Are power conditioners or filters needed?

[skids929]

I have tried both over the years, straight to the wall with everything, straight to the wall with just amps and everything else conditioned, and now with all equipment conditioned. My assessment of those systems without conditioning was they were less consistent for some reason. Some days it would sound fantastic and others just ok. 

 

My latest conditioner has been fantastic..Puritan Audio labs (discussed here quite a bit)...I've had them for over a year and they perform VERY well. I recently added that Ground master and that was utterly mind blowing what it did to my system. Pretty much the equivalent of adding a better DAC. 

 

My advice is to just try different units and see what works best for you, let your ear decide. Like others have mentioned, the surge protection aspect is also an added bonus. I typically unplug my system during a storm but in the event you forget it's nice peace of mind.