Yes, a Plug.  Pun intended.  Plugs, Receptacles.  They seem to just sit there.  They don't spin, jump or light-up.  Probably not your first thought when you are getting ready to power up that new flat-panel or other A/V gear.

We tell everyone we can - start at the wall.  Replace the cheap spec-grade receptacle with something decent before plugging in your power conditioner unit (you DO have a power conditioner, don't you?).  Even an inexpensive Hubbell Hospital grade unit or an Acme Audio Labs silver plated Cryo unit, or an Oyaide, Furutech, Wattgate or other high quality receptacle.  It can be an eye and ear-opening experience. 

Plugs and receptacles (outlets) are available with a variety of plating materials.  Gold and silver are common on high-end units.  Other materials such as Rhodium and Palladium are becoming readily available.  Body materials are Nylon, Polycarbonate, Carbon Fiber and more.  Cryogenic treatment has been shown to make improvements to some products as well.

Custom faceplates are popular too.  Brass, Aluminum and Carbon fiber are the most popular and are said to tame resonant vibrations etc..

Some units are nearly works of art.  Audiophiles and Home Theater enthusiasts would be proud to have them out in the open where they can be seen.  But lets get back to basics...

Good quality receptacle and plugs can make a significant improvement in the video and sound.  Why?  A host of reasons.  Better materials for starters.  More connection surface.  Tighter springs in receptacles.  Closer attention to specifications and workmanship.  Polished surfaces.  We could go on.

Do a little research, ask some questions, then dive in.  It doesn't cost a lot to start tweaking power delivery for your system, but we will warn you - it's addictive.  Once you see and hear the improvements to be had with such seemingly small changes, you may not stop until every stock receptacle and plug has left the building.

Revolution Power

revolutionpower

Power Conditioning is becoming a "must" in audio and home theater installations.  For us, it's always been a "must".  Modern Home Theaters incorporate very high resolution Audio and Video and the benefits of good power conditioning can easily be seen and heard.  Plugging your gear straight into the wall is like drinking from the sewer.  Hash and noise from your neighbors, other household appliances and more contribute to less than perfect power.  This can show up as fuzzy edges and lines in your video, and glare or "edge" on your audio.  Alot of our new customers aren't aware of what they are missing.  Our favorite thing to do is to install a good power conditioner for a friend, then come back in a month and take it out of the system.  Invariably, they say "Hey, put that back!  It looks and sounds terrible without it!".  On some systems it's very noticeable just to change to a decent power cord, or even just change a plug on the end of a cord.  We have converted quite a few non-believers. 

How much should you spend on power protection or conditioning?  There are many who say that 10-20% of the total system budget should be spent on power conditioning, power cables etc..  We understand that most people are going to flinch at that statement.  Some can afford it, while others want to spend on the better power amp, or the larger flat screen.  Whatever you do, at least budget SOMETHING for power protection and conditioning.  We can help.  You don't have to have one big power conditioner for all components.  You can have 2 or 3 smaller ones for different gear.  For a modest system, we can reccomend something for as little as $100 that will protect your system and give you a taste of conditioned power.

Furman, one of the manufacturers that we represent, has an excellent line of power conditioning equipment that has what we consider to be the best price / performance ratio equipment available.  Furman is known the world over for professional power protection and is used in nearly every production environment that we see.  They have a great new line of IT-Reference and Elite Series gear that brings that professional protection and conditioning to home audio and home theater.  The Elite 15 and 20 PFi units are unbeatable in their price range (read affordable) and beyond.  Ask us about them.  We'll rave on a bit, but it's well deserved praise. 

Don't forget what you plug your precious electronics into - the wall receptacle.  Just changing this small item can result in an improvement far beyond its cost.  Better materials and a better connection.  Check out items from Oyaide and WATTGATE.

Protect your equipment and your investment.  Clean the connections annually with something like CAIG products.  Keep it all performing like new for years.

Revolution Power

Power for Life!

