Power Conditioners Furman IT-Reference 20i Power Conditioner
| Furman IT-Reference 20i Power Conditioner |
| Written by Rick Schmidt | |||||
| Thursday, 09 April 2009 00:00 | |||||
Page 3 of 3
Conclusions The Furman IT-Reference 20i does three things to clean up AC: The Power Factor Technology I mentioned above, filtering of high frequency noise and the creation of balanced AC. This is the only product in the Furman line that does the latter. I don’t know which of these items made such a difference in my systems. The kind of differences I heard make me think it is the Power Factor correction but that is the hardest one for me to understand. Doesn’t the AC cord still represent an impedance bottleneck even when the Furman is in place? On the other hand, the differences I heard could also be explained by the other techniques employed in this box. Take the filtering for instance, my house happens to still have one, ancient, cloth insulated, AC line that happens to be the one my computer plugs into. The stereo system doesn’t use this line but of course the ground is common. Maybe this line is polluting the AC in my house worse than in most and the Furman is making the improvements I heard by cleaning it up. Maybe it takes all three techniques. There’s a certain logic to that. At this point I don’t care, I just want it. I’ll buy this guy and when I can swing it I’ll look to get another for my home theater system. I’m sure not going to move one unit back and forth. I thought about having one unit to feed both systems. It would take some serious wiring work to make it happen but Furman’s Garth Powell discouraged me from this idea. There is the issue of long power cords but more important is the idea that more isolation between components is the goal, not less. I think the main thing I should point out is that with the Furman Reference IT-Reference 20i in my stereo system, I wanted to listen to more music. Both CD’s and vinyl. With Vinyl, I couldn’t get enough. With CD’s, about three was my max before fatigue set in. Hey, a power conditioner can’t solve everything. I don’t think I ever made it past two CD’s in my pre-conditioned days. When the Furman was in my home theater system, I wanted to watch more TV, more movies and more music DVD’s. ‘More TV’ has an evil ring to it I know so I leave it to you whether enhancing your home theater system is something you want to do but if you do, the IT-Reference 20i is a great way to do it. Comments (8)
Not cheap!
written by JWM , April 10, 2009 At nearly $3500, you had BETTER hear a difference! My conditioner really improves video quality, but my amp mfg. Says to plug the amp directly into an AC outlet because the conditioner would limit the current output to the amp. Did you notice any "limitations" to the output from the Furman? Not sure how power "upstream" to the amp can change the quality of the amp output. I am not sure I buy the idea that the power cord is at fault for choking off power to your A/V gear. Anyway, an interesting review...Thanks!
This article isn't technical enough
written by Jon , April 14, 2009 Too full of flowery speech, not enough graphs to support the silver tongue.
...
written by JEJ , April 17, 2009 Secrets is the only publication to produce graphs of the AC spectrum with and without power conditioners in the circuit. But, as I have said many times, we can't bench test every product. In general, what I have found with power conditioners that basically just use a big toroidal transformer plus a few other parts is that RF is filtered out. This is due to the transformer itself, acting as a low-pass filter because it is an inductor. But, there are other advantages. There are two ways of storing electricity in an electronic circuit (not including batteries, which are chemical in nature). These are inductors and capacitors. The large transformer in a power conditioner acts as a huge inductor and stores power. That's why the lights dim when you first turn it on. There is an inrush of electricity to the transformer. When you are watching movies, and there is an explosion, demanding lots of power, you have that inductor storage to draw upon, so your subwoofer can actually deliver a bit more than it would if it were simply connected to the wall AC. What I have also found is that power conditioners make a difference in the sound of mass market receivers, because their power supply is not very good. I have not heard differences when using power conditioners with high end products, where the power supplies are much more robust.
Not Technical enough for a reason
written by Doug , April 17, 2009 The higher the flowery speak the less evidence there is for real proof. If the power to your place is iffy then MAYBE these things might help but for people with relatively modern homes with reliable power it won't make an observable difference. I always love the use of the word "air" in audio reviews, air is right.
Another Conditioner
written by Millard Jones , April 20, 2009 I have an Equi=Tech conditioner that outputs balanced power and I believe most of the noise reduction you heard is due to the balanced power as it works in a similar fashion as XLR cables. By having 60 volts on both sides the noise is cancelled. At least that's what the Equi=Tech folks say. They even have equipment that will give balanced power to an entire house. JMJ
I agree on both counts
written by jeff , April 26, 2009 First off, I'm quite sick of empirical reviews. While they may be of some use, nothing backs it up like a few tests to show that the reviewer's ears were not mistaken or is on the the dole (oh, like neither ever happens!). On the other hand, my Monster HTPS7000MKII crapped out for no reason and I had to go back to a channel strip while I wait for a warranty replacement. The difference I heard and saw in my system is not imaginary (as was going to the 7000). It was and is an incrimental rather than revolutionary improvement with this unit. Noticable, and appreciated, but not night and day. When it comes to Furman, you are dealing with one of the pre-eminent companies in the field. This unit's build quality far surpasses the Monster unit that just tanked on me. If I had the dough, I'd have bought a Furman or top-line Equi-Tech. That's my 2 cents. jeff
Simply Not Worth the $$ Nuff Said.....
written by nathometheatre , April 29, 2009 I just can't see spending this kind of money for subtle observations in sound and video differences. I've looked and read in countless forums regarding Power Conditioners, interconnects, and power cables. None thus far have revealed any REAL significant advantages to justify the rediculous asking prices from these vendors. I especially respect the opinions of those that are members of the home theater shack, as they seem to be some of the elite as far as providing true test supported by graphs and calibrations revealing the truth behind what I consider being nothing more than snake oil. For $3500, you can put that money in different components like new speakers, a new receiver or blu ray player etc... I just don't buy in to this. That being said, I did invest in a Panamax 5100pm, and if nothing else, it's at least protecting my expensive equiptment from power surge's and brown outs. I have yet to see a hi-end power conditioner that can validate its performance to cost ratio. nuff said. Write comment
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