It has been requested I post a quick review of this British designed power regenerator/UPS. It’s currently on sales and goes for £200 with discount voucher. Very tempting indeed, so let’s see if it does anything for the SQ. The main benefits are quite clear, as it provides protection for the nasties in the mains.
Link to specs:
http://archive.powerinspired.com/ag-series-ac-power-regenerator/
I have tested it today as follows:
Stock Mains Lead -> AG500 -> Stock Extension Lead -> Burson Conductor
Stock Mains Lead -> Stock Extension Lead -> Burson Conductor
and repeat on:
Stock Mains Lead -> AG500 -> Stock Extension Lead -> Taboo MK3
Stock Mains Lead -> Stock Extension Lead -> Taboo MK3
Having previous experience with regens/conditioners I was on the lookout for dynamics in particular.
Findings:
– blacker background
– instruments are better contoured
– improved imaging
– improved micro details
– through the added contrast the dynamics are actually better
– transparent
Cons:
– I would prefer it to have a standard mains plug output like it’s bigger brother. But there are work-arounds. See below.
– this thing is big (0.5m by 0.5m ) and heavy. Only a con if space is a considerent. Otherwise it’s more of a plus.
– SQ and build quality none found so far.
Summary:
Adding the AG500 to the circuit brings cleaner, clearer, livelier sound. It doesn’t colour the sound and it’s perfectly transparent. Adding an audiophile power lead between the mains socket and the AG500 makes no difference, as expected. Overall I am very very pleased with it and would not consider going back to life without it. At £200 (with summer discounts) or even the retail price it is a true no brainer and could be a giant killer indeed. I have ordered silver plated DIY IEC male connectors from MCRU and will re-terminate a couple of my audiophile main cables to transform them into extension leads to add them between the AG500 and the Taboo MK3. I will report if this makes any difference. This is as I found the impact of the AG500 is even more noticeable with the Taboo than with the Burson, but certainly there with both. I suspect this is because the Taboo is both more detailed and more transparent.
Posted 18 July 2013 by Negura See http://www.head-fi.org/t/672988/power-inspired-ag500-power-regenerator-review#post_9691731