Power Conditioner or Distributor?

Hello,

I'm fairly new to the audio world, and I had a experience audiophile over to my house last week to listen to my system. He told me to plug my amplifier directly into the wall instead of a powerstrip, and it made it sound noticeably fuller.

So this got me thinking about power conditioners, and I see there's also listings for power distributors. Can someone provide a quick explanation as to what the differences are and what I should be looking for in a power supply? I'm looking to plug my amplifier and pre-amp only into this unit. I would also appreciate some recommendations on brands to look at, I'd like to spend somewhere in the $200-$300 range if possible.

Amp: Parasound HCA-1205A, 5 channels @ 140wpc @ 8ohms
Pre-Amp: Integra Research RDC-7

Thanks!
Chris