Anyone into clean power?

Yo!

I've been thinking about clean power lately. Everything connected to the power system in my apartment and the building complex may interfere with the power going into my MPC, SP1200, monitors, turntables, mixers and so on.

You may have heard a "pop" in your system if you have turned on or off a lamp or other things in your room. I don't want things like that to affect my sound. I don't need extra humming or noises, my vinyl samples and SP1200 is noisy enough. Plus it's better for the electrical components inside the gear (which are getting older and older...)

So I'm thinking about getting a power cleaner. This one is one of the "cheaper" options that includes as many as 12 outlets, good monitoring on how much power my system is using, and it also has a guarantee against damage on your gear by lightning and other things for $250,000.

http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=2142

They also has two smaller models with fewer outputs.

SO: Anyone here who uses things like this that has experience with it?

Wow nice one, ill keep following this one, i say i got a little problem with "electrical noise"

you mean $25o.oo right?
Anyone that pays a quarter mil for a power cleaner overpaid a thousand fold

Try before you buy, or hang on to the receipt. I'm suspect of these things for numerous reasons. First, it's Monster: a sleazy, sticky company that relies on frivolous lawsuits to protect its brand. Second, damn near all low voltage audio gear has some sort of regulation built-in. Is it perfect? no. But it is good enough to meet the operating conditions for the parts inside and meet stated noise specs. Third, most AC problems can be solved with more mundane tools. Get one of those outlet testers and make sure your wall outlets are properly wired. If possible, make sure your equipment is on a separate breaker from the rest of your house.

Surge protection is a good idea, especially for low current devices (i.e. everything except for power amps.) A lot of self-powered monitors have class-D digital amps, and should probably be on their own surge protector power strip. Furman, Tripplite, APC all offer less expensive protection with warranties similar to Monster.

KkonEl wrote:you mean $25o.oo right?
Anyone that pays a quarter mil for a power cleaner overpaid a thousand fold

The unit does not cost 250,000 but they say they will replace gear worth up to 250,000 if it gets damaged by lightning or similar.

The unit costs 200$ I think.



neilium: good to get some feedback on the topic.

There are a lot of other large and small companies that make similar products.

neilium wrote:If possible, make sure your equipment is on a separate breaker from the rest of your house.

I have just moved into a new apartment. I have not even got my set-up up yet.

The electricity is not very up-to-date: The outlets are not grounded in any rooms except for the kitchen and bathroom.
So I need to get some grounded outlets in my music-room anyways.

I'll check up with the electrician if he can give that single room a very own separate power-outlet from the main power or what you call it. Then it might be good enough already?

Why not just buy a small UPS for your keys? I'm not sure how cheap they are in your location but here in the US you can get a nice UPS for under $100. I keep my keys on one and that way, I get decent steady power and I never lose my work even when the power flicks (which it does regularly in Florida). I have my computer and internet phone on a second one as well. Two of the best investments I ever made.

scsiforsamplers.com wrote:Why not just buy a small UPS for your keys? I'm not sure how cheap they are in your location but here in the US you can get a nice UPS for under $100. I keep my keys on one and that way, I get decent steady power and I never lose my work even when the power flicks (which it does regularly in Florida). I have my computer and internet phone on a second one as well. Two of the best investments I ever made.

Yeah, without clicking on any links I was a bit confused about how a 'power cleaner' differs from an ordinary UPS.

Constant power-flow is not the problem to me (I can't remember I have had that problem), but interference from all other electric devices such as lamps, heaters, refrigerators, all the equipment, and things like that that shares the same power in your house or apartment.

I just got aware of things like this myself, so I don't know much about it yet.

Yo Deck, we're rocking the Furman AR-1215 over here. We had some noise problems in our studio house and this really helped. Start with Neilium's advice. A UPS and a conditioner are very different. The UPS has definitely saved a few beats in Washington, especially back in the day on the digital recorders. Clean power is important, but find out what you have before you waste money on something you don't really need.

thes one speaks on this in that article about building there setup. i think he said he took apart a similar monster product and found there wasn't much to it and talks about other solutions. google it

I would never normally big up a Monster product, but I have that exact one you linked (The Pro2000) and it is effective and I plug everything in my (apartment) studio into it.

I have always lived in the Northeast US with it's old ass dirty power- so when I do a setup, everything comes out of this and I worry none.

I am also a huge skeptic- One of my boys who lived in a ratty ass apartment many years ago- you would hear pops & clicks when the first floor peeps would turn on a toaster or something. He put the Monster in place, and we were able to turn up the gain stages way more than before using it- after seeing the clear benefit I ran out and got one, and it's been a beneficial afterthought ever since.

At least if you have this thing in place and you hear a noise, you can skip the power trouble shooting step and immediately go to checking your unbalanced runs, video monitor proximity, etc...

Higher Hat, good to know.

For busting hum, I've had awesome luck with one of these:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ebtech-2Channel-Hum-Eliminator?sku=150450

I've taken one of these to every gig I've played in the last 4 years. With some of the stupid stuff I play (modular synth, farfisa organ) this thing has saved me a lot of pain.

This is a good thread. Good lookin' out Deck.
But yo - Even with your compressor hookd up to limit feedback you are still getting that irritating buzz huh ?
Power cleaners are the best. I have one hooked up to my computer - It runs smoothly and there is very little feedback from start up to power down. I know exactly what you are talking about.
The problem occurs when there is little ground in your electricity sockets. Usually more common in older buildings. Instead of the property management fixing the problem. They moe than likely just spliced connections and rerouted electrical power to where needed.
It's cheap for property owners - But is a pain for those in our boat. As well video recordings.
You can find the things hoplessly anywhere. Fry's - Best Buy - Circut City - and best place - Home Depot.
They are cheaper than 200.00 bucks though, Unless you want the economy power strip. Which is equiped with 12 outlets three pronged fittings.
I've seen them around more than I think. My pops turned me onto those things when I was looking into buying a computer.
You can as well order them via - Http:// http://www.Knurr.com - Just type in Power Strip Cleaner in the search bracket - If that isn't what you are looking for then please help me out of were to find another one.

scsiforsamplers.com wrote:Why not just buy a small UPS for your keys? I'm not sure how cheap they are in your location but here in the US you can get a nice UPS for under $100. I keep my keys on one and that way, I get decent steady power and I never lose my work even when the power flicks (which it does regularly in Florida). I have my computer and internet phone on a second one as well. Two of the best investments I ever made.

I've been meaning to buy a UPS for years. Never got around to it yet.
A few weeks ago, we had some bad-ass lightning storms for a whole week, and I lost power constantly. So I couldn't get any work done at all. Now I'm seriously considering a UPS after the whole ordeal.
My Furman PL-Plus and RP-8 provide good protection from surges, but they weren't made for power outages.
It's about time I save my work and my sanity.