My measurements tell me like most things in life you get what you pay for with PC's. I have an 87lb Furman that makes an incredible difference keeping the electric line noise free. I've also had lesser PC's make improvements but not as dramatic as the big Furman. I've also measured the effects of a Monster 3500 that actually adds distortion to the line in spite of claims to do otherwise. FWIW if I had unlimited resources I'd pick up several more of the Furmans as just plugging them into a circuit and turning them on results in greatly lowered line noise on circuits on the same 120 leg.
I've heard the same thing and even have experienced this scenario with a Chang Light Speed model I tried. Then I got the Richard Gray RGPC 400S Mark II which completely changed my opinion on how beneficial a good LC can make a system sound.
This is not a standard "active" power conditioner. Nothing plugs into it. It's passive. You simply plug this into a spare outlet on your power strip.
Thank you for your reply. It's so gratifying to read that the experience of others backs up my claims for such a relatively inexpensive device.
My clear line finally completed it's long awaited 300 mile journey and arrived safely. A few things I've noticed already. It has a death grip on the power outlet which is good for making solid contact but not so good in making those instant comparisons. So the next step will be putting a switch between it and the outlet for some easier testing. It does not reduce emi line distortion according to my measurements. Also it is completely passive and doesn't use a single micro watt of electricity according to my killawatt. As far as the sound goes there has not been a knock your socks off type of change I was hoping for. I need to let it "burn in" and do some critical listening before I pass any judgements on any noticeable changes in the sound. Right now I have it plugged in an empty socket of the dedicated line that goes to my Furman PC which powers my front end. Once I'm done evaluating it's performance at that spot my next place to give it a shot will be on an unused accessory plug on the back of my pre which is after the PC which may or may not be filtering out some of the Furutech's qualities. For now I'm holding off buying any additional units.
Any empty slots on the Furman itself? Compared to the empty outlet on my dedicated line, I got better results when plugged in an empty bank on my Ps audio Dectet. Simply just plug it in and if the effect is more pronounced let burn in there.
I notice in your profile you have 3 Furutech Flux 50s in your system , whatever those are. I'm assuming they may already be acting in a similar way like the NCF Clear line, which "may" be why you won't notice a difference. Just wondering.
I don't believe so as the Flux 50's do reduce emi line distortion. Good luck with the 50's is the main reason I've given a clear line a shot here. I've now installed a switch between the clear line and the outlet and later on I'll be able to quickly do some a+b comparisons. I may give that a try at some point. My thinking was there's a bit more separation of the lines coming out of the back. All is not lost yet though; I played side 2 of Billy Idol's Vital Idol during my nightly cardio routine last night. I know .....I know it's kind of a goofy album but it was next on the cue list while I'm on my stair machine. Strangely every single song on that record reached 3 to 4 feet beyond the speakers and for all the world seemed to be coming directly from acoustic treatments on the wall as opposed to the speakers. I honestly cannot remember that record or any record I own for that matter doing that for an entire album side. More listening, different outlets need to be tried and more burn in needs to be done.
Very interesting thread. Has anyone compared the NCF Clear Line AC vs iFi AC Purifier? I have 3 of the iFi's which are half the price of the Furu.
T I picked up a RGPC 1200 that I haven't tried yet. I've heard mixed reviews. Sounds like you are impressed with yours?
Yes, for running the pre-amp and CD/SACDP. Mine doesn't have a dedicated amplifier outlet though so the amp sounds better directly to the wall. The Richard Gray easily bettered the Chang I previously had and direct to wall plug in for those two.
Yes; I installed a switch between the Furutech and it's outlet for some instant comparisons. I ran the switch while my wife listened and she preferred the sound with the switch on (furutech engaged) without knowing whether it was on or off. She did the same test for me and I also picked out the sound of the furutech engaged without knowing whether it was on or off. 2 for 2 is enough for me so the switch is now removed and the furutech is plugged into the socket where it will stay. I'm not actively looking for another one just yet but in time I feel a couple more will be living here. To me the difference is slightly more clarity with a wider and better defined soundstage. It takes some critical listening to notice the changes but there's no denying they are there. While I was switching the unit on and off I was within inches of the left speaker and I could distinctly hear a change taking place. But being that close I had no idea whether it was a change for the better. Once it was my turn to move to the sweet spot it became apparent that it is in fact an upgrade. My wife's description was a bit more vague "it sounds better". I trust her hearing as her's is no doubt a bit better than mine. So for pretty much chump change in the audio world I have an expanded soundstage which is always a welcome upgrade here. I had to play Billy Idol's Vital Idol side 2 on vinyl once again and the soundstage reaches 4' beyond the right and 3' beyond the left speaker with authority. Manheim Steamroller orchestra also reaches out more and has better definition as well. More listening needs to be done.
Well, there we go boys and girls, a true blind listening test. Thank you for taking the time to substantiate my initial impressions. For $250, the positive difference it makes is astounding. Happy listening.
I tested mine for emi reduction and electricity useage. No emi reduction and it's completely passive.
Yes, I understand these are passive, but am surprised that no reduction in line noise was noted? Isn't that their purpose to do so? Didn't the no loner made, and less expensive Audioprism Quiet Line Filters accomplish this? Shunyata has their own plug and play Defender Passive Filter, wonder how it would fare? I know there are some others.
I have both an Isotek Iso plug and a Shunyata Defender in my setup as well, I use the Iso plug on the same line as my amp to protect it from surges and the Defender on the lother dedicated line to protect my subs. In listening I preferred the sound of the isoplug with the main setup as the Shunyata blunted high frequencies the Clear line not only has the most dramatic impact albeit subtle in the context of the whole, it did more to enhance playback robbing nothing and giving increase across the board in spades.
No experience with the Shunyata product but I do have several AP quiet lines and several PS noise harvesters. Neither of these devices reduce emi line noise any appreciable amount in spite of their claims otherwise. It doesn't matter if they're alone or several of each or both brands are on the same line. The blue light on the ps noise harvester will flash faster as the emi builds on the line or completely shut off if it's below a certain point but it does nothing to reduce it. Their false claims were the main reason I was quite skeptical of the clear line.
I want to thank all those who wrote about Furutech NCF Clear Line and inspired me to get one. Excellent product that clearly improve the quality of my system: better sound, better definition. I would have never adventured into this, as I have been burned by snake oil many times. But this time I was very impressed by the number of positive comments and decided to give it a go. I'm very glad I did!
