Puritan PSM156

I went from a Audioquest Niagara 1000 to a Puritian 136 and the difference was night and day. With the Puritian 136 my system really opened up I didn't realize the degree the  Niagra was chocking my system. 

Heard this unit and it sounds like any other "Balanced Conditioner", clean sound, with loss of body and weight and naturalness. Yes, it did sound different but it ends there. I've owned many balanced conditioners for over 20 plus years and all have the same sonics results, what I failed to understand that I do understand now is our gear was not designed for balanced power it was designed to use the AC that comes into our home, these units screw up the power supplies in units and you are left with stripped music of much of the midrange down, thus bring forth the upper midrange and highs, in other words, you're throwing the balanced of the reproduction off, but if you like that sound then it is a great addition to your system. The only units that I've heard that do not do more harm than good is the PS Audio current and the generation before regenerators.  

@phillyb how long did you try the 156(?) and was it with the Puritan power cord? As you are describing exactly what I heard at first also. But after 2 weeks it was apparent that my sound was much more pure. What I came away thinking/realizing is some midrange warmth is actually distortion. Bass and mids are not as rounded and warm but now more true to the real tone of a note (less colored) and I have no loss of harmonic textures, bass weight or emotional/musical aspects. Also made a bigger sonic difference between my DACs and different cables I employ..

Depending on your tastes and depending on your level of gear —which may benefit from a certain level of that warm-haze mask— you may just like that, or more so are used to that type of coloration.

My gear seems to be singing more true. Bricasti or Lampizator > Vinnie Rossi L2 preamp > Wells Innamorata Signature > Harbeth 40.2 anniversaries. So no chance here of realizing my gear is lacking in something I thought it had…

I also employed another Puritan PC in the system a little later on and it was thin and unnatural sounding at first. Cleared up that time, too. So the PC settling for a time is definitely part of the equation. 
This power product indeed does show you what you have…and like you’ve said, that might not be a welcome change. It did cause me to upgrade ICs.

I have been using a puritan 156 with their upgraded power cord for about 6 months and am impressed by the improvement in sound, especially the clarity of the bass, the articulation and separation in the midrange and lack of harshness in the treble and timbre.  After experimentation, I have both my preamp and mono block amps in the 156 along with the DAC and my SoundSmith Strain Gauge.  In fact, with the 156 I could clearly hear the difference between the Rogue Audio Stereo100 and Apollo Dark amps, a DAVE vs a Rossini vs a Briscati DAC etc. (I guess you could quip that being able to hear the difference was a "downside" since I ended up trading by Stereo 100 for the Apollos and my DAVE for the Rossini. ) There is a "break-in" period.  My system also consists of Nordost Valhalla cables and Sonus faber Amati tradition speakers so is fairly revealing.  Whether the 156 is beneficial also depends on the quality of your electrical service.  I do have a dedicated 20A circuit and prior to the power company replacing a transformer near my house, I did not seem to have significant noise.  But, about 8 months ago, when the transformer was replaced, I could clearly hear a difference despite the dedicated circuit.  The 156 "fixed" the problem.

Given my budget - and the demands of my current system (somewhat modest, by audiophile standards) - I opted for the Puritan PSM136 and couldn't be happier.  Granted, this is after going from NO power conditioner, but I really try to restrict my purchases to things that will make a positive, appreciable (audible) difference.  Not all have. This one did.

FWIW, I run a small SET tube amp, Belle Klipsch horn speakers, and Sennheiser HD650 cans - nothing exotic or extraordinary.

As a side note, I found Mike Kay at Audio Archon to be professional, responsive, and easy to to deal with.  (No affiliation - just a past customer).

My .02.