Does a good power conditioner reduce need for power supply upgrade?

I don’t think there is any such thing as too much power conditioning. The higher quality the audio component the larger the portion of the component is used for power conditioning... and yet no mater how much better my components have gotten...most are now in the $20K range ... a separate power conditioner still improves the overall system sound, as did direct lines and specialty power outlets.

My strategy is always to buy better component versus upgrade the power supply... I would prefer the designer of the equipment choose exactly how to upgrade the power supply versus me buying some off the shelf better power supply. However, on budget equipment I am sure it can be a cost effective means of improving the sound.

Most high end companies have completely separate boxes for power supplies on their flagship products... for instance Audio Research Reference 10 preamp or phonostage.

I tend to deal with both aspects the best I can. A good conditioner should only help, but I can’t say as though it’ll make up for the short comings of a cheap wall wart.

My conditioner is a Lightspeed CSL3200. I’ve never done any comparisons, and I haven’t removed it since installing it about 6 years ago, but I have upgraded the wall warts for my modded Bugle 3 phono stage, and my modded SMSL DAC, and both of those upgrades were notable, then I plug those into the conditioner.

A lot of lower cost components use those cheap wall wart unregulated switching power supplies, but it’s fairly easy to replace them with a linear regulated version with the same specs (many generic versions are under $50), and should always be a step in the right direction....whether you can actually hear it or not, it’s less likely to fail and cause a problem to the component.  If you're the type that tries to leave no stone unturned, and you're looking for easy potential upgrades that don't break the bank, I'd recommend it.

Think first about running dedicated power lines direct from your electrical panel ALONG with audiophile grade wall receptacles as a best-step-up in audio performance.Add in a panel whole house SIEMENS surge protector at the panel. That’s a separate line for the amp and a second line for your source. It will be far better approach than a Pwr Cond simple plug in .

Then, ensure your components power cords linked to the anudiophile grade wall outlets are up to the task.

Ok….sure ….a quality build high-end power conditioner can maybe provide a further smaller further incremental step up, particularly if you have wild power swings experiences in some older buildings.

ok …if dedicated lines are a no-go, then a quality build Pwr Cond might help a bit.

But as pointed out in other posts, it’s a summary of the entire cradle-to-grave power supplied to your components that determines your audio performance quotient….not any Pwr Cond, in isolation.

1st, have you seen the wire in the fuse?

For years, I used a chain where EVERYTHING that was on was collectively going thru a single tiny fuse, the entire load of amazing crecendos at loud volumes never drew more that that hard to see wire could pass..

2nd, I thought about my Furman P1800 PF R version

that always has 45 amps of current ready for momentary peaks. That means it is the Furman’s Capacitors that are my power plant, always the power source at any moment, not the wall or separate ckt or ckt bkr or street transformer, my own power storage in my rack, for as my fuse proved, is a small need..

IF you have actual problems, that’s different, but the majority of us solve imaginary non-existant problems, and

IF there is a rare actual problem, I can do something else for a while.

 Components internal power supplies always matter a great deal, to believe power conditioning somehow negates the need for quality power supplies is fool's gold. Power conditioning and component power supplies serve entirely unique purposes.