Power conditioning CAN make all the difference in the world DEPENDING on the component. The only way to really tell is through trial and error. For example, my amplifier (Gamut D-200) does not really like bening plugged straight into the wall. I get deffinite improvement from the sound of the amp when it is plugged into a PS Audio 20 HC UO. My amp even sounds better plugged into a PS audio power plant (unfortunately I do not have a power plant big enough to really plug in into effictively, but I have experimented with my P300, the combo is amazing).
Anyway, my Ayre K-3x preamp is just the opposite. The Ayre much prefers being plugged into the wall and does not like power conditioning of a UO or power plant. The Ayre though does have a lot of power conditioning in the preamps design, and Ayre told me (though I did not 100% beleive them at the time) that I should just plug the preamp into the wall. After some experiementation, I came to the same conclusion.
KF
Anyway, my Ayre K-3x preamp is just the opposite. The Ayre much prefers being plugged into the wall and does not like power conditioning of a UO or power plant. The Ayre though does have a lot of power conditioning in the preamps design, and Ayre told me (though I did not 100% beleive them at the time) that I should just plug the preamp into the wall. After some experiementation, I came to the same conclusion.
KF