[Ears]

I over the years have never tried anything more expensive than 299 power strips, dedicated 20 amp lines and pc's up to 500.00 for power related issues.

Well guess what, I spent even less than that on a Powervar 1200-11 power conditioner bought from  a private seller at A-gon and I can not believe the difference this 43 lb box whith 6 hospital grade outlets makes in my systym.
The seller evidently has more, but whith a 12amp rating, most amps could be plugged into this thing whithout problem so I am sticking whith one for now.

My home is only 7 years old but is at the end of the power grid that it is in and whith my gear plugged into the Powervar, my system sounds better than late night power used to... all the time.

A black background just lets lots more bass, imaging, inner detail and cleaner sounding highs through whith no sign of coloration.
The change is obvious and greater than aftermarket pc's,dedicated lines and powerstrips combined.

I hope that someone whith experience whith the more expensive Audiophool approved conditioners compares one of these Powervar 1200-11 units out as it would be very interesting to see how they compare whith the big name versions.

The units are slightly used but 8-9/10 shape and cost 224.95 + shipping.

You have to put your ear real close to hear if it is even powered up as there is no transformer buzz.

Anyone not wanting to spend big money to clean up there power, I highly reccomend trying one, and if anyone whith a big name model compares one, I would love to hear your thoughts.

[doug s.]

i agree that these types of conditioners are excellent, but ya should be able to find them on ebay for considerably less $$$...     and powervars isn't the only mfr awailable - do a search on "isolation transformers"

doug s.

[audiojerry]

Ears, you are right about the Powervar - join the club, but like doug said,
you may have been taken a bit. The exact same and similar units have been selling on ebay for less than $15, but shipping can be over $50.

[Ears]

Ears, you are right about the Powervar - join the club, but like doug said,
you may have been taken a bit. The exact same and similar units have been selling on ebay for less than $15, but shipping can be over $50.

Evidently the word is getting out because I have only seen this unit on ebay once and I bid up to 120.00 and never won... don't no how much it ended up selling for but whith shipping it could not have been much cheaper and maybe more than I paid.

This is a 12 amp model that can be used for amps unlike smaller versions.

At any rate, I definitly do not feel taken but more like someone who saved a lot of cash to achieve clean stable power.


BTW this model sells for 12-1600.00 new.

[doug s.]

ya, word *is* getting out about these things. but, for that kinda money, ya can nab a xentac (sp?) or similar, which will be rated at 20-30 amps...  these things *are* monsters, weighing ~100 lbs..

doug s.

[vpolineni]

I bought the exact same unit over the summer for 65 dollars including shipping off of ebay and I have had the exact same results ears had.  It's a great value but I'm not sure those are hospital-grade outlets.  I will be replacing them with three porter-ports (you can do a search here for more information on those).  they're basically 20 amp, non-plated cryo'ed outlets.  I also plan to bypass the power switch and possibly replace some of the wiring.  I'll let you know how it goes ears.

[jonwb]

I agree that these types of power conditioners look like an excellent value for those of us not willing/able to drop $500+ on fancier power conditioners.  

A while back I was looking on EBay regularly for these things and saved the URL for a search for Powervar and OneAC units.  My biggest issue is where to put the things so my wife won't murder me, they aren't very friendly to the eye.  Anyway, this link makes it a bit easier to find what we're talking about here:

http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=%28powervar%2C+power+var%29&ht=1&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&srchdesc=y&BasicSearch=

Hope it helps...

jon

[Ears]

I bought the exact same unit over the summer for 65 dollars including shipping off of ebay and I have had the exact same results ears had.  It's a great value but I'm not sure those are hospital-grade outlets.  I will be replacing them with three porter-ports (you can do a search here for more information on those).  they're basically 20 amp, non-plated cryo'ed outlets.  I also plan to bypass the power switch and possibly replace some of the wiring.  I'll let you know how it goes ears.

Please do


I would love to hear how these compare to the  big names as I don't see...or rather hear how it could get any better than this.

The seller on A-gon says there as good or better than the high dollar units but I would still love to hear from private owners of the big name models.

[warnerwh]

There's no doubt these are as good or better than the spendy audiophile oriented ones are. They are designed to do the job for real and are much less money. You probably paid a little high compared to Ebay but compared to what you'd get from Monster you just saved a grand. Not only that the hit taken if you sell is much less.  Another benefit as they really do protect your gear from surges.

[Carlman]

Here's a listing of new Powervar's on Allied...
http://www.alliedelectronics.com/power_powervar.htm

[wongstein]

Do you fellas use the Powervar and similar products on your power amps as well as low-current components?  Many claim, and I have witnessed (inside my limited experience) that some filters and conditioners restrict sonic dynamics when used with power amps.  Does anyone know if these kinds of transformers have a low output-impedance (if that makes sense)?  Is it just a 1/1 voltage transformer?

Thanks,
Anthony

[Ears]

Do you fellas use the Powervar and similar products on your power amps as well as low-current components?  Many claim, and I have witnessed (inside my limited experience) that some filters and conditioners restrict sonic dynamics when used with power amps.  Does anyone know if these kinds of transformers have a low output-impedance (if that makes sense)?  Is it just a 1/1 voltage transformer?

Thanks,
Anthony

I would make sure that the transformer in a power conditioner has a minimum 25%-50% bigger va rating than the amp for headroom or just plug the amp in to the wall direct..

The Powervar does have a low impedance transformer, PI-filter for noise filtration and a surge diverter.

I plan on using this Powervar with a  modded PS audio hca-2 digital amp in the near future and I very much doubt the dynamics will be restricted.
Digital and/or hybrid digital amps respond well to power conditioning.

My other ss amp has a Pilitron 1700 va transformer in it so I won't be trying that one whith this particular conditioner.

[Ears]

I bought the exact same unit over the summer for 65 dollars including shipping off of ebay and I have had the exact same results ears had.  It's a great value but I'm not sure those are hospital-grade outlets.  I will be replacing them with three porter-ports (you can do a search here for more information on those).  they're basically 20 amp, non-plated cryo'ed outlets.  I also plan to bypass the power switch and possibly replace some of the wiring.  I'll let you know how it goes ears.

I changed the outlets in the Powervar and at the wall to cryoed Porter Ports that are highly reviewed by those who have tried up to 8 different outlets on Audiogon.... better them than me

There is some initial improvement but according to ALL of the owners of Porter Ports, they take at least a month to break in and can actually make things sound worse at first.

I would say that the stock outlets were not hospital grade or at least there is nothing indicating that they were.

Dampening of the case and transformer and upgrading the internal wiring is what I plan on doing next but I wanted these outlets to start there break in process and get it over whith so  I installed them the same day I recieved them.