How Long Do Power Conditioners Last

I’m using a Belkin PF40 which dates from 2010. Quite an elaborate mains conditioner though not expensive which I bought in 2010 when they were being discontinued.
I’m starting to prefer the sound of the stereo powered straight from the wall socket to the sound from the Belkin. Even digital sources sound a touch bright through the Belkin.
Do these things have a service life?

Surprised to hear of one that lasted this long, somewhere in the Cupboard of Shame I have one flytipped with me by someone naiive enough to think I might repair it that died inside of a year, many did…

Outright failures aside, the surge-arrestor MOVs do eventually die if subjected to enough severe surges, but more likely you’re experiencing that eternal audiophile favourite - The Free Upgrade, AKA the change-of-equipment: where something different (in this case, slightly more mains noise) = something better. Enjoy it while it lasts :+1:

1 Like

Interesting that they’re that error prone. I might just drop it in the bin and move to an Olson.

Millions of years ago I took a stab at making and selling mains conditioners for an existence - that stab only wounded me, but in the process of curing my intense commercial naivety, I discovered that some people prefer the sound of their system with bad mains - this being just one among the many other technically wrong things people do because they prefer the sound: all perfectly legit of course, since the enjoyment of music is subjective not objective…

The stupid fucking twats.

tl;dr - borrow before you buy, you may just prefer things as they are now.

PS: please don’t literally bin it, it appears to be mostly working, and someone somewhere may want it - you can always offer it up for a small donation to forum funds on ‘Spongers Corner:ok_hand:

2 Likes