PC-3 SE EVO+ Power Conditioner By GigaWatt

The PC-3 SE EVO+ not only effectively protects against interference and overvoltage existing in the home power grid, but also guarantees a significant improvement of the quality of sound and displayed picture of the devices connected to it.

Features:

• Distribution bars made from silver-plated, highly conductive copper (99,995%) with a 30mm, dual cross-section
• Carling Technologies hydraulic-magnetic power switch
• Chassis damped with a bitumen-polymer mat
• The LC-2 EVO power cable as standard equipment

CONSTRUCTION
All internal elements of the conditioner were enclosed in a rigid, steel-aluminum chassis, supported on anti-vibration feet made from solid, anodized aluminum, with a layer of proprietary elastomer 3.5mm thick. To minimize the vibration passed on the conditioner, the whole chassis is additionally damped with a bitumen-polymer composite mat. The front panel of the conditioner is made from a thick slab of aviation-grade aluminum. Its surface is brushed, after precision milling, and then anodized black or silver.

The PC-3 SE EVO+ has six, high-quality proprietary GigaWatt power sockets, with large surface contacts. The brass contacts of the sockets were subdued to the process of technical silver plating without the usage of intermediate metals, like copper or nickel, which could introduce an unfavorable serial resistance and a voltage loss. The increased surface of the contacts and the thick layer of silver guarantee good contact with the plug pins. The sockets were additionally cryogenically modified and de-magnetized.

In the central part of the front, there is an LED display indicating the voltage of the input current. The precise voltmeter is very resistant to distortion and measurement errors caused by upper harmonics, at the same time not generating any interference, which would impair the quality of the power filtered by the conditioner. The conditioner is also equipped with an additional circuit signaling the wrong connection to the power grid. Its action is indicated by a red LED on the back of the unit, which signals the wrong polarity of the device or faulty grounding.

TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

The conditioner PC-3 SE EVO+ is equipped with multistage parallel filters. Three, independent filtering branches, which supply three sections, composed of two output sockets each. Due to this solution, the kind of filtering was adjusted for the load it has, different for each type of device – digital, analog, or high current devices. Autonomous passive filters allow for isolation from interference produced by the devices connected together via a shared power line.

The PC-3 SE EVO+ is based on a novel filtering architecture and uses new components. The main novelties are the anti-interference capacitors and the compensation batteries for the buffering circuits, which are manufactured by the company Miflex, according to GigaWatt specification.

In the PC-3 SE EVO+ an innovative, two-stage current distribution system is used, a proprietary design of our company. It is based on massive third-generation distribution rails, made from polished slabs of oxygen-free copper OFHCC 10100 with 99.995% purity. The first stage allows for lossless and even distribution of voltage to each of the filtering branches. The second stage provides current directly to each pair of output sockets via bolted and clamped connections as well as cabling with conductors with 4 QMM cross-sections made from oxygen-free copper isolated with FEP Teflon. The star connection topology and high conductance combined with the 30 QMM cross-section of each of the rails allow for a uniform and stable power distribution regardless of the load on the individual outputs of the conditioner.

Due to the improved efficiency of the filtering circuits, they were mounted using silver solder on massive PCBs having eight times the amount of copper compared to standard PCBs. The dual-layer PCBs have very wide traces made from silver-plated copper, with a thickness of 280 micrometers. The interference is damped by filtering blocs of RLC type, built around proprietary Audio Grade capacitors and Super-MSS (Sendust) core filters.

In the conditioner, there are no traditional protective elements, like thermal or blow fuses, which throttled the free flow of the current have a negative influence on the sound. The surge protection of the conditioner is provided by the starting block, which utilizes plasma spark-gaps, UltraMOV new generation varistors, and an initial filter. Overload protection is provided by a hydraulic-magnetic switch from Carling Technologies, made in the USA to a special specification from GigaWatt. This element controls the amount of current flowing through the internal circuits and additionally serves as the unit’s main power switch. All those elements working together with a well-made, contemporary power grid, guarantee a complex protection against surges and overcurrent.

