Seeking a Power Conditioner

First of all with your system, I would recommend a Niagara 3000 or 5000. 
As far as ASR, there is a lot of Kool-Aid being drank in this hobby. He drank some pretty weird Kool-Aid.

Two direct lines... 10 gauge, one for power conditioner and all components except amp. Amp, directly into wall.

Look at the best Shunyata or IsoTek you can afford.

@gkelly +1 Pay absolutely no attention to ASR.

+2 for pay no attention to ASR.  As far as power conditioning is concerned there is a controversy sparked by misunderstanding.  It is only needed in locales where the power supply is not tightly regulated or in areas served by old infrastructure or where a recent increase in population has resulted in a power demand that is taxing the power grid.  Not everyone needs power conditioning and if it isn't needed it does no harm, but it does no good either.  Hence the confusion.  I live in South Florida and in the summer months in densely populated areas the voltage swing goes from ~105 to ~120vac.  Especially during peak usage times this can affect audio performance.  I use a PS Audio P20 and it smooths things out completely.  I don't have to fuss with the bias on my tube amp any more and tube life is greatly extended.  That is real world experience over the past 8 or 10 years. 

ASR writes fiction to attract clicks.

That said, have you ever seen a negative review (except the clowns at ASR)?

Neither of them would be on my list.

Go with a regenerator.

Jerry

Have a question about ASR. reviews. I have been into this field for about 40 years and believe that each piece of the puzzle makes a difference in what we ultimately hear, room treatments absorption, diffusion etc. cables and interconnects, power cords, amps, preamps. dacs, streamers, etc. I have always believed reviews whether from magazines or fellow audiophiles are credible. Of course, I attempt to listen for myself before making a decision. For example, I plan to purchase the Schiit Loki Max, based on reviews.  Now I come to the issue of power conditioners.  I currently have a Richard Gray conditioner that is 20 years old or more.  I wanted to make a change on the rationale that conditioners have improved technology  since my purchase. My goal is to reduce the noise floor so I can listen to music at 55 dbs and still hear the dynamics and full body of the music. In my quest, I figured that less noise, more music. Then I read a few positive reviews in print and was ready to make a buying decision, until I came  2 reviews from ASR, who claims his tests are conducted with objective scientific instruments, and he concluded that 2 specific conditioning products  that I already mentioned make almost no difference at all as to the goals of reducing the noise floor or otherwise.  On this site, a few people have said his supposedly scientific testing is not useful, and that the subjective reviews online and in print have more value as compared to his objective tests. Are the conditioners for real?   Who is correct and what is your rationale for your conclusion? Would appreciate any thoughts that you may have.  By the way, my budget is in the $3000.00 range, new purchase only. Thank you. 

Get the best power conditioner you can afford, but be aware that there is no magic, just reality of electricity. If there is a benefit, it can be measured, so don't believe false claims of better audio in most cases. Where I live in Florida I'm done with paying for repairs from dirty power and surges, even when the house has surge protection (that didn't protect the stereo and on-demand water heater). I have not read the reviews of power conditioners on ASR, but it's electric and there should not be such negativity from this group to looking at the facts about the measurable characteristics of the power handling. I have a simple conditioner from Panamax and I have seen it work in storms and with generators that push dirty power as well. We have had fireballs traveling down the power lines and houses having things burst into flames even with surge devices installed as I assume it was a bigger event than they could handle. I have had to repair two McIntosh components due to immediate and latent failures related to this type of issue. A good conditioner will tell you that there is an event happening and dirty power may not be obvious, but can cause damage. I cannot plug things into the wall unless I want to risk losing them. A good conditioner should also have the high current capacity needed for pretty big high current amps. Every system and device is different so do your research on the actual power needs of your system, not this crazy idea that everything must be plugged directly into the mains with a cord made of unicorn hair. IMHO, you are not going to get any sonic benefit, just cleaner power and protection. 

carlsbad2

ASR writes fiction to attract clicks.

Pretty much. ASR promotes controversy and drama. Some people like that stuff.

 I used to have my amp plugged directly into a dedicated 20 amp line, pre and source on another, protected by a PS Audio in wall surge protector. I would always unplug the amp any time thunder storms were forecast. After a little research, I bought this :https://www.crutchfield.com/p_756ELT15PF/Furman-Elite-15-PFi.html. Everything is now plugged into it, and it is plugged into dedicated 20 amp line. Absolutely nothing but improvement, most notably the soundstage grew wider and deeper. ( my room is not optimal in this area, so the improvement was quickly noticeable.) The thing is cheap enough for you to try and can be returned if you don't like it. I love what it did in my system, plus I have additional peace of mind when storms pop up and Im not home. You can surely spend a ton more, but this piece is a great start point  IMHO.

