Alan Maher's Power Enhancer

michaelv · « **Reply #780 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 02:16 am »

Quote from: alanmaher on 8 Jul 2008, 10:03 pm

I wish...but it just doesn't work that way. The best I can offer is the Pro Custom.

My vote for pro custom + Ref. One filter

They work well in my system

Jim N. · « **Reply #781 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 04:58 am »

Not a good start with my PV5 S/AC. Darn thing arced and tripped the breakers. Now the plugs are damaged.

alanmaher · « **Reply #782 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 08:47 am »

Jim

No...not good at all. Please accept my apologies and send it back, I will upgrade your unit to a Pro version free of charge. We had experienced a simple, none excusable, assembly problem performed by our summer hire. The problem has since been corrected and the assistant is no longer employed with us, but a couple filters did mail out before we were aware the situation existed. Again, please accept my apologies, anyone experiencing this problem will be upgraded free of charge. From what I can tell it only appears to be the July 2 shipment, and not all, only the S/AC appears to be effected, and only 25% of the shipment because I put together the other 75% and all mine checked out before boxed. The problem was brought to my attention 2 days ago, but I didn't know if it was a single fluke or his entire shipment. I wasn't able to get a straight answer out of him which is why he is no longer employed with AM designs.

"Now the plugs are damaged."

How are the plugs damaged?

Just a note so there is no wide spread panic....last week we shipped 42 S/AC units, the July 2 shipment only had 3 orders in question and 2 have already been addressed. I'm not 100% sure about the 3rd order in question, but the client has already been contacted and we are waiting to hear back. As you all know, we don't play games at AM designs and when we learn of a problem we fix it A.S.A.P. The clients opinion of our product line is our first priority.

alanmaher · « **Reply #783 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 06:29 pm »

UPDATE: All PE series orders are just about finished and will be in the mail no later than Friday. All Reference One orders will be shipped on Thursday. All Reference Power Cord orders have been shipped.

RPC and SR IC orders are still slated for the end of the month.

jmichael · « **Reply #784 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 07:57 pm »

While watching Standard Definition broadcast T.V. last night on my plasma, I noticed that I could actually sit and watch it. Normally, SD looks so washed out. The picture looked closer to HD after day 1 of the Reference One install.

Also, I didn't mention this in my last comment but when I first installed the Ref One filters, I noticed the bass had receded a bit. Now the bass is starting to come back with more slam. What's odd is that I'm starting to hear instruments I've never heard before. Plus, the way instruments are presented. On headphone listening, I kept turning my head because it's starting to sound like someone is next to me. Eerie? Yes, but it's a welcoming effect akin to hearing live instruments play in the room.

alanmaher · « **Reply #785 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 08:37 pm »

The Ref One is fantastic for improving video. I have a Surge Interrupter, 3 Pro Customs, Plitron NBT isolation transformer, and a Plasma power cord powering our LCD TV. One little Ref One plugged in on the other side of the room transforms the SD PAL sat video to almost HDTV quality. I love it in my system.

zmanbands · « **Reply #786 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 08:41 pm »

Ref power cord. This is my 30 day update on these beauties. Vs. day 20 they still somehow got better in just about every way. Amazing. I have punchy bass to burn. Still more detail and realism. All the frequecies are more intimate. My brother who hasn't heard any tweaking improvement in his mind, for 3 months, finally said there is a lot more bass. He thought I did something to the sub. A lot of CD's now actually need the sub volume turned down since they over emphacised the bass during recording the CD. Jen and Alan say the Reference Power Center [RPC] packs about 4X to 5X more improvement than the Ref pwr cords. The RPC is in the mail from an early purchase. Can't wait to get it and the Ref One. WOW.

alanmaher · « **Reply #787 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 08:53 pm »

The Reference power cord will continue to improve at least for the next month, but the continued refinement will be small in scale compared to what you just experienced.

vett93 · « **Reply #788 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 03:20 am »

Alan, I have 1 PE 5 S/AC and 3 PEs that I have not tried yet. How do I know that they are okay? My guess is that you had some shorted products. If I use a multimeter to measure them, how many ohms should I get?

Thanks.

BTW, it is a good idea not to skip the QA/QC process. I think your problem was more than just a summer hire issue.

alanmaher · « **Reply #789 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 09:44 am »

vett93

1. Open the S/AC.
2. Once opened you will see 2 filter banks.
3. The black wire should be soldered to the right bank on the outside.
4. The white wire should be soldered to the left bank on the outside.

Our summer hire soldered the white wire to the correct bank, but the wrong side of the cap. The fix is very easy, all you have to do is remove the white wire from the right side of the cap and solder it to the left side of the same cap.

It's now starting to look like my original estimate is not correct based off what I was informed. All S/AC units shipped last week should be checked just to play it safe. If you are uncomfortable swapping the wire just send the filter back and we will upgrade the unit you for the trouble.

The PE's will be fine...plug them in.

