Question re: Power conditioner

I say thee yea. My Monster 5100SS dropped the noise floor considerably, and allowed new details to emerge.

Like everything else in this hobby, your mileage may vary. Buy one, and if you don't like it, flip it here on A'gon.

These units are all system dependant. No one else knows the quality of the power coming into your home, and how it affects your system.

If the price is good enough, buy it, try it, and if it's not the answer sell it used on AudiogoN.

I think that these tend to be way to expensive for what it does. Blue Circle has line pillows for 110.00 each that work better for noise. Or look at the music circles, more money but better for the price in the long run.

I use power conditioners for everything but my amps. It is very dependent on what each person "hears" but I would not think of not having them.

I'm not sure how much you would be paying for the Monster Power 7000, but if it is anything close to $500 I would skip it and get a couple of dedicated lines put in for your system (one for amps, one for sources). I think these will unquestionably give you greater benefit, never suck life out of your system, and really in most cases can be installed for $500 or less. Once you have the dedicated lines, plug your equipment straight into the wall (no power strips!).

I upgraded from the 5100 to the HTPS 7000 and could not be happier. I also have a dedicated line for my system. IMHO having the combination of dedicated lines with power conditioning is the way to go. I have tried my integrated through the power conditioner and directly from the dedicated line and found that I prefered it through the conditioner. The HTPS 7000 uses dual transformers and ballanced power which I feel is a plus.

Michael

I went back to the store this AM and found I had just missed the Monster 7000. I think it went for about $400. BUT, I did get an AC line analyzer that plugs into the wall socket and allows you to listen for noise and check EMI. (scored this for $20 ;-) This was a revelation. I found a line I had run for the amp from a grounded socket was full of radio noise and junk and I am better off to plug into a different socket that is relatively much cleaner. I also found a line I had been running some front end off to be filled with noise and garbage. It sounded like a trashy AM radio it was so bad. So, I am thinking I will run the amp off the wall socket and get possibly a conditioner or something to clean up the front end. BTW, switching the amp socket made quite a difference, especially in the bass, but 'more better' across the spectrum. Now, to find a decent unit for the front end...