Shasta,
I have to disagree on the "overhyped" dirty power issue. I live in a residential suburb - our voltage is constant and reliable, but my sound so significantly improved after I installed a power conditioner I had to do some testing.
I have an old passive "remote volume control" that was made by AR (ungrounded construction, plastic case - real mid-fi). Many years ago (in another home) I used to use it as a passive preamp between my CD player and amp. I recently tried it again and found it unusable when plugged directly into an outlet - there was so much noise on the AC line that my speakers were making terrible noises with no signal sent through the unit.
Once I plugged the unit into the power conditioner, it was silent. My quality hi-fi equipment did not make such noise, as it is all better shielded and regulated, but the conditioner definately made a remarkable difference in the "air" and sound stage. I describe it as though layers of wool were lifted from my speakers.
I'm not saying that everyone has this type of problem - but in my case it was not just "hype". Installing a simple power conditioner (a $250 Monster HTS2100) rescued my $40,000+ audio system! Try one - most stores have a reasonable return policy. You don't have to start with a multi-thousand dollar unit - as with all things audio, the law of diminishing returns hits quickly on such tweaks.
I have to disagree on the "overhyped" dirty power issue. I live in a residential suburb - our voltage is constant and reliable, but my sound so significantly improved after I installed a power conditioner I had to do some testing.
I have an old passive "remote volume control" that was made by AR (ungrounded construction, plastic case - real mid-fi). Many years ago (in another home) I used to use it as a passive preamp between my CD player and amp. I recently tried it again and found it unusable when plugged directly into an outlet - there was so much noise on the AC line that my speakers were making terrible noises with no signal sent through the unit.
Once I plugged the unit into the power conditioner, it was silent. My quality hi-fi equipment did not make such noise, as it is all better shielded and regulated, but the conditioner definately made a remarkable difference in the "air" and sound stage. I describe it as though layers of wool were lifted from my speakers.
I'm not saying that everyone has this type of problem - but in my case it was not just "hype". Installing a simple power conditioner (a $250 Monster HTS2100) rescued my $40,000+ audio system! Try one - most stores have a reasonable return policy. You don't have to start with a multi-thousand dollar unit - as with all things audio, the law of diminishing returns hits quickly on such tweaks.