Power conditions for Integrated Amps

+1 @lak 

Every home is different with regards to noise levels in their lines, and every power conditioner is different. There will be a few factors that will influence whether a power conditioner will be suitable for an amplifier (or any component for that matter):

1. What type of filtering does it employ and how does it shape sound?

2. Does it limit current as a result?

Most power conditioners do enforce some type of current limitations, so if you have a power hungry amplifier, (depending on the conditioner) it sometimes cannot get the headroom it needs at peak current needs and as a result won’t be as dynamic as it should be. Sometimes the filtering also has inverse effects on the dynamics and details as well.

To date I’ve liked PS Audio power plants for everything except amplifiers. Even with their highest end P20 I still know a number of people who prefer to plug their amps into the wall. I personally own a Synergistic Research Galileo PowerCell, and I cannot tell the difference between plugging the amp straight into wall vs into the PowerCell, so I leave it in the PowerCell. 

@lak AMEN BROTHER!

The moral of the story is you have to try it both ways to find out what works best for your system.

It depends on the conditioner. Many impede current flow to amps(doesn't matter if it's integrated or not). A few of them don't.

Now using the Black Lion Audio PG-2. Not for conditionning since the listening room has its own dedicated electrical feed and sounds dead quite from the wall. Instead using it for convenience, it has 14 outlets on it, using 11 of them including amp. No sound difference plus it offers some decent surge protection as a bonus. Highly recommended unit for reasonable cost.

I have a nice integrated amp, previously had separates.  I plug all into an AQ Niagara 5000 which has a current bank so it doesn’t limit, but actually can improve dynamics.

After plugging things in, I noticed an immediate and significant reduction in the so called “noise floor”. My audition was 30 seconds before I decided I would purchase the unit.  Mind you, this was after having several other units in on audition from which I heard no benefit whatsoeer.

So, a home audition is mandatory.  Not all “conditioners” are created equal.  I not only have strong surge protection for expensive gear, but the unit absolutely made things better.  

As in all things, YMMV.

Best,