WAudio 3900 Hi-End Audio Grade Noise Filter
This Chinese-made, $200 Amazon stop-gap device had audiophile mediocrity written all over it.
First, a story.
My power conditioner (PC) blew an onion, and the short to ground left it humming badly and tripping the breakers for the music room and kitchen!
The only casualty was a $100 electrician visit plus the conditioner fault blew a $100 Sylvania NOS 4U5AG rectifier tube in the $16,500 phono stage’s power supply.
I’m waiting for a few stellar, expensive PCs from three very capable companies, but, in the meantime, threw in this $200 unit.
The 3900 has 6 filtered, hospital grade outlets and 4 industrial, non filtered outlets. I plugged my amplifier into the wall—far too many inexpensive power conditioners rob the amplifier of power if the filtered outlets are not sufficiently managed by the transformers for reserve power. I plugged everything else into the filtered outlets. I’ve since received one of the top power conditioners I requested (review forthcoming) and now plug the power amplifier directly into the specified ‘high current’ outlet on the new conditioner. I did not want to risk the amplifier power drain on the entry level WAudio.
Immediately, a very positive result. Excellent bass, very realistic soundstages with larger than life imaging and fairly accurate timbres. And much better than the components plugged into the wall and a universe away from plugged into a power strip.
Compared to my now unusable $2200 lump of metal (manufacturer, long since gone to the blue beyond—the guys in the know on the island said it’ll be butchered in repair by the locals; their words, not mine), the 3900 lacks the last ounce of total control of my now defunct, expensive reference, with the larger than life images losing the last bit of coherence. But, $200 bucks.
Audiophilia has no company affiliation (the link below is not monetized) with no financial interest, but the WAudio 3900 is widely available on Amazon.
So, if you’re getting an entry-level audiophile system together, you could do far worse for a lot more money than this gem from W Audio. The W-3900.
