PS Audio Gizmo

[twich54]

Curious as to the claims of the PS Audio "Noise Harvester". Has anyone made the plunge and if so what are your thoughts / results ?
For $80 or so if it does what it claims then it might be worth it .

 

[David Prall]

Hmmm... I've never heard of this device. What does it do? Can you post a link for it?

 

[twich54]

It's up on Audio Advisors home page now. audioadvisor.com

 

[Kruppy]

I've been kind of keeping an eye on this too.

You might want to check out PS Audio's own forum for info/feedback. There's been a lot of disucssions on it. Although being that it's mostly PS Audio groupies, it might be considered a bit biased.

http://www.psaudio.com/customercare.asp

There's two links on this page, one the the Audioasylum Power Forum and PS Audio's forum, both have Noise Harvester posts. You have to create a username to get in the PS Audio forum. The owner, Paul McGowen, is constantly responding personally to questions.

Here's two links with some specifics.

http://www.psaudio.com/products/noiseharvester.asp

http://www.psaudio.com/products/noiseharvester_overview.asp

 

[kirkawall]

Hi,

I have a unit, from Blue Circle Audio, that makes similar claims but lacks the cool flashing blue lights. It's called a "noisehound" and it cost about 60.00. Plugged into the mains it does indeed "drain off" fridge & dimmer circuit noise etc. and therefore reduces the pops and tics and hisses that come through most power conditioners. Whether or not it improves the sound I can't say but it does make things easier to listen through. There's info on this one at the BC homepage and there seem to be a few other units -- Chord Co. makes one -- that do the same kind of thing. I find I'm always a bit wary of add-ons which get better as you add more -- 99.95 is reasonable for a unit like this but I can see myself buying more and more of them -- and I have thirty-odd outlets in my house...

k

 

[DTB300]

I have a unit, from Blue Circle Audio, that makes similar claims but lacks the cool flashing blue lights. It's called a "noisehound" and it cost about 60.00.

Gilbert has had his product for quite some time now and I was wondering how much of a knock-off the PS Audio item was. The Noisehound Mk-III is listed at the BC site as costing $120. Did you pick yours up used or maybe the older models were lower in price?

I find I'm always a bit wary of add-ons which get better as you add more -- 99.95 is reasonable for a unit like this but I can see myself buying more and more of them -- and I have thirty-odd outlets in my house...

I thought these devices were a cumlative thing and was not required or needed at every outlet????

Dan

 

[Genesis]

Marketing, pure and simple. Converting "noise" into "light"?? I bet I could even find a way to charge everyone here $80 a unit and make it flash when you plug it in near your dimmer so you believe me. Enjoy your sound system w/o this stuff and don't worry about it, if you need to tweak further look elsewhere

 

[kirkawall]

Gilbert has had his product for quite some time now and I was wondering how much of a knock-off the PS Audio item was. The Noisehound Mk-III is listed at the BC site as costing $120. Did you pick yours up used or maybe the older models were lower in price?


I thought these devices were a cumlative thing and was not required or needed at every outlet????

Dan

I picked mine up as a two-for-one from a dealer in town. It's the Mk. III. From the PS Audio website the Gizmo seems to do the same thing though I don't fully understand the noise-to-light aspect or how the PS unit is able to remove line noise "permanently." The PS website makes the point that "Multiple Harvesters work in parallel for greater performance," and has a user marvel at how much more improvment he is getting from many Harvesters in combo with his other PS Audio power conditioners. I guess I'm always suspicious of the "if one is good, three is even better" school of audio accessories. But then I bought a Stoplight pen...

k

 

[attyonline]

Marketing, pure and simple. Converting "noise" into "light"?? I bet I could even find a way to charge everyone here $80 a unit and make it flash when you plug it in near your dimmer so you believe me. Enjoy your sound system w/o this stuff and don't worry about it, if you need to tweak further look elsewhere

Is this statement based on first hand experience or scientific opinion? If opinion, please cite sources showing this device cannot work. The light is marketing for sure, but it is irrelevant to the purpose of the device since they could dissipate the energy in ways other than a blinking light.

 

[kirkawall]

Is this statement based on first hand experience or scientific opinion? If opinion, please cite sources showing this device cannot work. The light is marketing for sure, but it is irrelevant to the purpose of the device since they could dissipate the energy in ways other than a blinking light.

My impression was that the purpose of the light is partly to show that the unit is "working;" in the same way that the metres on many PC units are designed to demonstrate the unit at work. I'm still confused about how this unit can dispose of AC noise "permanently," without merely shunting it off. Does that mean that the unit does not need to be left in the wall. Engineers?

k

 

[Reverb2009]

Yes, I purchased a noise harvester.

I have had it for about a month now, and I do notice an improvement. Not a big improvement, but a change in audio and video. Part of the reason I think its not doing too much with my system is because I just added a PS Audio P1000 power plant.

Overall I do like the device, and can recommend you try one. It is very system dependent, some well get a better result then others.

