What is my power conditioner up to?

Not sure... how much power do your amps draw? I have a Quintet in my Home Theater system and everything including the 100Wpc Onkyo receiver is plugged into it. If anything, the bass became more taut and articulate when the Quintet went in and I didn't notice any loss of bass.

But if you like the sound of your amps better plugged straight into the wall then maybe that's how you should do it. Your amps might draw much more power than mine.

On the other hand, I use a PS Audio UPC-200 in my bigger system... I believe it may have higher current capacity than the Quintet, so perhaps you could try one of those (run in its high-current mode) on the amps only.

I noticed a similar effect when my amps were plugged into a Quintet. There was a muted/compressed quality to the sound that didn't exist when plugged directly into the wall. From what I understand, all amps have built-in power filters. The better the amp, the better the filter. If you like what you hear when plugged directly into the wall, why not do it?

FWIW, I hear an improvement with my preamp and source components plugged into the Quintet. That's how I use it.

"From what I understand, all amps have built-in power filters. The better the amp, the better the filter."

Where did you get this ? A small number of high end audio manufacturers may include circuitry in their products to filter RFI/EMI interference, and/or DC on the incoming AC power line, but in general, most amps don't have such filters. The filters in amps are concerned with smoothing power supply ripple.

I use a passive preamp and battery powered Squeezebox, so what I am hearing has to be the Quintets effect on the power amps. I think after further listening that the filterd sound has better definition but lacks a measure of slam and weight in the bass area. Does that sound reasonable? I like the effect from the lower midrange on up but not so much from upperbass on down.

Plug the amps directly into the wall/better if you have a dedicated circuit of course...most I know use this approach

Hello Larryrx7,

Try an Audience Adept Response power conditioner- standard or Teflon. They are the best I've ever used by a long mile. PS Audio's- although the power plant has been their best- still compromises sound. It is still better to go direct into the wall for all around comprimise. They also seem to malfunction when you least expect it. And their customer service....don't get me started there.

All power conditioners alter sound one way or another except aR Audience.

Good luck.