Puritan PSM156

@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. 

Had the 156 on demo and my SR Galileo SX sat In the corner and cracked up laughing at it. What a POS. Really dead next to my SR Powercell SX. On a scale of 1-10 a 1.

Love it when other members create a well constructive post about a product.

Just so other members know:
- Galileo PowerCell SX specifications:MSRP $22,995 with 6ft. SRX power cable
- PSM156 with Puritan Powercord $2,300