Plugging in powered speakers/subs directly to power outlet

[stratocaster]

For all those folks running Quatro's and up, are you plugging the speakers to power conditioners or plugging them in directly to the wall outlet. I am running out of outlets on my power conditioner and am wondering which component to take a risk on :). I am leaning towards plugging in the speakers to the conditioner just to prevent a situation where I am handicapped without music should something happen to the speakers. Nevertheless, all other equipment is also expensive and time consuming to fix.

My immediate solution is to buy a wall surge protector plug for the speakers. Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome. I know Bob mentioned whole house surge protection and it's on the list as soon as my electrician can spare some time to work on it. 

[Richard Vandersteen]

3 hours ago, stratocaster said:

For all those folks running Quatro's and up, are you plugging the speakers to power conditioners or plugging them in directly to the wall outlet. I am running out of outlets on my power conditioner and am wondering which component to take a risk on :). I am leaning towards plugging in the speakers to the conditioner just to prevent a situation where I am handicapped without music should something happen to the speakers. Nevertheless, all other equipment is also expensive and time consuming to fix.

My immediate solution is to buy a wall surge protector plug for the speakers. Any thoughts/suggestions are welcome. I know Bob mentioned whole house surge protection and it's on the list as soon as my electrician can spare some time to work on it. 

Surge protectors are overrated as we get amps in that have damage anyway.  RV

[BFW]

For years, I had my Quatros plugged directly into the wall outlets with no issues.  I purchased two PS Audio power regenerators (P12s) and now power my Quatros and Sub Threes with the regenerators.  I don’t want to turn this into a commercial for PS Audio power regenerators but I will say the improvement in soundstage, imaging, and low end “attack/tightness” was not subtle.  I think the key is the steady voltage and lower distortion power that the regenerators provide.  I have only run the Sub Threes with the power regenerators so I can’t comment the changes there.

[Richard Vandersteen]

38 minutes ago, BFW said:

For years, I had my Quatros plugged directly into the wall outlets with no issues.  I purchased two PS Audio power regenerators (P12s) and now power my Quatros and Sub Threes with the regenerators.  I don’t want to turn this into a commercial for PS Audio power regenerators but I will say the improvement in soundstage, imaging, and low end “attack/tightness” was not subtle.  I think the key is the steady voltage and lower distortion power that the regenerators provide.  I have only run the Sub Threes with the power regenerators so I can’t comment the changes there.

BFW, nice engine but the rules ask for a picture of your system.  Please post a picture of your system.  Thanks,  RV

[GdnrBob]

Here is a nice comparison between AQ and PS Audio.

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/audioquest-niagara-5000-ps-audio-p20-directstream-power-plant/

 

Though Mr. V. may disagree, I believe the whole house surge protector would be the way to go. Using small/individual surge protectors probably won't be as effective, and probably impact sound reproduction. -Though I should say that I am not an electrician. So, YMMV.

B

[Richard Vandersteen]

29 minutes ago, GdnrBob said:

Here is a nice comparison between AQ and PS Audio.

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/audioquest-niagara-5000-ps-audio-p20-directstream-power-plant/

 

Though Mr. V. may disagree, I believe the whole house surge protector would be the way to go. Using small/individual surge protectors probably won't be as effective, and probably impact sound reproduction. -Though I should say that I am not an electrician. So, YMMV.

B

Whole house surge protector is the way to go but they are not 100%!  RV

[BFW]

1 hour ago, Richard Vandersteen said:

BFW, nice engine but the rules ask for a picture of your system.  Please post a picture of your system.  Thanks,  RV

Thanks Richard, one of my other hobbies….  Just snapped a pic of my system (Quatros, Sub Threes, and VCC-5) and posted in member albums.  If I need to do something additional let me know.  Not shown are two JL Audio Fathom F-112 v2 subs I use for movies.  Yes, four subs in a 18’x12’x 8’ room 🙂   

[BFW]

57 minutes ago, GdnrBob said:

Here is a nice comparison between AQ and PS Audio.

https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/audioquest-niagara-5000-ps-audio-p20-directstream-power-plant/

 

Though Mr. V. may disagree, I believe the whole house surge protector would be the way to go. Using small/individual surge protectors probably won't be as effective, and probably impact sound reproduction. -Though I should say that I am not an electrician. So, YMMV.

B

Good comparison article, thanks for posting the link.

[GdnrBob]

FWIW, the new Garth Powell designs have really pushed AQ into new levels of sound reproduction. IMHO.

B

[ctsooner]

On 7/17/2023 at 6:34 PM, BFW said:

Thanks Richard, one of my other hobbies….  Just snapped a pic of my system (Quatros, Sub Threes, and VCC-5) and posted in member albums.  If I need to do something additional let me know.  Not shown are two JL Audio Fathom F-112 v2 subs I use for movies.  Yes, four subs in a 18’x12’x 8’ room 🙂   

Thanks for the pics of the system.  I wish I'd get notified when new folks sign up, so that I could just email them asking for a pic post.  We are trying to keep this a Vandersteen only forum and it's why we don't let other manufacture's post, unless I guess if they are Vandy owners as many are.  That's up to Richard and Brad of course, lol.   hope that clears up any questions anyone has on that topic. It's been discussed a few times in the past.