To allow for the maximum impulse response, the PC-3 SE EVO+ is equipped with a double buffer circuit with Audio Grade compensation batteries, a proprietary design. The circuit increases the current output with non-linear loads, like power amplifiers, as well as eliminates the difference of power between the input and output of the conditioner. This allows for almost unlimited impulse capabilities, unheard of in other passive conditioners and not reachable for active conditioners. The impulse capabilities of the PC-3 SE EVO+ surpass even the values of clean power line without any devices connected to it.

All GigaWatt products are covered by an insurance policy for the connected equipment, with a total insurance value of 1000000 PLN. The insurance does not apply to the United States and Canada

David Grzyb
“GigaWatt PC-2 EVO+ reviewed in late April 2018 not only introduced itself as a specimen way beyond reach of my trusty power strip, but it did so explicitly enough for me to understand that this oldtimer had to go. Back then I was hesitant with my decision to ditch the PF-2 most likely driven by sentiment, however now I’m not. Today’s the day.

GigaWatt PC-3 SE EVO+ and its more affordable PC-2 EVO+ sibling score equal notes on assembly quality, looks and usefulness. Both items dressed in the very same vanilla clothes are utilitarian utmost practical tools made to do a very specific job above all else, period. GigaWatt’s not into high bling factor, never was and most likely never will be. Adam and his crew have been putting function on the pedestal for years and not form. Subjectively speaking, I couldn’t care less about visuals of an item such as a power line conditioner, as long as it doesn’t poke my eyes with excessive flaunt we’re dandy. However, in 100% in-house made hardware built to last, reliably guard oftentimes very expensive companions and significantly improve upon their sonics is what floats my journo boat. That’s today’s game exactly, that’s what one pays for.

Upper four figures on GigaWatt PC-3 SE EVO+’s ask easily turn it into a costly luxurious item and quite possibly also an overkill in most cases. My sincere common sense advice is to start from lower tiered more affordable products, see what happens and move from there if financials allow it and desire to push further is still on. However, heavyweight enthusiasts far beyond entry level goods and with key components already well sorted have different needs. Many simply want to squeeze every bit of performance out of setups they already have, which leaves them with various tweaks such as today’s exceptionally potent one. If you’re after top tier hardware of the sort, please know that GigaWatt PC-3 SE EVO+ is now filed in my privy book as the best I’ve heard to date and the one to beat, simply put victorious. ‘Till next time!”

Wojciech Pacuła
The GigaWatt conditioner proposes things that are not available with power strips, primarily reducing the background noise to such a low level that it seems that the sound is quieter. We increase the volume knob by a minimum angle and get a more dynamic, more vivid sound than without a conditioner. But it is equally important to load the bass and clear its mid range. And all this with the silky, pleasant mountain of the band. It is a real, tangible, direction that every one of us dreams of – music lovers, fans and audio freaks.
 

Marek Dyba
“In live recordings, at least those on which room acoustics are well imaged, the impression of participation in a concert, presence in a specific interior, with GigaWatt becomes even deeper, more real, but also unforced, simply natural.

I wrote that with Polish conditioner the sound is more dynamic, more vivid and lively but at the same time it is … calmer. With the fact that it means lack of nervousness, better organization of sound, even higher consistency, fluidity and freedom. The sound becomes more present with it, more real. When it is necessary, there is no lack of claws, rapaciousness, even spontaneity, but even these elements do not break out of control, they are naturally. It also allows louder than usual listening to heavier music genres without the negative effects that usually accompany such excesses. ”

PROS: it does not limit dynamics, it improves sound quality
CONSS: I did not find any
TOTAL: a great device for high and very high level systems

https://www.hifichoice.pl/44#/spreads/1
 

Philipp Schneckenburger
During the test of the PC-3 SE EVO made the sound a bit more free than when using unfiltered mains to power the devices. The sound was cleaner and leaner without losing dynamics. The conditioner is a good solution to add quality to an existing setup. The upgrade by changing components will be much more expensive.

