New Shunyata Power Conditioner, Venom PS8

Some day I'll get my ears tuned up, then I can start buying this neat stuff.....
Right now I don't think I can hear the difference.
I love these threads, I can bookmark it and use the info when I need it.

 

"What Caelin is not saying" is a good way of putting it

But Caelin's response was aimed towards the user named PLK who was expressing his frustration while using the product as a stand alone conditioner and receiving no perceived sonic benefits ... he spent money on something that he felt should have benefited his setup sonically and didn't. Either by accident or intentionally Gabriel side stepped the poster's feedback of not liking the product and attibuted PLK's disappointment of the Defender to not being "a quantum flux capacitor that magically "improves" a complex system like Ivan's."

Whether or not it improves a complex system like Ivan's doesn't matter because (1) PLK was only using the Defender and a high quality outlet, (2) he didn't have or use it with Triton or Hydra products like Ivan did so there was no additional filtering, and (3) his sytem is nowhere near as complex as Ivan's (not many people's are). Ivan by the way admitted that he couldn't hear any improvements.

Within the same post and context Gabriel then went on to say "If there is no noise on the powerline, then there will be no sonic improvement when using the Defender" ... at what level one can start to perceive noise at I'm unsure, but I do believe it's possible to eventually notice it.

I don't have a horse in this race, but after reading Gabriel's post it leads me to believe that the PS8 is just a high quality power receptacle and by admission from Gabriel should not improve the sonics of a system by itself, nor will it offer surge protection. And uless your lines are pretty noisy you're most likely not going to get a lot out of the Defender sonically (although it does have surge protection).

 

I'm not sure that is the correct way to sum up your comment - a high end powerstrip that does no harm may be something that some audiophiles need.

 

As I stated above the Defender has the same filter as the Hydra so its not a simple shunt filter.

It's really simple. You add it to a PS8 and you have a Shunyata line conditioner.

And one that works well in many systems as most ac power is noisy.

 

I can appreciate your enthusiasm for the product and I'm all for good line conditioning but if what you are saying is true the question that begs to be asked is this:

Why would anyone pay $5K for a Hydra when you can buy the PS8 and defender for under a grand?

If it's the same filter, what's the extra $4K buying you in the Hydra and is it a high value proposition.

Actually, that's a few questions but they do beg to be asked.

 

Agreed and that is sort of my point. Caelin has a history of offering high value products. His $150 Venom 3 was compared in TAS to several $500 and $600 and below cables and the reviewer described it as the "ringer" in the bunch.

Some Hydras start around $2K for the four plug model.

The other advantage, at least in my view, is that the PS8 has a vertical orientation which I prefer for dealing with cords behind the rack.

 

That's fine if someone has $700 to spend on audio jewelry, I don't and need to apply my money where it makes an improvement to the actual sound of my system and I'm just pointing out that (some people may not be aware) they are paying $700 for what is essentially a fancy power strip and (per the manufacturer) there will be no sonic benefits or protection from the PS8 alone. It won't harm anything, but won't make anything sound better either, so IMO why spend so much if the PS8 doesn't really provide better sound or even protection without the Defender? And since the Defender may or may not provide a sonic improvement and is noise dependent (per the manufacturer), why not just buy a good quality power strip and plug the Defender into that socket? It should sound the same since the PS8 doesn't do anything anyways (sonically that is).

 

I don't understand why you are pissing all over someone's enjoyment of an audio product. Isn't that what being on this forum is at least partly about?

You don't even seem to have experience with the product. I do and found it relative bargain that offered a nice improvement.

 

"That's fine if someone has $700 to spend on audio jewelry" Where's the "condescension" smilie?

 

Posters on an audio forum who have no actual experience with a product yet still criticize it?

Who ever heard of such a thing!