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A non-subjective recommendation for the Puritan PSM156

I have tried a few pre-owned power conditioners (Shunyata) and regenerators  (PS Audio) around the £2,000 / $ 3,000 level and always ended up parting company with them after a few days.


A month ago I bought a new power conditioner called the PSM 156 by Puritan Audio in the UK (£1,450 including a 2m Puritan power cord) and I am keeping it, but with one caveat...


...but first here are the the mistakes which i made:


(1) because i had a dedicated 20 amp supply, and I live in a quiet leafy neighbourhood, I though my power was relatively clean.

(2) because I had fairly high end components I thought they would have pretty good noise rejection (pl see my virtual system if you wish)

(3) my power amp is a bit of a beast driving WWP 6’s which have highly variable impedances so I thought I needed to spend big on a re-generator when i could afford it.


All wrong.


rather than provide a list of subjective superlatives, I will explain some of the SQ improvements with real world examples.


With sound stage it is easy to hear the difference with added width, height and depth but it also brings some sounds much further forward, which isn’t easy. 


The WWP’s 6’s have sometimes been criticised for being harsh or bright and I have experienced that too, previously, on some tracks, but not any more. 


An example would be a really well produced track, by Edwin Star called Easin’ in. It has a solid finger click during the intro and it was always much too forward for my ears on my system. I foolishly wondered if it was a recording engineers mistake? :) nope! The PSM has removed the 3,000/4,000 Hz bump that I was previously correcting using EQ in Roon.


A final, non subjective, example is that complex pieces of music now present so much more easily that I keep hearing lyrics of songs I have known for years and think “ oh that’s what the lyrics are!”


no doubt there are other conditioners in the market place which can produce these results but, perhaps, not at this price?


The caveat referred to at the start  is that I did start adding several wall-wart plugs to the PSM and the SQ dropped off.  I currently only have my preamp/DAC/Streamer and power amp plugged in to the PSM and then I run the nasty plugs for ethernet switches and routers off a separate spur.


ps. I found out about Puritan Audio from another ‘goner in a thread several weeks ago but now cannot find or remember who it was...but thank you! 


pps. all you naysayers about Wilson’s Watt Puppy’s - are wrong! 😊




soma70
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,824 posts
 
@soma70 Thank you. Helpful addition. My amps are 60w tubes, so not "high powered" by a long stretch.
panerai557's avatar
panerai557
65 posts
 
I just ordered PSM156 today. I am currently using AQ Thunder AC cord with Niagara 1000. Will come back with impression!

If this device works, I am willing to go all out and order PSM Ultimate power cables!!

rc22
128 posts
 

The Puritan is the first audiophile grade conditioner I have used, so I can’t make comparisons to other offerings.

I connected the Puritan last Saturday and ran it for 127 hours straight.  What it has done for the SQ of my system has far exceeded my expectations even though I read about others’ great experiences and had two AG members highly recommended it to me directly.

I guess it’s just different when you hear the benefits for yourself on your rig and also underscores the insufficiency of using words to convey the quality and quantity of SQ gains in hifi.

For background:  I put in two dedicated 10g lines and hifi duplex outlets about 2 years ago. Not sure I really heard much from adding those.  But the Puritan:  I almost can’t believe how much it cleans things up. It’s a “What the deuce?” “No-way I’m getting this much improvement”  Improvement. 

The noise floor dropped immediately, but after 12 hours the top end and upper mids smoothed out, confirming what I thought I had noticed: those areas were quite forward at first.  I can only use words to generalize and say it continues to sound cleaner/quieter, more balanced in frequency response and soundstage, freed from the speaker as a source and just more transparent/relaxed—aka, real?  I listen at low spl’s but last nite I was listening lower than usual and it sounded great.  Noise removed, dynamics present at lower spl, I suspect.  Other variables can account for that, so I will see if that repeats.  On the other hand, I have confirmed that when I do go louder, it is a bit more acceptable to my ears with the noise removed.  It really is just something you have to experience.  Echoing a post made earlier:  Everything gets better when noise is reduced.  Using an office equipment-grad surge protector once, I've heard dynamics clipped.  To me, the 156 appears to be a product of a meticulous engineer, right down to the packing materials and literature enclosed.  “Built like a tank” was said to me by my dealer and now I see why.

I’ve not even looked into what the upgraded cord costs, but If anyone tries it, I’d love to hear what that might do.  My dealer intends to try it and report his findings to me.



slaw's avatar
slaw
20,482 posts
 
I've been wondering what a dedicated DC blocker by Puritan would bring to the mix, with my 156?
phillyb's avatar
phillyb
395 posts
 
PS Audio Current Regenerator is nowhere near bright, natural, bass improves, highs extend, but not forward, and the distortion is lowered and a BIG thing never mentioned is keeping the ac voltage at 120V. With their units you can raise the voltage also, so every time I match it to what is coming in, say 122-124 volts, the sound takes a huge step backwards, and this is what we hear normally, and why our gear in the past sounded better on some days than others, AQ units cannot do this, I've owned them, Balanced units cannot do this, so what PS Audio as done is really several improvements in one unit which is a bargain. 
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