Voltage regulators?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Erock
  • Start date Start date
I’m getting wild ideas about going “wall -> voltage regulator -> variac -> amp” which would let you drop your voltage, but precisely, so you’d get all the benefits of running your stuff through a variac but you wouldn’t need to constantly check to make sure things are right.

And I’m not even talking about going crazy with Plexi brown sound shenanigans. I have an Ecstasy and a few more amps with slightly-off-from-120v recommended voltages written on the back, “117v” and stuff like that. Buying a variac and messing with it, along with the added expectation of having to maintain yet another gadget every time I turn it on feels like a bridge too far, but connecting a variac to something like the Black Lion and dialing some specialized voltage in once and being done with it feels a lot more manageable.

Total overkill, but manageable.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
I think the issue is that they don't want to have to check. They just want the unit to do the work so they don't have to think about it.

At least that's how I'd feel about it if I went to the trouble of setting up any kind of power regulation system.
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Yeah, glancing over from time to time is a real pain in the ass, I feel ya.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
I’m getting wild ideas about going “wall -> voltage regulator -> variac -> amp” which would let you drop your voltage, but precisely, so you’d get all the benefits of running your stuff through a variac but you wouldn’t need to constantly check to make sure things are right.

And I’m not even talking about going crazy with Plexi brown sound shenanigans. I have an Ecstasy and a few more amps with slightly-off-from-120v recommended voltages written on the back, “117v” and stuff like that. Buying a variac and messing with it, along with the added expectation of having to maintain yet another gadget every time I turn it on feels like a bridge too far, but connecting a variac to something like the Black Lion and dialing some specialized voltage in once and being done with it feels a lot more manageable.

Total overkill, but manageable.
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I'm using the regulator to give me a constant 120V, and the Brown Box to drop me between 117-118V. It works awesome.

I've been using the BB with just conditioners, and when my sound isn't right, my first instinct is to start dialing. After looking at what my voltage was doing using a BB, I started looking there first, and sure enough, it correlated with what my amp was doing. I wish I got one years ago now.

I'm sure if you have good modern wiring and a good state power grid, this isn't a problem for most people. Our grid in NY is so shitty, Canada was about to extort us for electricity! :LOL:
 
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lester said:
Yeah, glancing over from time to time is a real pain in the ass, I feel ya.
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Hey fuck off, lol. :D

Sometimes over-engineering stuff to an absurd degree is just as fun as using it.

Also, like Erock mentioned above, sometimes you just forget about this kind of background stuff and when a problem comes up because of it, you just don’t think about it until you check everything else in your rig at least three times before it even occurs to you.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Hey fuck off, lol. :D

Sometimes over-engineering stuff to an absurd degree is just as fun as using it.
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The way it works is every increase in voltage is another ma added to your max watt displacement. Might be ok, but if you bias at 63 ma(which I do) an increase in 5 -10 volts, could be a trouble for some weak-ass tubes.
 
lester said:
The way it works is every increase in voltage is another ma added to your max watt displacement. Might be ok, but if you bias at 63 ma(which I do) an increase in 5 -10 volts, could be a trouble for some weak-ass tubes.
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I have an older Budda that I worry about, it's over 20yrs old and has a 117V rating on the back. I like to limp that one up on voltage when I fire it up, lol. I should really re-bias my amps, I'm probably all over the place considering what my wall voltage does.
 
ners said:
So my issue isn't noise levels but actually inconsistent voltage.

The circuit all my gear is on is pretty crowded and averages only like 110v with swings down to 105v.

So the regulator helps keep it at 120v that amps are designed for.
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Mine keeps it at 120 but it still noisy and drives me nuts. Use the tc noise reduction pedal.
 
PiggySmallz said:
Amps close to the furman p-2400AR I have tend to hum a bit more. The closer the amp is to the power source the more noise there is for me
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will keep that in mind. I haven't used an amp in super close proximity to the unit yet, I will try and avoid it. Thanks!
 
I had a preamp tube shit the can after a round of circuit work at 1am. Wondered what was going on and happened to look over at my power conditioner, wall voltage was 127V. Amp voltages were way off.

