Voltage Regulators & Power Conditioners??

[SLOgriff]

Any suggestions on the above?? In the mornings my amps sound great....sometimes in the afternoons and evenings the tones can vary. I'm thinking the voltage is varying which is effecting the amp's performance. Any recommendations?

I found the Furman P-1800 AR Voltage Regulator / Power Conditioner but it's $899. Are these units worth the $$$?

 

[IndyWS6]

I'm not an expert but I've worked with electricity in data centers where power feeds are critical. I've also used/installed hundreds of UPS's; all the way up to 3-phase 40kVA units. Having a decent power conditioner and surge protector for your equipment is never a bad idea. Will it protect in every situation? No. But it will help keep your gear safe in most circumstances. Do you need to spend massive amounts of money? Probably not. You can get decent protection for a reasonable price from a number of different brands. Just keep in mind that many use sacrificial components and if they take a hit, their ability to protect can be diminished significantly.

Do you need a voltage regulator? It depends... Unless you live in an area that has an incredibly poor infrastructure, or in a severely under-fed house or apartment complex, my personal opinion is that you don't. You aren't the first to assume that your incoming line voltage is varying, or that it is affecting the tone of your gear. For most locations, I just find that hard to believe. I have three quality UPS's in my house. All of them have digital displays that show the incoming voltage and I have never seen anything more than a +2V / -2V shift from the normal incoming voltage. And that's over the course of hours or days, not instantaneous. Even if it was at one extreme and then went to the other, that's only a 4V shift. Well within the limits of acceptability for electronic equipment. Will a tube amp react differently at those "extremes"? Sure. Slightly. Is it enough to be perceptible? I doubt it. It would be interesting to connect a tube amp to an adjustable power feed, send a steady signal to it, track that signal on an oscilloscope and then vary the voltage. You could then see how much of a voltage change it takes for the output to be affected enough that normal human hearing would perceive the difference. My guess is that it's more than you think.

I also wonder if typical daily ear fatigue might be a bigger factor than anything else. Assuming that you sleep in a reasonably quiet setting, your ears are going to be more sensitive in the morning and, presumably, you would be able to hear nuances that you might not after a long day. It would almost be strange if it didn't sound slightly different.

Who knows? I could be full of shit.

 

[guitarobert]

Might depend on where you live and play. My voltage swings pretty widely throughout the day from as low as 114V to the mid 120s. It also drops a bit when several large appliances are on. For tube amps this sounds similar to changing your bias setting throughout the day. So sometimes it sounds just right, other times it's too cold/brittle sounding, other times too warm/mushy sounding.

I got a P-1800-AR. It's been worth every penny, although I got it on sale at a time the store offered 15% off. But it's made a noticeable difference and I'd recommend getting one. You could probably get good results with a used older model regulator. But I can vouch for the P1800.

 

[phil b]

If you are gigging or plan to, a voltage regulator is pretty important. If its just bedroom playing then you should be ok without it.
I use the Furman PL 8+ for my rig at home and have never had any problems.

 

[f550maranello2]

Any suggestions on the above?? In the mornings my amps sound great....sometimes in the afternoons and evenings the tones can vary. I'm thinking the voltage is varying which is effecting the amp's performance. Any recommendations?

I found the Furman P-1800 AR Voltage Regulator / Power Conditioner but it's $899. Are these units worth the $$$?

Do you have a volt meter? If not get one even a cheap ass one from harbor freight that you can usually get for for free with a purchase.. check the voltage first in the am then later on at night.. see what happens.. Dont spend money where you dont need to..

 

[nevusofota]

Find an old Furman AR-15 or AR-20. They're cheaper and are regulators.

 

[ReloadZZ]

I have the Furman P-1800 PF R (POWER CONDITIONER) and love it, the sound is more stable... make sure to contact Furman before buying the Voltage Regulator and explain your situation.. It take the AC voltage range and transforms it to a constant output of 120V, ±5V... Let say one day you have 118V and the other day 123V I am not sure what will be the final Voltage result with that P-1800 AR because of that ±5V. I don't think you will have a result of 120V all the time...

 

[Bishop5150]

I've been using the Furman P-1800 PF for about 6 years now. Great little non rack unit.
http://www.furmansound.com/product.php? ... d=P-1800PF

 

[Scallywag666]

+1 Furman 1800

 

[Hardvalve]

900.00, yikes.

 

[sg guy]

-VARIAC-

-$200 for a used bench model with a built in meter-

-close the thread-

 

[Chester Nimitz]

I got this Furman Power Factor Pro [now the 1800] for $150 off CL.

It goes to another rack Furman that i plug 3 amps into.

It does an excellent job.

You really don't need to spend tons of money for a voltage "regulator" unless you're running off generator power.

 

[skoora]

I would only get one if I was gigging. Played a few bars in my day where the amp would be noticeably worse and even had a mod not work because of the power sag internally in the amp.

 

[midnightlaundry]

A lot of it is your ears I think. If the wall volts stay the same, then it's ear fatigue as mentioned.

I have 2 of these; one for my TV stuff, and the other for my studio stuff. It's good piece of mind. I've had brown outs before, and these units won't turn on the power under 90 volts or something because you'll fry your gear/appliances, ect.. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PRO3500/

I'm typing on the TV right now, and my volts are flickering between 123-124, and it's pulling 2.6 amps.


I can't believe they don't make them anymore. I'd get a 2500 for my padded rack. I actually used a 3500 when I had my 12 space shock rack, but it was stupid heavy, and I ain't no hi paid rockstar.. So it got re purposed to the home studio..

 

[Fuego]

What about this one? Furman m-8x ar

 

[nevusofota]

Here's an AR-20. Can't beat the prices on these.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152082969772

 

[Oblivion DC]

I bought a new Furman AR-15 way back when and it has lasted and served me well. I would be leary of buying used because if they've regulated a lightning spike or two they may not be functioning properly and could leave you with a rack full of blown out gear when you least expect it.

 

[nevusofota]

I bought a new Furman AR-15 way back when and it has lasted and served me well. I would be leary of buying used because if they've regulated a lightning spike or two they may not be functioning properly and could leave you with a rack full of blown out gear when you least expect it.

I have an AR-15, have used it for years also. These things are so cheap now used that you could very easily and quickly have it checked out by a technician. I've even seen some NOS examples come up for sale often.

 

[XSSIVE]

I've been using a Tripp Lite LC1200 (they make larger ones if needed) for a few years with my rack setup for the same reason, big voltage swings in my house that I'd notice on the display of my Furman power conditioner and in the sound of the amp. I have it plugged into the wall then the Furman plugged into it feeding my rack and amps. It's been working great and you can really hear a difference when it kicks in and brings the low voltage back up to 120+.

https://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-LC1200 ... W6ZX5YV50B

 

[PBGas]

I have been gigging regularly on weekends and I have one of the ART power conditioner units with the dual voltage display and use on the front of it. It has made things at least consistent when playing some of the places that I frequent. The time I didn't use it was coincidentally the time I lost one of the my winged C tubes. Maybe that was the issue, maybe not. Either way, I'd rather have it there as somewhat of a safeguard. No issues since I have been using it.