Power outages

[patm]

Hi,
My issue is that I live in the lightning Capitol of the U.S. Short power outages of 2 to 15 sec happen all to often. Can things like PS power plant be set up to not automatically restore power untill manually reset so I have time to get the system in a safe condition?

Pat McSween

[Grainger49]

I think what you need is an uninterruptible power supply.  The PS Audio products I am familiar with will shut down on power down.

[patm]

Thanks Granger, it's not the shutdown I'm worried about, it's the power coming back on with tubes that have not had a chance to cool off.

[Bodyslam]

Thanks Granger, it's not the shutdown I'm worried about, it's the power coming back on with tubes that have not had a chance to cool off.

You probably should be worried about this, even more so the "bounce" when the power comes back on, which can be very hard on power supplies.

I have used large pure sine wave UPS units from Hitachi that could run an entire system. They protected it, and also made the system sound better than raw power from the wall. The Hitachis are hard to find theses days. The Cyberpower pure sine wave units available everywhere including Amazon look good on paper, but I have no experience with them yet. But I intend to try them.

The way you describe your power outages suggests that this is the best solution. 

[patm]

Paul,

How big a unit would I need for Paramounts, forplay III, reduction, Rega rp6, and the 25 watt amps in the min/max 2.2?

[Grainger49]

This is what I read on my components.  The Paramount will be a few watts higher, same for the FP III.  The Rega will be under 10W.  Reduction will be in line with the Seduction.

BTW, the power used did not vary with the volume played on class A devices.

http://bottlehead.com/smf/index.php?topic=1479.msg10557#msg10557

[Bodyslam]

Paul,

How big a unit would I need for Paramounts, forplay III, reduction, Rega rp6, and the 25 watt amps in the min/max 2.2?

First, let me be clear that I was talking about a certain type of UPS, the kind that is essentially using battery power all the time, regenerating the output AC form the battery while charging the battery from the AC input simultaneously. These are referred to as sine wave or pure sine wave types. It's conceptually similar to the PS Audio and some others: a sine wave generator in front of a power amp.

Other types, sometimes called line interactive, will do the job that most people are looking for, but they don't do the job that I'm looking for. Which is cleaner power for better sound.

Cyberpower makes both kinds. A 1KVA, 600 watt sine wave  unit sells for about $140. A 1.5KVA, 900 watt sine wave unit is about $215. It looks like either one will handle your load with room to spare.

The Hitachi's that I used in the past were quite large and quite a bit more expensive. I can attest that they did clean up the sound of the system. Again, I haven't yet tried the Cyberpower units, so until I do I can't state any opinion on how they affect the sound.

[Bodyslam]

Actually, I'm not entirely sure that the Cyberpower units aren't a hybrid of the line interactive style and the power amp style. I have studied their data sheets and I'm still unsure.

I guess I had better order one and try it for myself.

I am sure that they would keep your system powered through your outages, though.

[Chris]

Yes, let us know please... Am interested...

[patm]

Ok I just ordered the 1.5/900 unit. I will be sure and post my expearence.

[Grainger49]

Pat,

Those are reasonably priced.  My P300 powers my FP 2, VPI HW-19, two Paramours and two Dungeness subs at 200W output  total.  So 600W at $140 is a killer price.

[Paul Birkeland]

Actually, I'm not entirely sure that the Cyberpower units aren't a hybrid of the line interactive style and the power amp style. I have studied their data sheets and I'm still unsure.

I looked at some of their datasheets for other models at higher prices, and they appear to be interactive.

Regardless, the interactive portion of such a UPS is pretty handy, as some of them will take a range of 105-145V AC and ensure that you see a constant 120V at the output.