Puritan PSM156

All I can say is "wow".  Let me start by saying I am totally new to the HiFi scene.  While I've had a few decent receiver and speaker setups in my time, I always pined over a true hifi setup.  Well, at age 51 and hitting my stride in my profession, I decided that I'm in a place financially to jump in with both feet.  After doing a bunch of research, and with guidance from "Al" out in Chicago, I bought a Luxman 590axii, a Lumin T2, and shortly thereafter, a pair of Franco Serblin Essence speakers from the guys down at Sun Coast Audio.  When I finally hooked up the FS speakers, I had a small heart attack.  Frankly, they sounded terrible.  I nearly cried when I realized that my iMac speakers didn't sound so bad in comparison.  I was beside myself with regret that I spent soooooooooo much money, without demo'ing the system, and it appeared that it was a total waste of $.  Well, I did some more reading and realized, perhaps I needed to burn in my speakers and electronics.  And over the course of the next week or so, they began to improve.  The bass began to loosen up and they didn't sound like they were being strangled.  But I was still disappointed.  They sounded pretty good, but they didn't sound the way I expected that they should.  So, I started reading about power conditioners.  Obsessively.  I saw a PS Audio power conditioner for sale and reached out to "Al from Chicago" to ask him about it.  He recommended the Puritan without hesitation, even though it was selling for far less than the PS Audio.  I decided to try it out.  The day it arrived, someone in my office was shredding files (we're a law firm) and I heard the most horrible thing... popping from my speakers.  I was absolutely horrified.  I immediately unwrapped the Puritan PSM156, set it up, and plugged in my Luxman and the T2.  I went outside of my office and started up the shredder and I heard... silence.  Beautiful silence. I couldn't believe it.  The popping in my speakers had been eliminated!!!  All the back and forth on the internet about whether or not this thing really worked was instantly settled.  Yes, it works.  But it didn't just clean up the AC.  It instantly made the speakers sound like I imagined they would.  The sound stage expanded... the bass INCREASED... they didn't sound choked off anymore... and they sounded more powerful.  The midrange was better as was the treble.  This must be what the critics in whathifi.com was talking about.  Now I could actually hear it.  And I was (and am) amazed.  I'm actually open to the possibility that perhaps AC cables, speaker cables, and interconnects can make a difference, too.  I will slowly dip my toe into that arena, one type of interconnect at a time.  Oh, and I bought a pair of REL s/510s with the Baseline Blue connections.  I would have TOTALLY "poo poo'd" the Baseline Blue connections for the RELs if it wasn't for the Puritan.  I figured it was worth a shot.  Anyway, for what it's worth from a total noob, the Puritan PMS156 is absolutely worth the investment.  It literally transformed my speakers, overnight, from less than ordinary to extraordinary.  

As an aside and some background, I own a small, boutique law firm with 10 employees.  Lots of wifi, computers, iPads, phones, ethernet, shredders (hahahaha), etc, which I assume can affect someone's HiFi audio.  I am also a bit skeptical yet curious about what people refer to as "snake oil".  I've been on audio science review, audiogon, and other forms to read opinions and articles about everything from speaker cables to power conditioners.  Frankly, I still ended up pretty confused.  But I really trust "Al from Chicago", who I just now bought a pair of REL s/510s from, and I'm glad I took the plunge with the Puritan. I'm even willing to explore cabling, one component at a time.

I sincerely hope this post helps anyone on the fence with buying an audio conditioner.  Frankly, I have no idea if there are better audio conditioners out there, but there are certainly more expensive ones; that's for sure.  YMMV but I can't imagine you won't be impressed if you try the Puritan.

Bill 

I own a Puritan PSM156 and an Inakustik AC-3500P.

IMO: They are interchangeable. Meaning the sonic differences I perceive are minimal to non-existent.

At one time I considered putting both up for sale and keeping the one that didn’t sell.

Of course as always: My experience and opinion only, YMMV

PS. The Inakustik has an on/off switch and a cool blue light.

The Puritan has neither.

@rja No denying that the Inakustik is a good unit, but you failed to mention a price comparison between the two.

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