 

[Reverb2009]

My impression was that the purpose of the light is partly to show that the unit is "working;" in the same way that the metres on many PC units are designed to demonstrate the unit at work. I'm still confused about how this unit can dispose of AC noise "permanently," without merely shunting it off. Does that mean that the unit does not need to be left in the wall. Engineers?

k

No, the purpose of the light is to get rig of the noise. The noise harvester stores noise in a Capacitor and when the Capacitor gets full of noise it is converted to light and removed. Paul McGowan of PS Audio says…

“Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Unless we choose to ignore it, we only have two choices:

It can be rerouted or it can be converted to another form of energy. It cannot be destroyed as some marketing materials might suggest.

So let’s assume we definitely want to eliminate the noise, not just hide it somewhere where it can still cause trouble.
All we can do is convert the unwanted noise to another form of energy: heat, light, or movement, but we cannot destroy it.

There are several ways to convert it but most have problems: movement makes sound, so we can’t do that. Heat allows the dissipating device’s properties to continually shift, so it’s not predictable in its effect.

What we really want is a totally predictable elimination of a totally random destructive event – AC line noise.”




"The Noise Harvester™ is a plug in module that can be placed on any AC receptacle. Once connected, the Noise Harvester begins to harvest and redirect the AC line noise into a storage tank and then converts it to light!"




If you guys have time check out this video Ps Audio made on how the Noise harvester works.

Window Media Player
http://www.psaudio.com/downloads/harvester.wmv

QuickTime Player
http://www.psaudio.com/downloads/harvester.mov

 

[Cherian]

Because I see no ground pin I will assume it is using a common mode choke to cancel the high frequency noise. ie: The line side is wrapped around a ferrite core and the neutral is wrapped in the opposite direction around the same core. This will help cancel some high frequency noise. This is also a very cost effective way to cancel high frequency noise but it will do nothing to address neutral to ground noise. Also any high frequency noise or surge with any energy behind it will walk straight through it.

 

[twich54]

Joe, Nice little video from PS Audio ! I guess if they offer a "no-risk" 30 day return then why not try it out and see !? My other question would be does it primarily work on home induced noise, dimmers, small appl and such. If so then that further merits the running of dedicated lines from ones breaker box. On the other hand certian areas of the country have much "dirtier" electricity than others.

 

[Cherian]

Ok I am going to say it. I would not waste my money on the Noise Harvester. If you look at the scope demo you will see about 20 Volts peak to peak noise @ 20kHz. Then when he puts in the noise harvester you see it go down to 10 volts peak to peak @ 20 kHz. This is only –6db of attenuation. The line impedance of the power cord powering your amp will almost give you that amount of attenuation.

 

[Reverb2009]

Joe, Nice little video from PS Audio ! I guess if they offer a "no-risk" 30 day return then why not try it out and see !?

When I first heard about the NH I was a bit skeptical, the whole idea of an LED eliminating noise and the more you add the more noise you remove sounded like snake oil. But with a 30 money back grantee and PS Audio’s reputation on the line I said what the hell.

My other question would be does it primarily work on home induced noise, dimmers, small appl and such. If so then that further merits the running of dedicated lines from ones breaker box. On the other hand certian areas of the country have much "dirtier" electricity than others.

Yes it does.

If you put one by the Refrigerator it will cut down on the noise added onto the power line by that appliance. I have two power bars for my computer, I was thinking about getting a few more NH’s and adding one in each power bar for my computer.

I still had my MonsterCable HTPS-7000 power conditioner when I got my first NH and I do remember it making a very noticeable difference, the sound from my Logan’s became more focused and less veiled.

 

[Genesis]

Is this statement based on first hand experience or scientific opinion? If opinion, please cite sources showing this device cannot work. The light is marketing for sure, but it is irrelevant to the purpose of the device since they could dissipate the energy in ways other than a blinking light.

Well I wasn't saying that in theory the device wouldn't work, I was just commenting on the usefullness of an $80 noise "harvesting" unit that you plug into a wall outlet. A common tenet that PS Audio cite is that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be converted. This is the well known first law of thermodynamics. However, the basic fundamentals of energy conversion and its intricacies go well beyond what I think PSA is capable of harnessing into an $80 device. Yet, it's your money and your ears....who's to say anything different (?)

 

[moondoggie]

I have two Noise Harvesters

But then again I'm a "PS Audio Groupie" owning other PS Audio equipment that mates beautifully with my Vantage speakers. The results are stunning.

After adding two harvestors I felt like I had upgraded my pre-amp for $190! Everything was clearer and smoother and much less fatiguing, not that it was too bad to begin with. It's just that with the harvestors added everything sounded better. An obvious upgrade in sound.

It's really cool to see how they really light up at night when the dimmers around the house are in use. I have dedicated lines and I had no idea that there was that much noise in the lines. I always wondered why my system sounded better in the morning and now I know why. The electricity was cleaner in the morning.

Anyway, can't wait to try more PS Audio Harvestors, the only drawback is that my listening room looks like a light show is going on at night - but the music sounds wonderful!

 

[Genesis]

OK I hear ya moondoggie, I stand corrected then

 

[twich54]

Ok it appears those who have the device, Zippster and Moondoggie think it works. Question for you two............. are you running dedicated ac lines from your breaker box to your audio / viedeo gear ??