I'm not making any excuses for the problem, at the end of the day it's my fault for allowing the units to go out. This incident is the first royal screw up we have had since I started in business 10 years ago, so I assure you it's not our normal business practice. I came home after 8 weeks to a stack of orders. My normal assistant, who has worked with me for the past 6 years, is military and in the process of PCSing out of Europe. Our margins don't allow for me to take on a full-time staff at this point, so I try to hire 1 or 2 qualified folks to handle the load when I'm not available or to help pick up the slack when I'm bogged down, but I don't have a lot of local talent to select. Steve worked out great when we both lived in the same community, after our move Jen had a 90 minute commute to and from a couple times a week to pick up and drop off orders. Her NATO assignment makes it impossible to travel for labor, she is expected to deploy every 90 days for the next 3 years. The deployment schedule will put a lot of strain on my career, so more than likely I will retire in the next year so I can stay home with the kids. Meaning I will split AM designs between the product line and consultant work again so I can make salary. In the meantime I still have to train someone or close down shop in the fall because I'm booked from the end of September until early December. Jen doesn't officially go into NATO until November so I'm probably good until the new year....Sorry I'm getting side tracked...I'm just thinking out loud. I need to sit down next month and figure out what I'm going to do, because I don't want a repeat problem.

Brad is one of the kids that work for my wife, the idea was to bring him up slowly over the next 6 to 8 weeks so he learned the different designs. On the S/AC units I performed most of the work, I prepped the filter, soldered the bus and bridge wiring, cut the cases, etc. Brad was responsible to solder in the power cord, seal the case, and box it. I was mostly concerned with his solder skills. The first 3 or 4 he did I overlooked and everything was good. Each unit tested and I was happy with the result that is where I made my mistake, I allowed him from that point to work on his own. I went back to work and didn't think anything of it, I built and mailed off a total of 67 filters between Tuesday and Thursday of last week. He assisted for about 5 hours and spent the rest of his time at the post office so we could get everything out of Europe before the holiday.

In the meantime with this situation, if everyone will allow me to work through the problem I will make it up to each and every one of you. You guys all know I bend over backwards for my clientele' and this is no exception, the folks sending the unit back will be upgraded to a Pro free of charge, and the folks opting to perform the DIY wire swap will have a PE sent out to compensate for your time. Both options will have the same level of filtering. Please start sending emails with some digital pictures attached so I can overlook the situation before any mod is performed. Our business model is based on repeat business and a grassroots word of mouth campaign, it is in my best interest to fix the problem and not allow it to escalate, I will try to do everything in my power to rectify the situation. Every manufacture experiences glitches and recalls every so often and we are no exception, the important thing is it was brought to our attention and we are on top of it. I appreciate your understanding and patience.

Sincerely,
Alan Maher

Paul_Bui · « **Reply #790 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 03:03 pm »

Hi Alan,

Over 30 AC outlets (duplexes and a simplex) in my home are equipped with your PE's in various versions or Ref One's or 193M's also introduced by you. In addition, all outlets have been upgraded to better Hubbell industrial grade receptacles except for several audiophile FIM (already in place pre-PE) duplexes and an Oyaide Ultimo SWO-GX duplex for the audio circuit. A dozen purpleheart wall plates with brass screws were used to cover the most critical A/V outlets.

All of those tweaks, either directly purchased from you or recommended by you and Jen, have pushed the envelope of audio/video performance in my home. All product items that you and Jen sent me, new or demo, have been in excellent shape and performed as you described.

That said, I still regret that I didn't order the PE V S/AC last July 4th so I would take advantage of your free upgrade offer. Please don't take this as a serious backlash. Accidents are bound to take place at any time no matter how hard you try to prevent them, and this is one of them. Your designs and products are fantastic, and so are your service and customer support.

If this is the time you need our loyal support, so be it. I am backing your products and customer support 100%.

zmanbands · « **Reply #791 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 03:13 pm »

I too am backing you 100%. This will all work out.

michaelv · « **Reply #792 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 06:26 pm »

My vote all the way to Alan's product.

Question to Alan: Is Ref. One more effective at IEC componnent than other places ? I used to have PE and Ref.One at the plasmas tv. The picture was good, but now , i switch Ref> One to somewhere else, and install 193L instead. THe picture now is much better than PE and Ref. One combined.

thanks

MAC - SteveH · « **Reply #793 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 08:41 pm »

Hey Alan,

I've had a PE II for sometime now. But - all this forum chatter got me thinking, so I purchased the S/AC.
WOW - WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! Even after about 10 minutes, more bottom, smooth & open.

Its been in the system for not quite a week and I can only wonder 'what else next'? Gimme more!

Obviously in my business, detail, extension etc. is everything. The Power Enhancers are doing the trick here and I gotta tell you, there's no foolin' around with Magnapans, if it 'stinks', it stinks, if it works, its great!

