Is high end Power Conditioners worth the extra $$$

It really depends on the condition of the power grid in your area. If you have a fairly steady state of power, with ample wiring, transformers that don't get stressed and little weather related electrical incidents, it's sort of importan.

If you live in a very hot, humid area, one with a stressed residential grid, or an area of regular electrical storms (entire US Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida as an example), then it's one of the most important components you have.

I live in Houston, and between the weather (unbelievably Hot and Humid) and wet with tons of rain and thunderstorms, the stressed part of the residential grid I am on, and the swings caused by electric load on the system, I found that I had to have a very, very good conditioner.

I have lost 2 very expensive oven (Thermador) control units due to power surges and strikes we have had. So all of our electronics have some type (house-wide too) surge protection.

I tried Shuyunta, Richard Gray, Monster, Panamax, PS Audio (I still have the Soloist outlets in the walls) and ended up with an APC S15 for all of my gear except the power amps which use a PS Audio Duet. The APC is also a battery back up, surge protector and power conditioner, and it has made the biggest difference in sound (positively) of almost any component I have ever used.

I find it interesting that other power products ask you to turn off your gear during a lighting storm??? Why have it then? I'm a huge believer in the APC stuff. I had a VPI SDS for my turntable and it never made any difference because the APC did such a good job of regulating the power without it.

Good luck.

I too live in Houston, and agree with Macdadtexas (except I do unplug the system during hurricanes), so it may just depend on where you are. I use one large (for amps) and one small (for sources) isolation transformer, but they hum, some times more than others. Will probably never know if the enormous sums charged for some power conditioners is worth it.

Detanclim:

Let me first say that I am a retail dealer.

Power conditioners, cables, and tweaks have always been of great interest and curiosity to me and a bit of an obsession. Consequently, I thoroughly A/B test and use a number of well known conditioners.

IMHO, two points should be made.

1) Power conditioners have come a long way! The recent couple of years have truly shown us and utilized new technologies with tremendous performance results.

2) Aside from the subject of performance, "power conditioners" have significant strengths and weaknesses depending upon one's needs.

Surge Protection
Sonic Performance
Size and Type of System
Audio vs Video
Amp Conditioning (vs Running Amps in the Wall)
Current Draw
Line Conditioning vs Voltage Regulation

These are all capabilities that should be weighed by a buyer before narrowing down products and models.

We are asked regularly, "What is the best conditioner?. Honestly, the question cannot be answered without considering the above.

We carry, what I consider to be, some of the finest conditioners available, but always encourage an in depth discussion before recommending a piece.

Our lines include the following but I'd be hard pressed to say that there is a "best one".

Panamax
Isotech
Torus
Running Springs
Reimyo
Synergistic Research
Iso-Clean
Burmester

We've also tested and looked at quite a few others. I welcome calls/emails and enjoy sharing our experiences. Few subjects in this hobby are more confounding to folks.

Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

Auravis Systems LLC
www.auravissystems.com
(801) 558-1625

Concerning my above post, I perhaps neglected to list the most important criteria in determining what to buy or whether to spend upgrade $$$s.

BUDGET!

Thanks,

It has been my experience that power conditioners do little and may even hurt the performance of power amps which seem to benefit most from a dedicated circuit from the breaker box. That aside, for the rest of the componets the right power conditioner can make a tremendous difference. Of the ones I have tried, I would place Audio Magic at the top and Richard Gray's Power Company products at the bottom.