Has a Power Conditioner Improved Your Sound?

Thank you for the update. Such is high end audio. It is really easy to like something at first only to realize something other aspect is amiss. I will admit that the 707 was a very budget oriented power conditioner. I looked at it and thought if the one I have in the bedroom with TV and good quality sound bar goes out I might get one,

I would look much farther up at Isotech or Shunyata. I’ve got a good quality 75 pound power conditioner I have had for over twenty years and each time I swap it out or compare it still is doing a great job.

@terry9

From your quote…”It took the ‘ sparkle ‘ out of the sound .”

Yes, it can be. I went through a period about thirty years ago when upgrading some modest components and adding / evaluating high quality interconnects and power conditioning that each step I took reduced the “treble”… sizzle… until I was freaked out that my whole system had gone over to the too warm side. I was confused since in most respects it sounded much better.

I started going out and listening to unamplified cymbals and pianos… and was shocked to find that what I had thought was great treble was in fact high frequency hash and distortion. Cymbles when struck sound like brass not tsssssss. I realized all those loud amplified concerts and cheap loud stereos in the 70’s had trained me to believe that is how music sounded. Surveying real music it was easy to stop craving the tsssss. I realized how beautiful undistorted instruments / music sounds. You know, once you hear you cannot unhear it. My systems then got better more quickly and my partner (a female) no longer minded listening to my system any more… since the high frequency hash and distortion hurt her ears.

Often after that I would go into a showroom and go running out with my hands over my ears. The piercing distortion is often completely missed by folks so focused on detail and slam they just don’t seem to hear it. 

Yes power conditioners have always improved the sound of my system. This is true for the vast majority of people but not all. There is a very small minority that seem to live in exceptional locations with good power.

I have used a power conditioner for over 30 years in different locations. Isotech is an excellent choice as is Shunyata. You want to plug your amp directly into an outlet (preferably a direct line) and the rest of your equipment into a power conditioner in a different (preferably a direct line).

Just a comment on noise. Noise in audio is seldom heard directly… it is not a crackle or something you can focus on. It is the noise floor that unless you have a lot of experience is pretty invisible until it is lowered. The background becomes darker and you can hear deeper into the music. A power conditioner will also remove a layer of subtle distortion and also make the music more dynamic.