Power Conditioners


I'm looking at the Audioquest Powerquest3 and the Austere 7 Series Power. At this price point are the power conditioner sections a gimmick or can they have a meaningful impact. Is there a certain price, brand or tech which is generally the gold standard? Is power conditioning something you should only need to address if it's an actual problem (you can hear it) across your system or is it a best practice no matter and if so who is the "value" player in the space? I cringe at the thought of spending 4k on a power conditioner. Thanks for your comments. 
spotconlon
I use the audio quest model you are considering. I bought it strictly to protect my router, small green computer server and modem. I did not hear any sonic changes
I’ve used a power conditioner priced around this level. The sound quality improved

I then replaced it with a simple (but expensive) power bar and the sound quality improved even more.

Turns out my power did not require "conditioning" but the better quality outlets gripped the plugs better.

Take a look at the Furutech line of power bars without power conditioning/filtering or similar products from reputable power related companies
http://www.furutech.com/products/power-distributors-filters/unfiltered-distributor/

Regards - Steve
The need for power conditioning depends on a lot of factors. The only way to determine that for your particular case is to try one (or more).

As for the two units you listed, the AQ Powerquest 3 offers series-mode surge suppression while Austere VII Series offers parallel-mode using "sacrificial" MOV devices. For more info, you might want to check out the "Surge Suppressor Basics" thread in this section.