Nice system. I would love to hear a pair of Sub 3's in my system with the Quatro's. I bet it free's them up big time like the subs do with the 7's etc...  Welcome and keep posting! 

 

I also agree with Bob on Garth and his amazing brain/products.  He just get's it IMHO.  

[Holmz]

5 hours ago, ctsooner said:

I would love to hear a pair of Sub 3's in my system with the Quatro's. I bet it free's them up big time like the subs do with the 7's etc...  

I am not sure whether it free up the amp, or whether removes some Doppler distortion, which might be IMD with the low notes being lowered ??}
It would be nice to see some graphs showing what it does for the more objective folks… but subjectively it seems to work.

[BFW]

On 7/19/2023 at 11:18 AM, ctsooner said:

Thanks for the pics of the system.  I wish I'd get notified when new folks sign up, so that I could just email them asking for a pic post.  We are trying to keep this a Vandersteen only forum and it's why we don't let other manufacture's post, unless I guess if they are Vandy owners as many are.  That's up to Richard and Brad of course, lol.   hope that clears up any questions anyone has on that topic. It's been discussed a few times in the past.

Nice system. I would love to hear a pair of Sub 3's in my system with the Quatro's. I bet it free's them up big time like the subs do with the 7's etc...  Welcome and keep posting! 

 

I also agree with Bob on Garth and his amazing brain/products.  He just get's it IMHO.  

Thanks @ctsooner!  When I added the Sub Threes my expectations were exceeded, the Quatros were liberated.  I bought my Quatros in 2008 so I am also benefitting from 13 years of improvements in woofer and amp design and execution with my 2021 Sub Threes.

 

I’m a big fan of the latest Audioquest products, I am powering all my speakers and power regenerators with AQ Hurricane and Thunder power cables

[stratocaster]

@BFW how big is your room?

Edited July 21, 2023 by stratocaster

[BFW]

On 7/21/2023 at 2:30 PM, stratocaster said:

@BFW how big is your room?

@stratocaster, my room is 18 feet long and 12 feet wide with an 8 foot ceiling

[DC-93]

On 7/17/2023 at 6:11 PM, Richard Vandersteen said:

Whole house surge protector is the way to go but they are not 100%!  RV

Unplugging your stuff when it storms is a 100% foolproof way to protect it!

I've never had any surging unless the weather was nasty in my area.....Knock on wood!

👍

Edited August 15, 2023 by DC-93
additional info

[Holmz]

1 hour ago, DC-93 said:

Unplugging your stuff when it storms is a 100% foolproof way to protect it!

I've never had any surging unless the weather was nasty in my area.....Knock on wood!

👍

TV antenna included!
The internet line can also be an ingress point. 

[GdnrBob]

1 hour ago, DC-93 said:

Unplugging your stuff when it storms is a 100% foolproof way to protect it!

But,

How many times are you around to do it when it occurs?

B

[ctsooner]

14 hours ago, GdnrBob said:

But,

How many times are you around to do it when it occurs?

B

I never leave my house. 

[DC-93]

Easy.

Unplug your stuff when you’re not home. 
Actually, some of my stuff is only connected while in use. 

[Holmz]

Or run the tube gear that was designed with Oppenheimer in mind… 😎
(The internet will be down anyhow.)

[ctsooner]

With many and possibly all electronics they need to have some power to keep the caps formed etc.  I could have sworn that’s what Richard and other designers have told me over the years. 

[GdnrBob]

8 hours ago, ctsooner said:

With many and possibly all electronics they need to have some power to keep the caps formed etc.  I could have sworn that’s what Richard and other designers have told me over the years. 

Hence, my recommendation of getting a whole house surge protector. It may not be the perfect/infallible solution, but does give me peace of mind.

B

[John Gallup]

I had my Quatros and M5-HPAs plugged into an Audioquest Niagara 3000 at first. Then I read here and other places that the sound would be better if amps (including subs) went straight to the wall. So, I switched, and believe I heard an improvement in sound quality.

Because I've got most of my cables hidden beneath the shelves that do the sound absorbtion, the switchover was, to say the least, difficult. Therefore I haven't done any back-and-forth testing. I also had to add yet another Furutech outlet at one location.

[GdnrBob]

@John Gallup.

Quote

Because I've got most of my cables hidden beneath the shelves that do the sound absorbtion, the switchover was, to say the least, difficult.

Yes, Yes.

As we are trying to get the best sound, whilst trying to make a visually 'beautiful' system, all these damn cords that are so damned stiff and unwieldy, make it difficult to want to try to do comparisons. 

My Atma Class D comparison should be included.

I just didn't have the time/energy to switch all the cables that were in difficult positions. So, I just made the trek to Verona, NJ., instead.

B 

[ctsooner]

I agree on comparisons, lol.. I am definitely not doing as many as I used to.  

IRT the Quatro's and amps into the Niagara 3000 or the wall, my wall won. Subtle, but it just sounded better, plus I am able to use 1m cords for them as I had dedicated outlets installed directly behind the speakers.  I use small fake plants to hide the amps and cables/cords on the floor.  I can't just run them and hide them, so the plants work fine (I use a tall one on each side of the TV).