I canned my order for the furman voltage regulator - best they can do is no better than a UPS with +/-5V which is still too wide. I plan to save up to get the black lion. I haven’t found anything that regulates tighter.

I love my furman power factor power conditioner. Just need a solid voltage regulator ahead of it.
 
glpg80 said:
I had a preamp tube shit the can after a round of circuit work at 1am. Wondered what was going on and happened to look over at my power conditioner, wall voltage was 127V. Amp voltages were way off.

I canned my order for the furman voltage regulator - best they can do is no better than a UPS with +/-5V which is still too wide. I plan to save up to get the black lion. I haven’t found anything that regulates tighter.

I love my furman power factor power conditioner. Just need a solid voltage regulator ahead of it.
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You won't regret it man. I was kicking myself because this wasn't a "fun" toy, but sooo much loot. Holy smokes, best purchase I've made in years.
 
Erock said:
the power conditioning wipes the floor with both my Furman and WAudio units. I think it probably has something to do with the regulation in conjunction.
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Is there a noticeable difference stacking conditioning?
 
glpg80 said:
Is there a noticeable difference stacking conditioning?
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I saw better results using the BL's conditioning. I first tried using the analog outs, with the WAudio and Furman units coming out of the BL. Everything plugged into the conditioners. I didn't notice much difference in noise.

After I read the manual, and separated everything into high amperage, analog, and digital devices, it made a noticeable difference in my overall noise levels. I'm using the furman for one side of the room on the high amperage out, and the Waudio is connected to the analog out for my pedal board. It seems to work very well this way, I have a very light "shhh", but that's about it. I'm also using florescent lighting, which I thought would be always be there.

Edit: if I could reach everything direct into the BL, I would do that instead.
 
glpg80 said:
I had a preamp tube shit the can after a round of circuit work at 1am. Wondered what was going on and happened to look over at my power conditioner, wall voltage was 127V. Amp voltages were way off.

I canned my order for the furman voltage regulator - best they can do is no better than a UPS with +/-5V which is still too wide. I plan to save up to get the black lion. I haven’t found anything that regulates tighter.

I love my furman power factor power conditioner. Just need a solid voltage regulator ahead of it.
Click to expand...

This happened to me one night recently while playing. Ive had some issues since the hurricane took out the grid last sunmer. Turned the furman on and it read 125, fired up a couple of amps and it came down to 124. Then 123, then 127, then 121. I kept hearing the regulator switching back and forth. Tempted to pick up the black lion but I wasn't sure if it matters that it runs on a 20 amp circuit.
 
PiggySmallz said:
This happened to me one night recently while playing. Ive had some issues since the hurricane took out the grid last sunmer. Turned the furman on and it read 125, fired up a couple of amps and it came down to 124. Then 123, then 127, then 121. I kept hearing the regulator switching back and forth. Tempted to pick up the black lion but I wasn't sure if it matters that it runs on a 20 amp circuit.
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that would cause me pause as well. It says in the manual, specifically, that it should only run on a 15A breaker, not 20A. Not sure why it matters, but they list it explicitly. :dunno:
 
Erock said:
that would cause me pause as well. It says in the manual, specifically, that it should only run on a 15A breaker, not 20A. Not sure why it matters, but they list it explicitly. :dunno:
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Wish they'd make one for 20 amp circuits. I had one installed for all of my amps. I've got a separate 20amp circuit on another wall for my pc, monitors, and other sensitive gear but they're on a 12 amp furman ups and conditioner/regulator
 
PiggySmallz said:
Wish they'd make one for 20 amp circuits. I had one installed for all of my amps. I've got a separate 20amp circuit on another wall for my pc, monitors, and other sensitive gear but they're on a 12 amp furman ups and conditioner/regulator
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it probably only matters if you are drawing over 15A. From what I see using my 2 amps, and pedalboard, I rarely draw over 3 amps. Add in my powered monitors, and laptop, and I've still never seen over 5A. I'm not gonna say try it though, as it probably fries over 15A, IF it sees it.

Edit: I'm generally hitting 105dB on my meter with 100W amps for context using a ditto pedal.
 
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