Power conditioner some say yes and some say no.

I live in a 1901 colonial and am convinced that my electric sucks. I just purchased a isotek 6 port power conditioner from crutchfield that I'm gonna try out.

My biggest issue is faint audible speaker hum when connected to my power amp, but when I just recently tried to connect my subwoofer to speaker level connections off same said amp (as opposed to preout RCA) my amp hums something wicked.

I tried a line isolation plug for the power amp (kinda help diminish the speaker hum), but did nothing for the subwoofer.

I'm gonna try to run everything through my integrated amp, but I'm also gonna try the isotek.

I'll let you know what audible results I get, but if it doesn't do anything... back it goes.

I found power conditioners have a detrimental effect on power amps, whether they be low powered valve or big ol' current dumpers, they rob dynamics etc. On source components for me the jury is out.

In my experience you gain more advantages by having your hifi on a completely separate ring from your main fuse box and rewire the ring with good quality mains cable and wall sockets. The next thing you can do is star earth your equipment to an outside earth spike/rod, again use good quality earth cable.

All this would cost far less than $4000, spend the rest on a system component upgrade, whether it be source, amplifier or speakers.

“As you found out, it is not prudent to prepay to an individual during a pandemic (of the unvaccinated.)”
 Caveat emptor. 

I bought an Audience AR6 three houses ago and it helped a lot with noise.  Each time I’ve moved I have just plugged it back in.  Been here two years and never checked.  Maybe I’ll unplug it for a time and see if anything gets worse.

JD

A new descent Furman can be had for 125-220$ with lights, and good over all over current protection. 
 We have horrible power here, as mentioned the wall voltage, goes up, down, 116 up to almost 123, the Furman shuts everything down in a millisecond when voltage gets above a specific voltage. 
 Can be a pain in the butt at times, but I feel safe knowing my audio is protected. 

Again, I’m agreeing with jason bourne 52. I suspect power conditioners are a cottage industry exploiting the placebo effect. Having practiced medicine for 30+ years prior to retirement, I am familiar with this effect. It is relatively easy to install a power conditioner, just plug it in. But to make a meaningful improvement in,say an amplifier’s, performance, one must disassemble the device and modify the power supply, usually by installing increased capacitance.

I should add I'm kind of a 'budget' audiophile -- what I have is what I could afford.

In my case I have to use one -- one of those old Tice units (badly reviewed sometimes) and the big old "power block" storage device. 

I bought the set simply because my house is wired is at 30A, my power-amp if used at higher volumes caused the lights to dim and if we were also using the air conditioner and/or washing machine we'd trip the breakers. The conditioner/power storage set eliminated the problem.

I thought I heard some reduced dynamics when I first plugged them in, but I had just gotten through reading someone who said the Tice units "stangled" the sound of his system. I don't hear it now. I don't know if my initial impression was biased from his comments, I've gotten used it or what. I will say I enjoy the hell out of my system and until I move to a place with more robust wiring, I'm stuck where I am and it's not a bad place at all -- I like being able to "open it up" without fretting about the breakers.

I use a Furman P2400IT for a few reasons.  1. The power from the wall fluctuates between 118 - 124 volts.  2. The Fruman eliminates potential ground loops, line noise, yada yada yada.  3. Protects my system against power surges.  A friend had his house struck by lightning last year.  So it could happen.  As someone once asked me, does it make sense to spend 10% or less, of what you've invested in you system, to protect it?  https://furmanpower.com/product/20a-prestige-symmetrically-balanced-power-conditioner/#  This biggest single improvement it makes is the improvment to my state on mind knowing it's there.  

Furman. 
 Have 2 of them,  first one bought about 1991 or 92? Maybe?

still in use. They make good products.

also, we use a early 2000’s monster plug in strip, 

still rocking along.
   All components unplugged if gone for extended time. 

Live and learn. It could have cost me more but at least I got my gear except for the Keces for now.

His family thanks you for donating to burial service.
As you found out, it is not prudent to prepay to an individual during a pandemic (of the unvaccinated.)

The reason I am out $4000 is because I gave a dealer $4000 worth of gear on consignment to go towards the new Keces but the dealer got Covid-19 and passed away before he could transfer the funds. My Niimbus headphone amp ended up costing me $1800 more than what I had arranged with the dealer but at least I was able to get my  original $7200 investment on the Niimbus back. Instead of dealer cost I had to pay full list price. All in all I lost $5800 but the Niimbus is beautiful and maybe one day I will be able to afford to try the Keces. Apparently I would have to wait for the next shipment to arrive.

It's the internet.  The internet specializes in conflicting opinions.  You're looking for an answer to "Would it make sense?"  The answer is yes and no.  Even if you go with the majority opinion, there's no guarantee that's right.

