# Does my pc need power conditioner too?



## molokovellocet

Since my music comes from pc should I plug it into a power conditioner? I was looking to buy ps audio duet for my amp and dac, but it has 2 outlets, what about the pc which is connected to the dac via coaxial digital cable? Right now I have everything connected to my APC ups, and I still need to keep my pc protected and hooked up to the ups as well. I can get a ps audio quintet, which has 5 outlets, for the dac, amp and ups. Is there a point in plugging a ups into a power conditioner like the quintet? Do I even need to worry about the pc needing clean power?


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## maverickronin

If your UPS is a true dual conversion uninterpretable power supply, instead of a standby power supply (which only engages its inverter when the power goes out) then your PC is already getting all the clean power it needs.
   
  Standard UPSes and power conditioners do everything the audiophile branded ones do, and are usually a lot cheaper.  Search ebay and you can find some good deals on used medical grade UPSes and line conditioners that are trusted to keep people's life support going through surges, spikes, sags, and blackouts.


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## DaveBSC

A UPS can't hurt for protecting your system from power failure, but your computer could otherwise pretty much care less about the quality of the AC its getting. It doesn't care whether its getting 100V or 120V, or in the case of computers with active PFC power supplies, you can feed it 200V if you want. Makes no difference. Something like a PS Duet will make no difference whatsoever. 
   
  What you _should _be concerned about is the quality of the computer's power supply. That's what makes the difference, not the incoming AC power. How close can it stay to 12V, 5V, and 3.3V? Even more important is DC output quality. If you want the best sound out of your PC, (and you've already got a Lynx, RME, modified Hiface, or have otherwise already taken care of the big stuff) then look into getting a power supply with nice clean DC output that doesn't fall to pieces when stressed. Most Corsair, Seasonic, and Enermax PSUs are good choices.


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## haloxt

Sometimes in the same brand but different model psu there can be drastically different filtering and ripple scores. Research carefully what psu you want. Given your expensive setup, I think a power conditioner could contribute a worthwhile amount to sound quality, but I would not spend more than ~$200 for one for the computer. The computer is very emf/rfi noisy, and there's many things you can do to improve the computer other than more filtered incoming power. Such as giving separate portable psu's for inessential components, taking out unnecessary hardware like video cards, new software and bios tweaks for reduced power consumption and asio/KS/wasapi, and internal emf/rfi shielding. Imo computer transport is not something you want to spend too much time/money maximizing, it has too many things to overcome to become a hi-fi transport.
   
  I have 3 furman ac-215's because I like how it improves audio and video electronics with acceptably low degradation, and because I got them all for ~$75 each used or new on ebay. They used to cater primarily to studios, their ac-215 is aimed at consumers, but it is excellent imo, I notice some good results even with audio equipment with massive psu's. Also getting an audio-gd power filter soon, already ordered. Will see how they stack against each other, will be interesting because both companies have much of the same philosophies about audio electronics.


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## molokovellocet

Since I believe my PC psu is pretty good... Corsair HX850, I think I'll just go for the duet conditioner for the DAC/amp. Now to figure out what power cords to get??


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## maverickronin

Quote:


molokovellocet said:


> Now to figure out what power cords to get??


 

 What ever they come with. Seriously.  Save your money.  Or spend it on a better power conditioner or PSU.  Those can actually help.


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## DaveBSC

Quote: 





molokovellocet said:


> Since I believe my PC psu is pretty good... Corsair HX850, I think I'll just go for the duet conditioner for the DAC/amp. Now to figure out what power cords to get??


 

 Yep, the HX850 got [H]ardOCP's gold seal of approval, which is about all you can ask for from a PSU, so you're good to go there. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2009/05/27/corsair_hx850w_power_supply/9
   
  As for power cords, Balanced Power Tech's cords are quite nice and very reasonably priced. You could also try PS Audio's Perfect Wave AC-3 or AC-5. In my experience, the entry-level PS cords sound very nearly as good as the top models.


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