What line conditioner were you using?? What you describe can happen on a poor conditioner, but not on the better made conditioners. The conditioner maker Vansevers makes a surge protector made for audio that lists for $30 and can be had for $25 at Midi-Classics.com
Surge Protection and line conditioning
I just had a negative experience with a line conditioner and no longer want one for my system. I heard a little more detail but at the expence of my soundstage and an overall thinning of the music. Anyway, I would like to know if a surge protector without line conditoning would be the right choice if I want protection without the line conditioning. In short, do surge protectors generally leave your sound alone?