Re: Do I really need a power conditioner?
Well, you know, it's useful to have a central point to plug all your equipment into. For some people, it's also useful for that device to also provide other capabilities like sequenced turn-ons, 12 volt triggers, outlets dedicated to specific type of equipment (amps for instance), a degree of isolation between outlets, switched/unswitched outlets, and a one point system control. If you're in the market for that, then generally the device is going to also provide some modest surge protection as well as emi/rfi filtration. To some people and to some companies, this constitutes power conditioning. But power conditioning means different things to different people. If you need tight voltage control, then that's power conditioning. If your devices are susceptible to the ring waves that result from a surge, then something like isolation transformers constitutes power conditioning. If your display has bulbs that should be cooled down to maximize their life, then you can consider a UPS that provides that ability to be a conditioner.
Video improvements are certainly possible for a number of reasons such as high frequencies being present on an AC line and typically interfering with the lower channel numbers. The RFI/EMI filters typically do a very good job of that.
With respect to audio improvements because the amps are somehow being starved, I've yet to see any good data from any company that illustrates how their product reduces the voltage drop or current limiting. Now, if in fact your home is older or is tapped out with respect to the electricity needed, the sensible approach is to upgrade one's electrical service and stop trying to put on bandaids for a problem that originates elsewhere. OTOH, one could just buy a more capable amp with larger capacitors, eh? Occasionally one finds that hum has been reduced but by no stretch of the imagination is this guaranteed. It's really a hit or miss proposition.
Everyone wants to protect their HT setup. It's almost a paternal thing with many of us guys. Hell, some of us have begged, borrowed, been nice to our mother-in-laws, kissed our wife's ass so much that we know every cellulite ripple to not only get the system we wanted but permission to put it in a room that she's already marked like a wolf as her own.
Protecting your system to me means protecting it from surges. No, not the little glitches in power that are a normal part of day to day life but the kinds of surges that come from largely catastrophic events like lighting or a transformer coming down in your neighborhood or maybe someone running their car into the local substation. I'm talking killers here. You see, some of live in very lighting prone areas like parts of Florida, the Midwest or parts of Texas. Here, you'll find what's known as a signficant # of cloud-ground strikes. No plug in device from any company is going to protect you from that. Lightning, that's already travelled miles of non-conductive air, thousands of feet of ground, is not going to think twice about that puny, gee I spent a lot of money for it, surge protector. To guard against that, and understand this means you've got to identify what amount of risk you're willing to tolerate, you need to install a whole house system. Many companies, like Siemens for example, call them lighting arrestors. If you're interested in that, I'll give you a link to something I wrote sometime back explaining the rationale in greater detail.
After you've guarded against entry into your home, then you can use plug in devices to address specific concerns. For your HT, you can get away with something in the $20 or so range from a company like Stratitec where you'll be able to plug in all your components including your incoming cable. Remember, all incoming lines need to be protected. If your needs are different and you've got the money, then maybe what floats your boat is a device that sits on the rack with your components. OTOH, one can get a device that replaces the outlet with one that incorporates surge protection leaving you with a cleaner install.
