Power Conditioner Showcase — Past Event Writeup
Jim Bird | Published on 11/1/2026
On Sunday September 27, twenty-six curious audiophiles got together to learn about four different approaches to power conditioning. Jim Hunton, our illustrious president, gave a very informative presentation (PDF download) on the basic theory and implementation of each technology in the showcase.
We then listened to our house system, a pair of Linkwitz LX521.4 loudspeakers with digital crossover, ATI Class D multichannel amp, and an EMM DV2i DAC/Streamer/Preamp.
The 4 power conditioners utilized for this showcase and their approaches to cleaning up electricity were as follows:
- Power straight out of the wall (no conditioning)
- AudioQuest Niagara 5000 (traditional passive power conditioner )
- Richard Gray SubStation (2.4kW, 20 amp isolation transformer )
- Equi=Tech 2Q (20 amp balanced power isolation system)
- PS Audio Perfect Wave Powerplant 15 (15 amp power regenerator)
Four tracks were selected to showcase different aspects of music playback that could enhance the differences between the conditioners:
Artist: Eva Cassidy
Track: Field of Gold
Album: Songbird
Artist: Dave Brubeck Quartet
Track: Take Five
Album: Time Out
Artist: Infected Mushroom
Track: Change the Formality
Album: Vicious Delicious
Artist: London Symphony Orchestra, Noseda - Tchaikovsky
Track: Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36 - IV Finale
Album: Gianandrea Noseda, Tchaikovsky Symphony No 4 & Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
An evaluation form was handed out that the audience could fill out during the music. And afterwards, with a show of hands, we asked which device/ approach they liked best or were most likely to purchase, price aside. We also asked for brief descriptions of impressions for each conditioner. Out of 18 responders the results were as follows:
- No Conditioner: 0/18
- Equi=Tech 2Q: 0/18
- PS Audio Perfect Wave Powerplant 15: 4/18
- Richard Grey SubStation: 6/18
- Audioquest Niagara 5000: 8/18
Descriptions of the various approaches/ devices included:
- No Filtering: Sharp, muddy, messy, poor dynamics.
- Equi=Tech 2Q: Only a little better than out of the wall, compressed, less dynamic.
- PS Audio Perfect Wave Powerplant 15: Increased soundstage, best bass attack but with decreased highs, good detail, second best impact, “wow” factor, not as good detail as others.
- Richard Grey SubStation: Clearer, better details, more delicacy, bigger, best soundstage, decreased tonality.
- AQ Niagara 5000: Best detail, best clarity, tightest bass, best impact and tonality, increased soundstage depth. One person thought it was more polite.
Most importantly, all attending could hear differences between no filtration and any of the devices. Once again, a great time was had by all and I believe most of us learned something.
Now… if I could only filter out all those political ads :)
Jim Bird
Director of Events, the Audiophile Foundation
Continue the discussion...
Please post your impressions, comments, and questions to the 2026 Power Conditioner Showcase Discussions thread.