The first time I heard about power-conditioning “gadgets” for correcting current leakage, ground issues and noise, I wondered whether this stuff would really do anything, and how. Little by little I found the answers.
As you refine your studio, you become more... fussy? Better monitors, better preamps, mics, compressors, etc. All of this means you have less and less “big” noise in your recordings every day. You record better and better, and you hear better. You recognize each track more clearly. Age also helps you develop a taste for cutting tracks that aren't needed and keeping only the ones that add something.
Once you have invested a budget that has cost you blood, sweat and tears, and reached the point where, when you choose a preamp, you look it over again and again to make sure it's the perfect one to take the signal from your super mic to ecstasy, your “home studio”, which may have started as a hobby, begins to reach a far more decent level of quality. Without disparaging or comparing it to a professional studio, for obvious reasons.
A real-world case
In one real-world case, something happened to us that occurs quite often. We decided to change the monitors in one of our rooms. We were looking for more refined, “British”-sounding references. We chose PMC and Focal. We set up all the racks again and rewired everything with great excitement. New cables, no sloppy soldering... how exciting!
Everything was perfect. Then one summer we fire up the whole arsenal without a single noise, as always. And when we plug in a guitar and hit record, a faint little buzz (noise) starts up. Track by track, it was piling up in every recording.
But which piece of gear is it? We switched things off one by one. Nothing; the infamous little whine kept appearing when plugging in certain things (especially guitars and basses). While we kept investigating the problem, and above all where it was coming from, we decided to strip a cable, wrap and tie it around the TRS ¼ (jack), and wrap the other stripped end around the guitarist's wrist like a bracelet (the ground) – laughter. It worked. Although he was looking at us with eyes that said "Hey, I hope I don't get zapped by this thing". Go on, keep playing, you'll see; if you get a jolt you'll sound like Hendrix himself.
During one of these sessions, the heat eased off, so we turned off the air conditioning. Magic. The noise disappeared. In our extreme ignorance about electrical networks and their leakage, I wondered: how is it possible that the air conditioner, which isn't connected to any of this, causes these strange leakages with line noise? To sum up: air conditioning on + guitar or bass + record = noise; air conditioning off = goodbye noise. Now we had to choose: a cable on the wrist for “the Hendrix,” heat, or noise?
Furman PL PLUS CE
This is where the concept of the voltage stabilizer entered our lives. In this particular case, it is a 19” 1U rack device. A product with solid, professional finishes that acts as a stabilizer with filters for the power outlets.
The Furman PL Plus CE protects us against overvoltage (looking after our racks during voltage spikes) and will help us very effectively suppress current leakage and ground issues, and consequently noise.
Front panel
This model has a front panel with two pull-out lamps that light up (if we wish) the rack units located below it. Here we also find a 20-LED voltage meter that quickly and visually shows the voltage status of our outboard and equipment.
It also has a dimmer to turn the light of its retractable lamps on and off. There are also two more LEDs that show the protection status (green) and, in red, “extreme voltage” in case things go wrong. Finally, there is a front power outlet in case we want to plug something in quickly without having to pull out the whole rack.
Rear panel
10 power outlets divided into two banks of 5, a lamp connector and the on/off switch. Basically, what we do is connect the FURMAN to the mains and, using short leads or directly (depending on your needs), plug the racks, computer, monitors and screens into the stabilizer. That way it acts as a filter between our wall outlet and what reaches all the devices it powers. Magic, goodbye noise.
Conclusions
We were really pleased with the installation of this 10-amp stabilizer with SMP (Series Mode Protection). The noise disappeared and all the outboard we plugged in was protected against voltage spikes.
As for prices, you will find different options from €100 to €2,000 (or more), depending on the number of outlets, its meters, etc. There are similar and perhaps more affordable options from other brands, for example Adam Hall. It's a matter of doing a little research, seeing how many things you need to plug in / filter and how much money you want to spend. It seems like a minor detail, but it isn't.
