ilovefuzz.com

I checked and didn't see a thread for this already, so if i missed it and it exists somewhere i apologise.

I am looking to purchase a power conditioner at some point in the future. I know that this is not a really 'fun' subject for most people on this forum, and that a lot of people don't really care about recordings things. But I know that there are some people that do so i thought maybe they could offer their thoughts and experience on this subject.

What power conditioners have people used and had experience with? And what have been your overall impressions and results? I am not looking at buying anything extremely expensive, something like the Furman stuff in the 199 dollar and below range (Furman PL-8C - 15A ?), or something cheaper that i can find in Thailand like a SAMSON PowerBrite PB10 ? I don't have a large budget, and would most likely be looking for the lowest cost for covering the lowest requirements to start safely building up a recording setup that i can not only use now, but can also grow into. I have always used minimal gear in the past, but for the near future, i would really like to start doing a more solid setup and maybe building a rack to support this setup for any recording i do in the future. I would love to hear about people that record too and what things i should maybe think about for the future when making these investments and also what things you have learned along the way too as you have built up your studios.

thanks in advance

A lot of the cheaper ones are really surge protectors in a nice rack.

After chasing a lot of noise in power around here, I've found that using linear or switching supplies can really help lower noise floor. Making sure everything is properly grounded is another good way to find suitable power circuits for your gear. Running the computer and other gear on completely separate panel circuits (also off of circuits powering appliances, other stuff) really does help to fight noise. I've also found that turning on and off lights on dirty/bad ground/fluctuating house circuits can change the noise floor too.

I think knowing your environment is worth the effort and can save some money on gear that doesn't always work.

For a bigger, more effective, but very expensive solution to isolation and power conditioning is the ac-dc-ac isolated transformers....but they are freaking way out of what I would want to spend.

Chankgeez had a good noise floor troubleshooting thread last year I think.

Cheap shit is just surge protection. More pricey is some voltage regulation thrown in to smooth out your line power, okay for limiting high voltage but not very good at it. Best, around $1000 last I looked, are units that generate their own clean, regulated, steady output--if it promises 120vac, you get it.

I have a middling Furman unit with some regulation. It helped some things but things got better all over when we replaced the fuse box with a modern breaker service panel that wasn't so kludged as the old set up.

So how's the power at the wall? That will tell you most about what you really need.

In Thailand the power is all over the place. And the grid itself is a mess. I am currently renting, but in the near future we are hoping to invest in our own place if we can manage it. When we do that, we will make our home to code and make sure that everything is how it should be. Like you already stated, that is the foundation for noise in general, and if you don't take care of step one, then anything after is really at risk for being compromised. For now we did the basics like you said, checking the breaker system and fuses and such. We also redid a bit of the wiring. In Thailand, almost no buildings have grounds. And most people do not have real training or knowledge of electricity, they just cobble it together and do whatever they want usually. Our entire home would have to be rewired, so for now, i installed a ground to my studio's outlets to at least have that one be covered and somewhat more in control. Installing the ground has been something i have had to do in every place i have lived in. Without it the noise floor is equal to that of whatever you are trying to record. With the ground installed, and some of the wiring redone as well and repaired, it is way more manageable. Also things like huge storms are really common here during the rainy season.

I have some cheaper surge protecters already, but again the quality and reliability of things made over here is a huge gamble. A lot of things that cannot be sold outside of China due to failed quality control inspections and such is simply brought over the border and sold in the majority of local places here. A simple phone charger we bought not too long ago burst into flames near in the bedroom the other day. When opened up, it was obvious that the charger was to blame and that it had been wired together extremely poorly. This is a common occurrence here and people don't really care a lot as long as the product is cheap and looks like something that is already famous or well known (branding). Usually if i can find and buy real products, then i am okay with quality for music stuff because not many people know or care about copying and reproducing it here yet.

Thank you for everyone so far for your input as well lordgalvar and Gone Fission