@dean_palmer +1 !

@winoguy17 check pic 4/7 on the Crutchfield site.  I’m not sure I’d buy anything from someone who can’t figure out what size hat to ware 😵‍💫

Amongst my people I come across as a stereo guru. As they gaze upon me with wonder upon the vast knowledge I spew upon their minds. Here on this site, I find myself at the very shallow end of a very deep pool. It would become painfully obvious if I tried swimming in the deep end, I would drown very quickly. Yet, if I was to believe my people, I’m a genius. Amir has been able to get the masses to believe his own ideas. So now he goes around telling and believing his idea of truth. Get a following and you got a cult. Like I said earlier, drink the Kool-Aid or not. 

I have the Niagara 1200 on my third system . It sounds good. Audioquest and PS audio make good conditioner . I have their ps 300 on my second system.

Here's the deal.  As with all audio components, there's a million different conditioners/manufacturers out there to choose from.  And you can't believe or disbelieve everything people write or say about them.  That said, as always, all you can do is, go out there and see for yourself what works best for you and your audio system.  Ultimately, that's the only way.  Personally, the perfect conditioner that gets the job done for me, is the magnificent Audioquest Niagara 3000, which I plug everything into, including my amplifier.  Happy listening.      

marco1,  not sure I would take advice from someone that can't spell "wear "....

I recently picked up a used Shunyata Research Hydra Triton V3 that I am very impressed with.  It uses passive filtration.  The sound quality improvement was immediately apparent.  I began researching power conditioners when it was obvious to me that some evenings the sound quality was noticeably better than others.  Many satisfied users over at whatsbestforum.

marco1, not sure I would take advice from someone that can’t spell "wear "....

touche 

In reviewing the Puritan Audio PSM 156 on ASR, the author says "as always, we attempt to tease out the transfer function of the conditioner using normal audio level signals" and after many measurements with test signals concludes with "as you see, I have run a number of tests to give the PSM156 ample opportunity to show it can do something to improve audio but it can’t even move the dial one hair. There is no indication or logic that would tell us that it can make an audible improvement."

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/puritan-audio-psm156-review-ac-filter.26136/

It is important to note that at no point was it mentioned that music was played through a system with and without the PSM 156 in the circuit. I don’t spend my hours of relaxation listening to test signals - I listen to music.  The ASR review failed to assess the impact on music reproduction. This is just pure nonsense - ignore them. 

Imagine doing a wine review as follows - samples of 5 wines are given to a reviewer in a blinded fashion labeled A, B, C etc.  The reviewer measures multiple variables including light transmission, specific gravity, residual sugar, salinity, and boiling point and determines the winner based on those measurements and concludes that the other wines can't possibly be as good based on their measurements.  At no point does the reviewer assess the bouquet of the wine nor taste it.  That is the ASR approach to audio - drinking Kool Aid, not wine.

The PSM 156, PS Audio PP12, and Accuphase PS-1250 all had a significant and positive effect on the sound of my audio system with blacker backgrounds, more detail and dynamics etc - as if a veil had been lifted between me and the music.

I need a power conditioner with 12 outlets. Seeking new and my budget is $4000.00 maximum. The only one that I have seen thus far is the Furman IT reference 15 amp version for $2500.00 retail. The Furman has a total of 11 outlets. It also has an isolation transformer. Does anybody have any experience with this item or anything else that might work?  Thank you.

  Need 12 outlets ? Yikes. All I know is Furman has been in the game a long time, and well respected. Good luck in your search.

OP:

I use Furman exclusively. The SMP feature is a very effective noise filter as well as excellent surge protection. Living in a lightning prone area that’s the only thing I can recommend for high end gear. In some places where I’ve lived I could definitely hear when it was not being used.

The isolation transformer is good, but I prefer to use the voltage regulation (AR) features like this unit. That keeps a solid voltage coming to my gear regardless of HVAC or seasonal usage, something an isolation transformer alone cannot do.

Best,

E

My research lead me here https://acousticfrontiers.com/products/environmental-potentials-ep-2050

Yes, I have one installed, but so far not tested by a strike.  Best of luck.

PS Audio

Check out Chang Litespeed products.