power cords/surge protector-conditioner

I've been curious about this myself, as I own two HTS3500s for the home theater and the audio system. My amps, CD player, and DVD player all have upgraded power cables. As it was explained to me, the power cords and the line conditioner do not do the same thing. The line conditioner removes garbage, while the power cord is providing power and providing proper shielding at the same time (to keep junk from getting into the line). If you had no objection to the money, I would say to get the upgraded power cords. I do not believe they are duplicating the work of the line conditioner.

I have used various upgraded power cords with the HTS2000 and the difference that each type of power cord made was easy to hear. The trick is finding cords that you like the sound of in your system. I would try one on the CD player to start to see if it makes a difference (and hopefully an improvement) to you.

Thanks both. Dekay, do you plug the power cord into the HTS 2000 or direct to wall outlet? If the wall outlet, then whats the point of the HTS 2000?

Dekay is correct, plug HTS 2000 into wall and plug power cords into HTS 2000. You will easily hear improvement over stock cords that came with equipment. You can buy used here
and then sell for almost same price, or try Cable Co which has cable library which allows you to try cable first for a small deposit which is applied to purchase or any item in store. Analysis plus makes AC cords which are supposed to sound great, never see them used here. Be careful about buying cords that are too stiff, they can be a big headache.
Check out Cable Co here www.fatwyre.com

Argent you may want to try HTS 2000 also, it was clearly better than HTS 3500 for audio only in my system, several other people here experienced the same thing, you can buy new HTS 2000 for $125 at www.globe-mart.com

I run everthing through the HTS2000, including my amps. Some people, though, find that they prefer the sound of amps run directly from the wall (without conditioning), but then they are left without surge protection (which is a risky propostion where I live in LA). I have been experimenting with using two HTS2000's in series (one plugged into the other). The amp plugged into the first unit and the digital gear running from the second one. Due to the HTS2000 having three different filtering levels (depending on which outlets are used) there are quite a few possibilities/combinations to try out. The digital outlets have more, preamp/receiver outlets moderate and the amp outlets the least filtering. Also since I have two HTS2000's I am considering upgrading (hardwiring) the power cord on one of them to see if this will change/improve the sound and if it does then maybe installing a male IEC plug to one of the units as well (which would make it easier to try different cords). Why modify a $125.00 power conditioner? Because I am curious and cheap.