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Best Power Conditioner (new) under $400?

In the Absolute Sound issue 118, Robert Harley highly recommends the Monster HTS2000 power center. It is $200 new. I wonder if there are better options under $400 that improve the sound quality in a wide range of systems. Has anyone compared this power conditioner with its bigger brothers HTS2500 and HTS3500 or with the Adcoms? or with others? Thank you for your comments.
jorge_err
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Chang Lightspeed 3200 Mk2 $320; or Audio Power Pack II at $235; Tice Solo at $349 or Tice Solo AV at $400 are all very good. All of these units have segregated filtered plugs for digital equipment. Makes a big difference keeping the digital noise away from the rest of your system.
rwa0585
1 posts
 
I bought an HTS 2000 for my second system and was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. Sonically it is as good as my API Power Pack V. Paid $125 at Global Mart.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
Where a better power conditioner helps is in lowering the noise floor and quieter background. You may not notice the difference sonically until you get use to the sound with the better conditioner and then take it away. I think we all tend to focus on the treble and then midrange at first. If you already have a decent quality conditioner/surge protector, I highly recommend those Blue Cirle BC-86 Noise Hounds auction here on AudiogoN as a way to improve the sound.
kjg
171 posts
 
I have the 2500 and it works beautifully for my system. According to Monster Cable, the circuitry should be the same as the 2000, but the 2500 has a remote power on/off facility which was for me, the salient feature when I bought it. When I got the unit, there weren't very many conditioners with remote under about $600, so it was a fairly easy decision given my strapped pocketbook at the time. From what I gather, most of the PC manufacturers now offer lower priced units, but I'm afraid that I don't know very much about them. I'm sure that others will be able to provide some insights here.

Before I picked this unit up, I did read a number of comments about the Monster products on the various consumer review web sites, and most regarded the 2000/2500 generally well for the money. I did run across a few negative things on AudioReview about the 3500, with some speculation that it has too much filtering and was somewhat less nimble at handling transient spikes than the 2000, but the vast majority of posts on it were very positive. It might be worth taking some time to read some of these and see what you think.

Cheer,
Ken
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