Power Conditioners: Myth, Magic, or Necessary

If I were you I would sell those power cords and enjoy the music, why upgrade if there is potentially no gain? Why do you feel you NEED power cords and possibly a power conditioner? is there something you don't enjoy about your sytem? Let me just say I am an avid PC fan but simply put if you can't discern the difference don't spend the money-it doesn't mean your less of an audiophile.

i have old power wedges and dedicated circuits - the improvement i have most noted is they help in the elimination of a static low level hum heard mostly when there is no music playing. i still have to float grounds and they do not not effect transformer hum. all in all a small gain for me.

Power conditioning CAN make all the difference in the world DEPENDING on the component. The only way to really tell is through trial and error. For example, my amplifier (Gamut D-200) does not really like bening plugged straight into the wall. I get deffinite improvement from the sound of the amp when it is plugged into a PS Audio 20 HC UO. My amp even sounds better plugged into a PS audio power plant (unfortunately I do not have a power plant big enough to really plug in into effictively, but I have experimented with my P300, the combo is amazing).

Anyway, my Ayre K-3x preamp is just the opposite. The Ayre much prefers being plugged into the wall and does not like power conditioning of a UO or power plant. The Ayre though does have a lot of power conditioning in the preamps design, and Ayre told me (though I did not 100% beleive them at the time) that I should just plug the preamp into the wall. After some experiementation, I came to the same conclusion.

KF

Ernewald,
I would start with a few dedicated 20 amp circuits if you don't have them. The correct power conditionor could do wonders for anyones system however that is a debatable topic, it worked wonders for me.
I have also demoed different power cords, where some were wonderful and some did nothing for my system. It's possible that the power cords you purchased work well for other systems but not in yours. Sometimes you have to demo different brands to find the one that works well for you.

I have an entry level Chang Lightspeed conditioner I've had for about 3 years. I have noticed quieter backgrounds and longer decay to notes. I think it's the kind of thing you notice more it's absence than in it's presence. For the record I live in DC, where I'm sure the power is as nasty as the water!