I’m not familiar with that word. What does it mean?
1 Like
I couldn’t tell you. My post said I was quoting Speco2007 (below) and that’s why it’s in quotations. Why are you asking me?
Here, I looked it up for you
Irregardless
Irregardless is a word sometimes used in place of regardless or irrespective, which has caused controversy since the early twentieth century, though the word appeared in print as early as 1795. Wikipedia
In an effort to end the tit for tat I have copied and pasted the appropriate parts of the referenced thread wherein an explanation of how the Noise Harvester works. I didn’t delve into all 32 pages of the aforementioned thread. Those who seek more information may take it upon them selves to dig in. Respectfully,WDW. This should en the how it works discussion. I too have no interest in discussing the device’s efficacy have not tried one and no interest in pursuing one.
PS Audio Noise Harvester
International Skeptics Thread
Paul McGowan’s initial response:
21st February 2007, 01:47 PM #28
psaudio
New Blood
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 1 A reply from PS Audio
Sorry guys, I don’t normally read this forum but it seems a great one. Forgive me if I post this answer to one of the replies and then not answer any follow ups as I am not normally monitoring this forum. I have two others that take up most of my available time, but feel free to email me directly with any questions about engineering or products.
By way of introduction, I am Paul McGowan, CEO of PS Audio and the co-inventor of the Noise Harvester along with our Director of Research, Laszlo Juhasz. While I understand the Harvester has a lot of folks in a tizzy, it reall does work to remove noise. At the end of my reply, I describe the basic circuit and how it works. This is not magic, just engineering.
Anyway, here goes:
Let’s look at what poster MortFurd has to say:
"Complete, utter, and absolute BS.
Take a look at the pictures here. Whatever they were measuring, it wasn’t a powerline. You get 60 Cycle AC out of an American power outlet. They’ve got a nasty spike on DC, and there’s no AC to be seen. The accompanying text describes the pictures as showing the harvester removing the noise caused by a dimmer. This is a flat out lie. House hold light dimmers work on AC, so the either the description is false or the pictures are wrong. "
OK, let’s start with that. If the scope showed the 60Hz waveform, then you couldn’t see the very high frequency noise caused by a dimmer. The scope photo shows the dimmer noise only, in fact, it is triggering on the noise and cannot show the 60Hz - one is at a very high frequency and low amplitude and the other is very low frequency and high amplitude.
If it were to show the 60Hz, which is 120 volts, then the high frequency noise would appear like a little zit riding on the 60Hz. And, since the noise amplitude is about 1.2 volts, that zit would be a mere 1% of the 60Hz and thus you wouldn’t really see it.
Scopes have the ability to look at a small event in the absence of the larger event that it may be a part of. What you are looking at here is the magnified smaller event without the larger event being visible. I hope that makes sense - as I tried to explain above, you cannot see both - if for no other reason than one event is 99 times larger than the other.
I really object to MortFurd proclaiming this as a “flat out lie”. It’s amazing to me the arrogance coupled with ignorance that causes someone to proclaim this type of rude mis-statement. MortFurd’s conclusion is based soley on his own ignorance and had he asked, instead of jumped to a conclusion, this wouldn’t happen.
As for the “DC” comment, the scope is set to trigger on the noise caused by the dimmer - so it doesn’t move in the way one would expect to see with AC, - so it starts out as a flat line which looks like DC to the untrained eye - so MortFurd assumes it’s DC. It’s the way the scope handles triggered AC. We do this so we can look at one event and see the change.
Yes dimmers work on AC. They use a device called a triac. The triac chops the AC waveform by remaining off, starting at the zero crossing, then turn on sometime after zero crossing depending on how much light you want. The reason dimmers are so noisy is what I just described. When the triac turns on and starts delivering current, there is a sharp rise in the voltage/current which causes harmonics to be generated (both on the line and in the air). These harmonics are typically in the 8kHz to 12kHz region, where the Harvester is most sensitive. The scope is triggering on this repeating waveform and so it appears not to move.
Speco2007 quoting Paul’s operational description of PSA’s Noise Harvester:
21st February 2007, 02:36 PM #33
speco2007
Scholar
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 55 And the more of the Quote
The LED is not just an “added blinky” it is how the Harvester dissipates the stored noise energy. But, again, I can’t fault MortFurd too hard on this because his assumption is based on wrong information which I admit, without further information he can only draw this conclusion (since he’s not an engineer familiar with how one would read 120 volts).
However, it would further his understanding if he simply asked when this didn’t make sense and we’d be happy to explian so he would.
The Harvester is real. Honestly, it’s a very simple device! I tried to explain it before, let me try one more time.
There is a capacitor and the primary (input) of a transformer in series across the AC line. This forms a high pass filter that is tuned to about 8kHz.