I've auditioned or owned a number of pc over the years, ps audio powerplants, Audience Adept, Shunyata Hydra. My BPT 3.5 Signature with further diy mods has remained my favorite for years. This is transformer based pc, great on everything with exception of tube amps. It does soften transients as has every power conditioner I've tried with exception of Furutech Flux 50NCF. This is with 845SET, 300B custom built monoblocks and diy modded Prima Luna Dialogue Four.
All these pc's superior to no pc in my room. I have three dedicated 10awg Romex ac lines and far upgraded grounding system for whole house. Upgraded ac receptacles and power cords as well. Amazing to me that a pc and entire dedicated ac distribution system wouldn't be an upgrade. Plethora of switching power supplies in various equipment would mandate pc in itself.

I worked for Roger Modjeski for several years. He was always of the opinion that if you designed the power supply of a component properly then additional power conditioning would not be needed. In his system he used an inexpensive power strip, mainly just to have the ability to power on/off all his components simultaneously. However, Roger did tell me that he felt the best type of power conditioning was to use balanced isolation transformers. Equitech is a company that makes these, and Torus makes unbalanced versions.

If you want a real bargain check out the link. It says DIY but Chris will build it for you for a nominal fee. These are essentially the same Balanced Power Technology units that were offered years ago when Chris was still in business. I bought two of them and am very satisfied:

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=172708.0

Impossible question to answer because there is no way of knowing what "a" power conditioner is. They are not all the same you know. If you get a good one it will be better. If you don't it won't. Yes it really is that simple.

Depends on your power and the line conditioner used. I'm using VIBEX PLATINIUM which does mot limit output and improves the sound with better stage, dynamics bass detail and quietness.

Power conditioners are one of the devices that are highly dependent on your situation. Your exact house. Most of the time they are beneficial for most people. I replaced mine with a high end power distribution strip (Cardas I think). The experiment lasted about 30 seconds. No question the power conditioner improved the sound. Mine is a 25 year old Cinepro… a very good one for it’s time). My power amp goes right into the wall. We have buried power lines in our neighborhood, and I have half a dozen or so Quietline filters around the house.

Occasionally I read about someone who has clean power and does not benefit from them (and could tell… not people that religiously do not “believe” in them.

I have never found any power conditioner to be wondrous. The ones I have used - and they ALL claim not to harm the signal - are as deleterious as beneficial. I don't find the idea of a whole system conditioner too appealing. I have found upgraded individual power supplies for each component to be highly efficacious. YMMV 

Consider; the thousands put into a conditioner could be put to work in, say, better speakers, and no one can tell you whether you would prefer that to the highly conditioned, lesser speakers. ONLY a direct comparison would tell. All manner of unsupported claims are made, with very little sensibility and real world experience applied to the claims. :(

Why are you out $4000?

Tube gear are the only components I seem to gain much improvement on when using power conditioners.  While conditioners can greatly reduce the noise floor, particularly with SET amps, they often negatively impact the dynamics and soundstage from my experience.  I have had recent success using isolation transformers (eg. Equi=Core), which I find reduces the noise floor without negatively affecting the dynamics.  These products are a relative bargain in my view compared to other products.  I'm a huge fan now.

Best to just try it for yourself. Sell if it doesn't do the deed.

Some forum advice just increases nervosa. You already have experienced there is a camp with and without.

There is an excellent recent article on this by John Atkinson in Stereophile; you know, the guy that does all the measurements. It’s worth the read. Of course, there are many other articles on this, as well.

From what I’ve read, there are many factors that affect "line hash" and other power issues. Generally speaking, you are much more likely to have measurable "line hash" if you live in a larger city, as opposed to a burb or more rural area with good or reasonably good electricity delivery infrastructure. The age and/or quality of the wiring in your home is an important factor, as well.

I’ve been using a Monster power conditioner for many years. I honestly can’t recall hearing a difference when I started using it with the system I had way back then. If there was one, it was likely very subtle, which is why I have no clear recollection of this. Usually, when something blows me away, like speakers or a component I heard even 50 years ago, I remember that component, its model number, the shop or place I was in at the time and who I was with. So, I’m relatively certain whatever difference there was with the Monster was subtle, at best. At this point, I wouldn’t dream of leaving it out of my chain because of the protection it provides to my components. Best way to arrive at your own conclusion on this is to try it. Worst that can happen is you take it back for a refund.

I pulled my power conditioner from my system about a month ago and so far I hear no difference. But I am in the middle of a major system change and only heard my previous system without it for about 2 weeks. My new system sounds great so far without it. I originally purchased it in my previous home where it made a huge difference. So I agree that it depends on your specific power situation.

Sometimes there is issue with the ac from the wall. In this situation I am told a power transformer can be helpful but I also am told that if you don’t have ac issues then a conditioner is unhelpful and can be detrimental.

A power conditioner is just like the "Miracle carburetor adds 100 mpg to your car’s gas mileage". Stop falling for the claim that there is something "wrong" with the AC from your wall outlet!