I have a Cascade coming my way on Thursday (hopefully). It replaces my MSB Reference. I have two power conditioners. A PS Audio Power Plant and a Shunyata Denali 6000/S v2 . Currently I have my Momentum power amps going to the Shunyata and the Reference to the Power plant. Should I plug both of the Cascades cords into the Powerplant or the digital into the power plant and the Cascade analog into the Denali i.e. separate digital from analog.
1 Like
Probably the best configuration is to plug the Cascade Powerbase into the same conditioner as the amps and the Digital Director into “something else”. Could be directly into the wall, your Power Plant or just wherever you are plugging your server or transport. The basic rule is the Powerbase (Analog Converter) should be electrically close, sharing the same ground and power as the Amps, and the Digital Director should be electrically far, maximally isolated from the analog side. This lets the optical isolation (fiber optic link) work best.
2 Likes
That’s what I thought would be best. They’re each on their own dedicated 20amp circuit. Very hesitant to plug any expensive component into the wall without surge protection. That said I have whole house surge protection?
Just my thoughts… I live in Central Florida and am a bit paranoid about surges, especially from lightning.
For electronics, surge protection should be close to the equipment being protected. The wire from the main panel to your equipment is an antenna that nearby, not direct hit, lightning can induce a voltage surge into.
I have whole house surge protection too, from our local utility. But the utility point that you should not depend on the surge protection they provide for things like TVs, computers and such. Those items should have local surge protectors. But now days refrigerators are computers 
Dan
1 Like
Surge protectors near the equipment almost always include MOVs (metal oxide varistors). They are connected ACROSS the line, but they are inactive until a surge reaches above something like 600 Volts at which point they briefly become a short circuit across the line in an action called a “crowbar” attempting to absorb all the energy of the surge. If the surge exceeds their current (amperage) rating, they become sacrificial and go “open” and stop absorbing the surge. For that reason bigger is better here.
There is some worry that smaller MOVs in power strips or other protection devices near the equipment add noise to the line since MOVs are semiconductors possibly making noise due to their semiconductor junction. Audiophile power conditioners may have MOV’s, but presumably any potential noise has been dealt with within the manufacturer’s design so we will ignore that here.
For the really big surges I have been recommending the Eaton whole house surge protector. CHSPT2ULTRA Surge current 108 kA, Nominal Discharge Current 20 kA, Short-circuit rating 22000 kA. This attaches directly to the outside of the main circuit breaker panel and is connected directly to the incoming service. There are status LEDs on the Eaton back that check the health of the individual MOV’s to be sure their current hasn’t been exceeded. It is my opinion that if there is any residual noise from the MOV’s, it is very low and easily absorbed by all of the other loads in the house so the audio equipment does not see it. There are other manufacturers of whole house surge protectors, the Eaton seems to be the most sophisticated to me.
Surges from the utility can be very large and damaging. The surges can be caused by many things on the utility, including lightning strikes that are farther out on the grid. The surge protector will not protect against a direct lightning strike to the house, which is best prevented by lightning rods if you are in an area that has a history of such strikes.
As usual with electrical advice DO NOT attempt any electrical service yourself. Vince Galbo and MSB accept no responsibility in giving this advice. Get a licensed electrician to do the work. Ask if he has experience with whole house circuit surge protectors and their proper installation.
2 Likes