The secondary of the transformer (the output)is send through a diode bridge to convert it to DC. Then, using some tricky electronics, we take that DC and charge a capacitor with the energy that’s harvested from the line (where the unit got its name). When the capacitor is full, we dump the energy into the LED.
Thus, the only power used to blink the light is harvested from noise on the AC line that is above 8kHz. There are no batteries or tricks going on. It is a straightforward engineering design when the light blinks, it is powered by noise.
The laws of nature require us to understand that if we take energy from one source and expend it somewhere else, irregardless of how (heat, light, motion), then the energy is lower at the source because it has been moved to where it was directed, to make light, heat or motion.
Speco, you’re not dumb. If you were, I wouldn’t even bother with you. Relax for one moment. I am not making this up. It really works this way. Show the description above of how this device works to someone you may know that actually understands circuitry or physics. They will tell you that what I wrote is 100% true.
The only question that is legitimate is how much of an effect does it have on line noise and your system? Now that is a fair and reasonable question.
2 Likes
That’s an image that will remain with me for the rest of my life.
“So many”? A forum called “International Skeptics” aren’t going to say anything is as good as home baked apple pie. They’s probably criticise home baked apple pie if you sent them one. It sounds like a glass-half-empty club best avoided.
Lots of people seem to like this product. I wouldn’t be so patronising as to tell PS Audio what or what not to sell. They are grown-ups. At least most of them are …
3 Likes
Just don’t attribute the phrase to me. Your comment gave me more than a brief chuckle.
Don’t be knocking flared jeans 
1 Like
You been peekin’, as I have a pair on at the moment.
2 Likes
It was Paul. For all his wonderful attributes, he does seem to be the master of the mangled metaphor.
1 Like
The Noise Harvester appears in nearly every audio forum I have been on. I have read nearly all of them and the feeling I walked away with was maybe 50/50. It’s very controversial.
BTW, I would never tell anyone what to do. I can’t even tell my wife that 
What makes you think my entire focus is on International Skeptics? There are many sites similar to this. I could have started with ASR or others.
You think I’m thinking? Long past that stage. I’m imagining @joma0711 in flares, a tank top, listening to the BCR’s drinking a late night cup of Horlicks.
I’m watching the golf. Jordan Speith really can’t put. It’s pretty horrifying. His putting stroke is as reliable as a Chinese DAC.
1 Like
Too cold - I’ve always liked a good warm cardi - possibly the influence of Val Doonican, whose albums are probably my earliest musical memory.
Come to think of it I like a good rocking chair too!
(walks off whistling Paddy McGinty’s Goat - Edit - and Delaney’s DOnkey, since Paddy McGinty’s Goat seems to be more associated with Foster and Allen, even though I remember old Val singing it)
1 Like
Your story regarding the cardi brought this to mind. I’d go for a pint at the moment.
White Hart Inn
1 Like
@stevensegal was right about the Horlicks…
1 Like
Sorry, just getting to read parts of the chain.
I most certainly have (and do) say to not plug a power amp into a conditioner and certainly not a line transformer (unless it’s HUGE). In general, stay away from anything the increases the impedance on the line.
What I strongly recommend is lowering impedance via dynamic regulation of the AC line as we do in our Power Plants. (Years ago, Monster Cable made a goofy AC power “regulator” that was a motorized variac. Works for long term stability (which hardly matters much) but only makes things worse for what really matters to a power amp).
In any case, not sure what Bryston’s up to.
2 Likes
I think the thing @Rob_W is missing is that some power conditioners actually store energy and can deliver up to 80 amps on short peaks. I plug my BHK300’s into a Niagara 7000 to good effect.
1 Like
Thank you!
Very interesting- and my hypothesis was completely wrong.
1 Like
Then the thread is not for you. It is easy to skip over it.
4 Likes
To the OP, a couple of things come to mind. PSA moved away from a dealer network and as result no longer has representation in the market the way some of the brands you mention have. Second I think PSA no nonsense chassis are not as visually stunning and some of the ‘ultra’ high ends brands. (I personally love the utilitarian look, but I’m a bit of a minimalist) The fact that PSA uses the same 4 or 5 chassis across the entire product line helps keep costs down. Some ‘ultra’ high end products $10-20k in costs are just in metal and the costs associated in CNCing chassis parts. The actually electronics inside might not be that different then what PSA, or parasound or rotel or audio research or pass use. And to further that point if you’re going to spend a 100k on a pair of mono blocks they would have to be visually appealing, sexy sells….
I’d like to add this 
take…. measurements don’t matter. HiFi can not be analyzed like a baseball player, there is no measurement that will tell you how something will sound, there just simply isn’t. I’ve never considered measurements in any purchases I’ve ever made in HiFi. Reviews from trusted sources, word of mouth and finally my own ears have ALWAYS been the deciding factor.
1 Like