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RGPC Pro400 condioner - a mini review. Part 1.

Posted by albertoderoma (A) on April 21, 2007 at 10:00:42

I consider myself to be a very rational guy (waaaay too rational according to my wife) and a super skeptic. I take pride in not falling for fads or snake oil - audio or otherwise.

I know that the quality of AC power makes a difference in my system. I can easily tell when my wife is doing the laundry or, worse, my daughter is using the hair drier. I also see the voltage drop and fluctuate throughout the day.

Still, when it comes to power conditioning, the only story that really made sense to me was power regeneration. In other words, take dirty unstable fluctuating electricity, and reconstruct a "perfect" 60hz 120v (or whatever) source - what the PS products claim to do. But, I found the PS stuff too expensive and I read that they pretty much waste 1W in heat for every watt they regenerate - no thanks.

However, I have come to trust the opinion of several of the people on various forums and finally decided to try one of the much-talked-about Richard Gray Power Company products. I made a trip to a dealer and, after making sure that I could return it for a full refund if if it did not live up to expectations, I walked out with an RGPC 400Pro ($795+tax).

I plugged my McIntosh C220 and sources in the device's outlets, and the MC252 on the same wall outlet (I did not use any fancy power cords).

As I sat down and waited for the music to start I was not sure what to expect; I was skeptical but also open minded and optimistic.

I perched on my listening chair and closed my eyes to better catch whatever subtle nuance the RGPC might bring to the sound.

The first thing I heard was ... nothing.

Nothing as in silence ... background silence.

What audio reviewers call "black background" is a strange beast. You think your system is silent, until you hear how much more silent it could be. Hard to understand until you experience. Well, I can state with no hesitation that the darn device made my background definitely blacker. Score 1 for the RGPC.

Then the music started and I noticed not a subtle, but a marked and unmistakable, improvement in clarity, separation, and detail. Score 2 for the RGPC.

Score 3 is the fact that the little beast generates no heat and, from what I gather from its design and construction, will probably continue to function without any maintenance for a long, long, time.

Score 4 is that, for whatever reason, my FM reception has also improved dramatically.

If I had to bet that the RGPC 400Pro would have made an audible difference worth $800, I would have gladly bet against it. I would have lost the bet.

What can I say? Based on the first few hours of listening, the 400Pro seems to make a very noticeable difference. I am a bit stunned and surprised. There something disconcerting about hearing such a marked change when I was expecting either no, or very little, effect.

I titled this post "Part I" because I like to live with components for a few days/weeks before passing final judgment, but I wanted to share my first impressions.

If you are a hard-nosed super-skeptic like me and have resisted and dismissed the hype about power conditioning, I encourage you to find a dealer that will let you try an RGPC at no risk. You might be as surprised as I am. Make sure you report back in either case.

Alberto

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

Schiit Audio

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