Summary: “If you want to get more out of your system, without the need to invest in new components – the best solution will be to connect the conditioner PC-3 SE EVO from Gigawatt to it. Neatly designed and ideally manufactured it will provide clean power for optimal sound reproduction.

Jan Myrvold
“Regardless from our expectations we note significant differences whenever the Gigawatt PC-3 EVO SE becomes connected to the home system. With clear superiority of the positive aspects. The words that come to mind are “control” and “panorama”. It just seems, that the amplifier gets more capabilities, which it efficiently uses to control the loudspeakers.”

“All details of the sound stage get more space and air, due to what, for example the vocals in the background, or second line planes seem more separated and better defined. Details, such as the saxophone in the piece Lomax “Days of 49” performed by Bob Dylan on the album “Self Portrait” have completely new vividness and nuances. This is only an example, as the tendency is clear, regardless of the disc placed in the player. It is also undeniable, that everything seems much stronger, what is best observed in the lower octaves. The real bass lines in different ranges come close to the listener, adding the music clear rhythmical substance. In short, the whole sound picture becomes bigger and flows more free.

At the same time, the overall sound picture increasing the panorama, expands to the outside in whole three dimensions. Due to that we perceive sharper focus and more defined holography.”

Marcin Olszewski
“PC-3 SE EVO came to me practically new, so needing burn-in and settle under load for at least a week.”

“What was my surprise, when from the first sounds I heard from my system, I did not notice any compression or blanket on the speakers. Changing the ECI-5 to a much more current-hungry KWI-200 also did not impress the Polish construction, and direct comparison with the amp plugged-in directly to the wall showed the Evo as the winner. What is going on? First of all, to date, plugging in Gigawatt cables or power strips made the impression, that there is a lot more of everything. More sound, more weight, as if an invisible hand would open a tap with music. With the PC-3 it was different. No spectacularism, no American kick and knock-out within the first few seconds. Instead readability and stability of the stage clearly improved, nervousness disappeared, especially with transients operating in the treble range. Also the articulation and differentiation of the lowest octaves improved. Sceptics and malcontents surely thought “Just that? No fireworks and exclamations of delight?” Well, sometimes small, at least on paper – as it is during a review, changes make quite a change of perception by the listener. The details are the things that decide if we perceive a sound as natural, or reject it due to not being compatible with the master encoded in our brain as heard some time ago – or even imagined. And Gigawatt brings us closer to that master.”“While the LC-3 performs great, changing the power cord to the top LS-1 mk2, costing hefty 6350 zloty, brings another, undisputed improvement. Plugging this cable into the Evo is comparable to what AMG does to Mercedes, or Shelby to Mustang. Maybe those are only “details”, and seemingly not much changes, but as usual appearances are deceptive, and if we do not think about spending the extra money on the conditioner and accessories, we should not even come close to the LS.

As with the standard set, everything was in its place, we could forget about compression, and while it could handle the Soulution power amp during the Audio Show, then the KWI 200 did not make it move a muscle. But something else appeared – better insight into the stage depth, more precise positioning of the virtual sources in the vertical plane, not only horizontal and incredible contour and precision of defining the lowest sounds.

“In places where power is quite stable and sure (for example in bug cities), the main problem becomes the noise of the grid caused by computers, lighting or industry. This is very efficiently neutralized by the Gigawatt. The difference in sound between “dirty” and “clean” variant was clear in such degree, as if music was played by two different systems. Most important was, that the changes had the same character with a CD player as well as with the source being a computer and a DAC. When those were powered directly from the power grid, the sound could be described as harsh and ruffled, with stinging, unpleasant sibilants and slow bass. When powered through the GigaWatt conditioner the sound was absolutely neutral. The amount of details increased significantly and the tonal drawing of the upper and middle registers improved. In the whole mix the micro-differentiation of bass became more clearly audible.”

