Mains Blocks & Filters - Puritan Audio
A dedicated mains block (filtered or unfiltered) is the first step in an effective solution for distributing power to your hi-fi or AV system. We always recommend using these in conjunction with high quality mains cables,
The quality of your mains supply is affected by noise, interference and RFI occurring along the many miles of cable running from the power station, through many transformers and from pylons to street cabling. This can include interference from radio and television signals, from telephone antennas and from other cabling, just to name a few causes of interference, with power cables effectively acting as an antenna for RFI.
Even if you run a separate spool from your house mains block to try and counter the effect of household appliances, this is not a solution for the poor quality of the mains that actually comes into your house and into that spool. This will always be the case, unless you have a field of solar panels or wind turbines in the back garden!
Logically, the mains supply for each component provides energy that will eventually result in sound from your system, and thus its common sense to supply your system with the purest quality mains possible. The solution is a dedicated mains filter/block (that will either actively/passively filter the mains supply or regenerate it, depending on the model) and high quality shielded mains cables to carry the quality power supply from mains filter/block to your system without picking up any interference along the way.
We recommend a filtered mains block if you tend to listen to music during the day and/or live in an apartment building or have your hi-fi system on a mains ring shared with other household appliances. In these cases, its more likely your system is being affected by interference from other equipment and a filtered mains solution should be most effective.
If however you listen to music late in the evening, live in a detached house and (ideally) have your system powered by a separate mains ring you have had installed, an unfiltered mains block should be sufficient. You may ask, "why us a mains block at all if its not filtered?". Well, even if you have a good power supply, an unfiltered mains block will still give you the best connection to your power supply as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
For the ideal set-up, use a filtered mains block to carry the power from the wall and a selection of shielded mains cables between the mains block and each hi-fi separate (shielded to ensure they do not pick up any interference inbetween mains block and equipment).
Puritan Audio make a range of mains cables and power distribution bricks designed to remove noise from the mans supply before power reaches your sensitive audio equipment, along with surge protection. The Puritan range spans from the entry level Guardian to the ultimate level studio Master series.
Guardian level: The entry level products still feature all of the expertise that make Puritan products so popular. They have a heavy steel case that shields the components, as well as output filtering and surge protection. Entry level units have four outputs and 20 levels of filtering. There is also a model with DC removal.
Intermediate level: A step up are the Puritan power strips, these have more outputs. The casing is of heavier gauge steel and the six outputs can handle 15 Amps each. There is also 23 levels of filtering, as well as enhanced differential and common mode noise removal. DC removal is also optional.
Master level: The master level series consists of three models, starting with the PSM 136. These units have progressively more filter levels with the PSM136 having 39. All the master units have DC removal , there is also a 12 output version. Another difference is the individual output filtering . This prevents cross contamination.
The flagship model is the PSM156. This has 58 filter elements . Moreover, Each filter section is doubled in efficiency and there is a 12 outlet version of this model, available. The wiring is made of oxygen free copper. Finally, the mains sinewave is rebalanced to prevent any DC from interfering with the efficiency of toroidal transformers, as used in amplifiers.
Mains cables: Puritan audio also make high-end power cables. Poor cabling can undo all of the work done by mains purifiers. Puritan mains leads use unique materials technologies, to reduce noise pickup. Unshielded cables can act as an aerial pulling in all kinds of interference. Moreover, conventional shielded cables just dump any interference into the earth system. However, Puritan cables use dissipative technology to convert the received interference into heat. This prevents the earth system from being saturated with noise.