Great work, keep up the line of fine products!
Steve

jmichael · « **Reply #794 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 09:34 pm »

I went home last night and listened to music. For the first three hours, I was sitting there enjoying it as usual when all of a sudden something unusual happened. Folks, I can tell you that I think the Reference One filter reached it's near capacity burn-in stage within my home theater/music system. I figured that it was around 52 hours after first install. After listening for about two more hours, I decided to removed the two Quantum Symphony units that I had been using (one on each end of the home). Although the QS units were okay with the PE's, they were not good with the Reference One filters, at least in my system. What I'm hearing now withought the QS units is a snapped in focus without any harsh highs. Almost like I removed more noise that was on the line that shouldn't have been there. What I hear with the Reference One filter's installed, before and after the QS units is more of a relaxed, open & taller soundstage. I can really hear the difference between mastered recordings now, more so than just with the PE units. The lower quality recordings are better and the good ones are phenomenol. It is the first time since the pre-digital days that I actually wanted to just sit there and listen to the music for hours on end remembering back to the days of sweet vinyl recordings when we had a lot less noise on our a/c lines. As I'm writing this, I want to listen right now. I ordered three more Reference One filters to scatter around the home. I can't wait to see what the positive outcome will be!

One more thing: I never did place the QS units back into the system after the first time I took them out to a/b it because it was that obvious.

alanmaher · « **Reply #795 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 10:40 pm »

michaelv

The Ref One / Hammond choke is a dynamite combination. The answer to your question depends on your individual situation. My circuit uses a combination of the Ref One, Pro Custom, and Hammond 193L choke....this combination works great for me, the effect at the IEC will depend on the power cord and the interaction of the component power supply. The three filter concepts will interact differently with the power cord and power supply, so it's difficult to give a specific answer without having the opportunity to play with your specific set up.

alanmaher · « **Reply #796 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 10:48 pm »

Jeff

Your QS findings mirror our own with 220v, 60/60v, and 120v isolated. I first noticed the negative side effect after the Plasma cord was added to the system. Another one of my clients confirmed the QS negative effect after he installed a couple Plasma's, 3 SR v2 cables, and a Pro Custom in his system.

jmichael · « **Reply #797 on:** 10 Jul 2008, 11:47 pm »

Quote from: alanmaher on 10 Jul 2008, 10:48 pm

Jeff

Your QS findings mirror our own with 220v, 60/60v, and 120v isolated. I first noticed the negative side effect after the Plasma cord was added to the system. Another one of my clients confirmed the QS negative effect after he installed a couple Plasma's, 3 SR v2 cables, and a Pro Custom in his system.

Exactly!

There are so many positive things going on now (sound wise) after adding the Reference One filters and removing the QS units that it's hard for me to find the words to describe.

My Quantum Symphony units are already up for sale.

Jim N. · « **Reply #798 on:** 11 Jul 2008, 12:31 am »

Quote from: alanmaher on 9 Jul 2008, 08:47 am

Jim

No...not good at all. Please accept my apologies and send it back, I will upgrade your unit to a Pro version free of charge. We had experienced a simple, none excusable, assembly problem performed by our summer hire. The problem has since been corrected and the assistant is no longer employed with us, but a couple filters did mail out before we were aware the situation existed. Again, please accept my apologies, anyone experiencing this problem will be upgraded free of charge. From what I can tell it only appears to be the July 2 shipment, and not all, only the S/AC appears to be effected, and only 25% of the shipment because I put together the other 75% and all mine checked out before boxed. The problem was brought to my attention 2 days ago, but I didn't know if it was a single fluke or his entire shipment. I wasn't able to get a straight answer out of him which is why he is no longer employed with AM designs.

"Now the plugs are damaged."

How are the plugs damaged?

Just a note so there is no wide spread panic....last week we shipped 42 S/AC units, the July 2 shipment only had 3 orders in question and 2 have already been addressed. I'm not 100% sure about the 3rd order in question, but the client has already been contacted and we are waiting to hear back. As you all know, we don't play games at AM designs and when we learn of a problem we fix it A.S.A.P. The clients opinion of our product line is our first priority.

Sorry about not getting back sooner but have been busy.

My outlet somehow put the grip on death on the connector and it took a lot of effort to pull it out, which badly damaged the 3 prongs. That was after it arced.

I'll e-mail you later.

Jim

vett93 · « **Reply #799 on:** 11 Jul 2008, 04:53 am »

Thank you very much, Jim N. You have saved a lot of trouble for me. I also got a shorted PE V S/AC. I opened it up as Alan suggested and found mine also has a short circuit.

Alan, I do not want to be mean to you. All I am suggesting is that you may want to test all your products before you ship them out. You may want to do a 5-min burn-in of your products or at least do a test for shorts.

Please take it as from one engineer to another. I want your business long lasting and so more people can benefit from your fine creations.

Regarding the two options for repairs, can you please comment if my system will benefit from Pro Custom? I have a Shunyata Guardian 6 power line conditioner that I plug all my audio gears on. Then I use LessLoss power cord to connect the Shunyata to wall AC outlet. This is a dedicated 20A circuit. I plan to plug in PE V on the same duplex. (The LessLoss power cord is a PC from Lithuania that uses skin effect to filter out high freq. noises.)

Will your Pro Custom work with Shunyata PLC? Or I'd be better off using PE V S/AC and then plug in a PE to one of the outlets on Shunyata? I plan to keep the Shunyata PLC.

One more question please. On the 3 PEs I received, they look different from the one on your website. The PE on your website has 3 legs. My 3 PEs only have two legs each, without the ground leg. Did I get an older design or the picture on your website is outdated?