We are asked regularly if clean power will really help a Home Theater.  We respond with an emphatic YES!

Plugging your electronic gear straight into the wall can be compared to drinking from a sewer line.  Every area in the country has some power issues, though some are worse than others.  A Power Conditioner, at the basic level, can protect your gear from electrical garbage.  Yes, lightning strikes are one of the things that they can protect against, but there's so much more.  and we aren't talking about a cheapie power strip here - some of those can make your system look and sound worse. 

Most electrical damage is cumulative.  It happens over time.  Small power spikes and noise will slowly degrade components.  It can lead to early failure, or at least not allow equipment to function at its best. 

There are many types of conditioners.  There are Protectors, Voltage regulators, Regenerators, Isolators, Plus, Receptacles, cables and more.  We won't go into each type here.  The average Home Theater is well served by a single unit with enough outlets to handle all the gear.  Seperating component types will help even more.  Keep amplifiers seperate from video and CD/DVD players for instance.  Audio and Videophiles will go much further and spend a larger portion of the budget to get cleaner power to their gear.  There are some fantastic units out there with some fantastic price tags.  Never fear, there are some good units out there for a lot less.  Even at the $100 level there are some fine protectors that make a real difference.

Seeing is believing.  It's very easy to show someone the difference that power conditioning will make with video.  Even a small stand-alone conditioner for your LCD, Plasma or other type of television or video monitor, will make a marked difference in the picture quality.  Truer, deeper color, fewer artifacts and noise lines, a smoother picture with cleaner edges.  There are some great small units like the Furman AC-215 that are small and attach to the back of a flat screen TV out of sight, and do a great job.  We have shown that a difference can be made by just putting a good quality plug on the end of the power cord that goes to a TV.  It can have quite an effect on the quality of the picture.

With Audio, it's a little more subjective, but a clear difference can be heard in most cases.  Cleaner sound.  Less noise.  The less electrical noise, the more dynamic music and movies will sound.  Quite often we will put a conditioner into an A/V system and the owner may say, "I don't hear much difference, but I'm glad its protected now" and we will smile and go back in a month and remove it from the system for a test....  That's when they say "Wow...Put that back!  It sounds terrible without it."  

We feel that you should definately put a portion of your Home Theater budget towards cleaning up the power.  It will protect your equipment and enhance the quality of the system as a whole and add to your enjoyment of your system.  We know, it's hard to spend money on a component that doesn't seem to do anything...no whirling disks, no fancy graphic displays.  Rest assured, not only is it insurance - it can make a great system even better.

Where do you start?  We reccomend starting at the wall.  Make sure you have a good quality outlet.  One that holds the plug securely and is wired properly.  There are many excellent receptacles out there, some as little as $15 that will have a positive effect on how your system performs.  don't fret, if you don't want to replace the receptacle yourself, have a handy friend do it, or call your local electrician.  It will be worth it.

Before you replace your DVD Player or receiver, try giving it some clean power.  You might rethink your purchase.

 -Ken

Everywhere We look, it seems that having a blog is something we should do as an online business.  Since we run an Ebay Store revolutionpower and a website www.revolutionpower.com , this eBay blog seems a natural extension.

How did we get started?  Years ago, we sold compter equipment and ran one of the largest Computer bulletin board systems in our area.  Some of the products that we sold were quality power strips and battery backup systems.  We also had a great interest in the early heavy wires, power cords etc. that were appearing in audiophile circles.  That interest grew to the point of wanting to help others make the best of their audio and video systems by cleaning up the power delivered to their systems. 

Yes, Revolution Power has a definate audio / video and home theater leaning, though we carry many other power related products.  We work hard to have only quality products in each catagory and price range.  We don't drop ship.  We look at each item that goes out. 

We hope that you will visit our eBay Store and we are happy to answer questions and open to suggestions.  We hope to use this blog to offer information and suggestions on how to enhance your life through the use of the power products that we offer.

Power On!

-Ken Garza

Owner - Revolution Power