing character to cross cancel peak harmonics and boost dip harmonics.  Combined with the increased magnetic field the PE will provide a perfectly flat harmonic signature.  Placement or location of the PE on the circuit will alter the ringing character.  If the component outlet is wired as I described up top, then the PE will provide the very same response as it would two outlets prior.  But, if the outlet is wired in parallel, then the PE will not present a bright sonic character.  If the outlet is wired in parallel vs the PE receptacle, the duplex will experience increased magnetic coupling instead of the ringing character.  The magnetic field will choke the ringing frequency.  I understand this is a complicated topic, and I'm really trying to answer you by reading my husbands notes, but we are creating confusion where it doesn't have to be.  Within a matter of minutes the PE will either make the sound bright or dark.  We prefer a bright sound for series placement.  It is just one of those things, if the filter is installed in series we will be able to predict the sound reproduction for every single system on the planet.  Parallel placement causes a problem because every component responds differently to increased magnetic fields.  Some systems are already too warm and the parallel PE will cause a roll off, other systems are way too bright and will welcome the added magnetic warmth.  Hard to predict the cleints musical taste and system requirements.  As we mention in the instructions, experiementation is key.

[JenMaher]

95bcwh-
Make sure the wiring is wired into the bottom receptacle/screw.

[HChi]

95bcwh-
Make sure the wiring is wired into the bottom receptacle/screw.

Hey Jen,
What if ones plan to plug a PE in an extension cord with star wiring configuration?  Also, what kind of sonic attribute changes could be expected?  What if the duplex outlets have both two dedicated lines coming in with wiring one line on the top and the other on the bottom?

Thanks,
Howard