Technology - STROMTANK - German Power Tank

Thea long road from the power plant to the stereo system

If music is to touch us emotionally, we can’t get away with just any kind of electricity, we need the cleanest and most consistent flowing current possible. That is precisely the crux of the matter. Our electricity grid is operated at a frequency of 60 hertz. The direction of the current changes 120 times per second with alternating current, 60 times in each direction. Only if this frequency is maintained is the grid stable. Consumption and production should be in balance. If there is an imbalance, whether it is an undersupply or an overload, there is the threat of a power cut.

The permanently increasing demand for energy, especially in big cities, makes the issue of clean electricity more and more challenging: Mobile phone chargers, computer networks, refrigerators, air conditioners, heat pumps, LAN data transmissions via the power grid, energy-saving light bulbs and much more contaminate the grid with pulses, DC components and other, often high-frequency interference.

Unfortunately, the charging cycles of electric cars have a particularly negative effect on the desirable current purity and voltage stability. The seemingly short path of the solar energy system on the roof also leads to various problems. Solar energy may theoretically be the cleanest form of energy of all, but the solar output fluctuates, which the inverters of such systems have to contend with. In short: a pure sine wave is not in the typical requirement profile of such systems. Moreover, the electricity often travels long distances before it arrives at the socket. It should come as no surprise that cables optimised for audio purposes are not used for this journey.

So what stands in the way of pure music enjoyment with our high-quality systems? The obstacle course over long distances and the fact that all consumers feed from the same mains. At this point it should now be clear that the often large investments in our high-end audio components make another fundamental expense indispensable.

Voltage stability is a separate issue: fluctuations of 10% and more are not uncommon. At 85%, voltage reduction is the most frequent grid disturbance. It can last from 10 milliseconds to one second. In this apparently short time span, IT systems can crash, for example, resulting in data loss, overheating and premature wear of hardware.

The solution

Maintenance-free – computer-monitored – Made in Germany.

To protect your valuable equipment from overload or under-load and to smooth out unwanted voltage peaks, you can install a mains filter. But this cannot ensure maximum power flow. You can go one step further and use a regenerator, which smooths the sine wave, but often also causes dynamic losses. StromTank takes the consistent path and makes real what audiophiles have only dreamed of so far: it is a real power plant for the purest electricity especially for your HiFi system. This development was only made possible by the use of innovative, particularly powerful and unfortunately expensive lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. StromTank uses special versions of this battery type, which are characterized by maximum current output, the longest service life and voltage stability, as well as the greatest safety.

We have paid particular attention to the service life of our StromTank LFP batteries and have developed custom to ensure ideal battery management. The decisive factor for the service life of a battery is that each individual cell is controlled and monitored individually. When delivering current power up to 5kWh (S5000-HighPower), all cells then behave like a single very large battery. This is exactly what ultimately leads to incredible silences and structure in music playback. Even if the power fails completely, you can continue listening to music with your StromTank.

Primary tasks of battery management:

“Active balancing”: monitoring charging and discharging up to 10A.
Control of temperature, voltage, charging activity and charging status of each battery cell.

We were able to draw on the expertise of the Fraunhofer-Institute in Nuremberg, highly respected specialists in battery management technologies, for this multifaceted task. The resulting mature technology can rightly be described as an engineering achievement „Made in Germany“. The decisive factor here is the clean and noiseless conversion from direct current to alternating current, to a perfect sine wave.

Compared to other battery technologies, LFP technology is ahead in all aspects.

What are the specific benefits of using a StromTank?

The absolutely pure sine wave that the StromTank continuously generates and the resulting absence of any interference …

… people listen to music noticeably louder,
… people listen to music for noticeably longer,
… people are beginning to discover new music genres for themselves,
… people are beginning to enjoy more music with acoustic instruments (especially classical music).

Find your added value!

Operating Modes

ON-Grid (blue LED)
Here, the StromTank supplies the system with energy from the wall socket, acting as a regenerator, but with a crucial difference: fluctuations in the power supply are compensated for by a rechargeable battery circuit which, through constant monitoring, always provides exactly the amount of energy that is needed at any given moment (boost function). This technology prevents dynamic losses and already provides a significantly better current.

OFF-Grid (greenLED)
In this mode, all audio equipment connected to the StromTank is powered completely from the StromTank batteries. The connection to the dirty mains is totally mechanically interrupted in this mode, using power relays. The supply power in this mode lasts for an average of between four and eight hours, depending on the StromTank type and the individual power requirements of the hi-fi components. The current delivery capability, especially for fast charging of all capacitors, is unmatched. As soon as the batteries’ state of charge reaches a critical minimum, the display jumps back to ON-Grid and the batteries are freshly charged. The 50 or 60 Hz frequency of our StromTanks in green OFF-Grid mode is 100% stable, as it is crystal-controlled, unlike the usual mains frequency, which may fluctuate by a few hertz. In principle, in addition to the two operating modes “blue” (= charging mode) and “green” (= battery mode), there is of course also the mode “before”, i.e. listening to music entirely without StromTank. Now the comparison between charging and battery mode of the StromTank is already clear. However, the comparison between these two “StromTank modes” and operation completely without a StromTank is drastic. The blue charging mode already represents a clear improvement on life without a StromTank and is further enhanced in the green battery mode. What sounds so simple is the result of a long journey. We invite you to continue on it with us.

S-1000

Everything that characterises the StromTanks can already be found in our smallest model. Depending on the system configuration, even with the S-1000 there are no limits to absolute music enjoyment.

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S-2500 Quantum MK-II

"The new middle class", if you go by our device hierarchy. Otherwise, the S-2500 Quantum MK-II is, of course, absolute top class. Here, too, we have implemented everything in line with our uncompromising approach.

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S-4000 ProPower MK-II

The S-4000 ProPower not only cuts a fine figure in many recording studios. It is also a classic power tank, but one with eight LFP batteries and two inverters.

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S-5000 HighPower MK-II

Many people say that life is made up of compromises.  We say it consists of decisions. And if you have opted for a high-end system, then you also want to be able to call up its optimum performance at all times.

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