Advice on power conditioner

I'm with Sean on this one. Or you can get a new Monster Cable HTS-1000 or HTS-2000 for $149 and $199 (retail -- you can do better), respectively. They're hard to beat for the money -- and they're better than the Chang. At least they were in my system, which at the time consisted of Rowland and Audio Research.

Equi-tech or Richard Gray which do very different things are the best way to go. Look up their specs. The others impact the sound in adverse ways.

I would strongly agree with Sean concerning the Chris VH power cords. I have put together a mix of models numbering about 16 of these, and tried them on a host of different equipment, all with great results. If Ernie has put together a kit with all of the parts, so much the better for you.

Regarding the Richard Gray units, I had three of them. They strangled my amp. My Pass X350 and my Rowland Model 10 sounded like tiny triodes. When my A/C kicked on, the 60-watt lamp I had plugged into one of the units dimmed. So much for incredible power reserves. The Monster is better for lots less money.

No doubt about it -- Monster 2000 (or the latest model #) is the way to go. Online, you can find it for around $130 or so. Also, I would say plug the amp into it -- I live in Manhattan and the sound improved substantially with the amp plugged in. Also, no need to use the so-called high current outlets in the unit -- they don't handle any higher power but do have less filtration. But, in NYC you want more filtration, not less.