Wiktor Gorbatow
“The most important thing is, that the conditioner absolutely does not limit the dynamics and does not worsen the detail. In general, as a good filter should, it is only minimally audible – the sound becomes richer and clearer, it sounds better on the sound spectrum extremes, the details become better noticeable, vocals are more differentiated.”

“Similarly interesting was the power cable LC-2 MK2 – we tested it separately and the result was not unanimous, but when connected to the conditioner – the company cable turned out to be the best choice.”

“After connecting the Gigawatt to our reference system, we immediately achieved a significant improvement. Frankly speaking there is no force needed – we do not need to torture our brains to notice, if it works or not. From the first notes there is a satisfaction that causes a smile, which brightens the faces of the listeners.

The first impression is the very clear extension of the frequency range upwards and downwards. With the conditioner the system improves presentation, especially enriching the level of bass and sub-bass, what has a direct impact on the sound stage – its depth and saturation, as if the walls would be pushed outwards. The upper midrange was a tad darker, less shiny, but also less fatiguing, higher, richer and softer, what results in more air between the instruments, the sounds are better focused and better differentiated, less stirred. In the piece “Una furtive lacryma” by the vocalist Izzy, we have better fluency, sharper, but also more velvety midrange, at the same time more present and delicate. The voice gained naturalness, and its timbre is richer and cleaner.

With some of our reference recordings we had an impression of gaining dynamics, after a reflection, the volume is not changed, but the silence is more absolute, what gives music a more natural, dynamic character. The energy of music is expressed without slowing down, the attacks are clear and decays seem not to end.”

“Our very well-known system made a step forward and it will be hard for us to step back to its original configuration, as the musical coherence was just better. Everybody plays together, we gain on readability of the micro-sounds, the attacks are sharper, and the decays longer. When Monty Alexander plays “Calypso Blues”, the clarity and transparency of its piano allow to even more appreciate the way the interpreter plays. The instruments seems more true, with a harmonic richness.

For sure the conditioner Gigawatt PC-3 SE EVO is triumphant with almost all standard test criteria.

Quite a surprise was the ascertainment, how big was the influence on our electronics by the power source, which attached to our devices, allowed us to realize its full potential. Such conditioner is an essential part of good system configuration. Now it is clear, that the game is worth the effort, and the investment is well justified.”

Arkadiusz Ogrodnik
“In terms of sound, the PC-3 SE comes ahead of the basic version of the PC-3 mostly in terms of micro-sounds, so in a place, where seemingly not much is happening. But when we listen to the timbre of instruments like a harpsichord, or acoustic guitar, then we will hear, that the more expensive version handles the reproduction of their nature better. We did not notice, like we did in the case of the cheaper PC-3, any symptoms of dynamics restriction – this is mostly valid in case of power amplifiers. It was even better with the CD player, silence appeared between the smallest sounds, and this did not happen at the cost of their reverbs. The borderline of their coexistence became better audible, what made them more accurate and better defined in space.

Also the GigaWatt PC-3 SE does not fail in a high quality video chain. Plugging a TV set into the conditioner resulted in immediate improvement in reproduction of colors, fluency of movements on the screen, while the background noise was vastly reduced.

CONCLUSION
PC-3 SE is worth to be called a hi-end power conditioner, but we should remember that in the company’s catalog we have an even more expensive model PC-4. However those, who want to power their system with a high class conditioner, and aim for uncompromising devices, and for whom the financial aspect is important, should give the PC-3 SE a try – it is the best evolution of the outstanding PC-3.”

VERDICT
“The SE version is dedicated to the demanding users. Higher class materials used in critical places increase the sound abilities.”

Available socket types: EU (Schuko), US (Nema 5-20R), AU (AS/NZS 3112)
Line voltage: 220-240 VAC 50/60 Hz or 110-120 VAC 50/60 Hz
Maximum output power : 3 680 W
Maximum current load: 16 A
Absorbed impulse current: 22 000 A
Dimensions (W x H x D): 440 x 115 x 400 mm
Gross weight: 16.2 kg