[IronLion]

I recently snagged a mint condition Dodd Entry Level Preamp off of Audiogon, it will be my first preamp ever after running a bunch of integrateds.  I will run it into my Signature 30, which as much as I love, I am just too curious to see what a tube pre will do to the sound.  In any case, I'm wondering if a tube pre like this should be plugged directly into the wall, or run into a powerline conditioner, which in my case would be a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet?  I'm guessing I should use the Ultimate Outlet but I just wanted to get people's opinions here first.

[BrianM]

Why don't you try and see if you can hear a difference between plugged into wall vs. plugged into line conditioner and base your decision on that.

[Big Red Machine]

I have never had any issue in sound that I am aware of putting the pre through a conditioner.  I have restricted the amps many times with conditioners and now plug mine directly into the wall.

[RuSsMaN]

Plug it right in the wall.  I'm not a fan of power conditioners in general, now a full balanced power supply - that's another story.

I was wondering who snagged that little gem.

Cheers,
Russ

[TheChairGuy]

Right into wall mostly has been best.  Even a fully tricked out BPT-2 Balanced Power unit added grain to the proceedings...tho helped in some ways 

I have all but my amps plugged into my full featured preamp (has inlets) which has some $0.50 line filter in it, then that into a neat Bybee filter made by Bolder Cable (beats me, maybe the Bybee is nothing more than a sublime filter, but it adds nothing bad, and it's a bit quieter because of it) then on into the wall.

My amps are plugged into a power strip...with an Enacom AC filter in it (it's good, no artifacts that I can hear).

I've had Monster Cable, PS Audio stuff (including balanced regenerative thingee thay make - yeck!), BrickWalls....all did mostly bad, not good. 

[DSK]

I have never had any issue in sound that I am aware of putting the pre through a conditioner.  I have restricted the amps many times with conditioners and now plug mine directly into the wall.

Ditto ...almost.

On my tube hybrid pre-amp I found the PSA HC UO to mainly clean up the top end but perhaps also to improve soundstaging and imaging just slightly. It made the same type of improvement on a Plinius SA100 mk3 class A power amp, but more dramatically and also helped the bass.

I replaced the Plinius with an AKSA 100N+ which sounded flat and undynamic on the HC UO, so I plugged it straight into the wall.

Just recently, I got a PSA Duet for a friend who asked me to burn it in and give my impressions. I popped it on my current amp (AKSA LifeForce 100) just to burn it in more quickly. Surprisingly, the bass was now more punchy and dynamic, and the soundstage was much more open and natural sounding, less mechanical. The presentation was also more immediate with a quieter noisefloor, greater detail and less veiling between listener and musicians/vocalists. After burn in I moved the pre-amp off the HC UO and moved it onto the Duet with the amp (but in zone B for isolation). More of the same. Much greater immediacy, detail and clarity. Much greater improvement than I expected. I'm just leaving it this way for a little while, then I'll try moving the linear Bolder SB PS onto the Duet too (from a separate HC UO that is has been running on).

I should mention that I was running the stock Volex cords between wall and UO's, whereas I am running a Signal MagicPower cable between wall and Duet. So, some of the improvement may be due to the Signal PC. After I have the Bolder SB PS on the Duet and have become accustomed to it, I will replace the Signal cable with a Volex for a direct PC comparison.

[tanchiro58]

I had an Equitech p1000 power conditioner. All my sources and tube preamp are plugged into that heavy PC. Since it had trouble with automatic shut off I took everything out and plugged into a power strip the sound get surprisingly opened up. Since then I never look back any power conditioner ( I was addicted to use PC all the times before). I thought if your components have already built in some kinds of RFI/EMI filtration you should not filter the sound one more time it will definitely sound dull and flat.

[TONEPUB]

Get a Running Springs Haley, it will set you free....
Most RSA dealers offer a 14 day home trial.

Try it and see if you like it as much as I do...

So far, everything I've ever plugged in to it has sounded better.

The only thing it didn't make a huge diff on was my new
Naim 555 CD player, but everything else, it was moderate
to pretty amazing.

[yooper]

TONEPUB,

Looks interesting.  I visited their website, but don't see prices or dealer links.  I assume they sell direct and I would have to call them for a price?

Mark

[TONEPUB]

must be a mistake somewhere....

They sell through dealers...

You could buy one from Echo Audio in Portland, Oregon.
Talk to Kurt, hes the owner and tell him I sent you!

www.echohifi.com

good luck

I have a pair of Haley's a pair of Jaco's a Danielle and a Duke to
work with all three systems, so I'm sold!

However, like anything, you need to hear it in your system to be
sure it's your cup of tea.