Cleaner power isn’t always better power.
That might sound counterintuitive, especially in high-end audio where noise and distortion are the enemies. And it’s true—our systems do benefit from a lower noise floor. But the conventional wisdom that “cleaning the power” automatically improves sound is misleading.
In fact, most power conditioners solve one problem by creating another.
Early in my career, I was fascinated by the idea of filtering AC to improve sound quality. I experimented with chokes, capacitors, isolation transformers—you name it. And sure enough, these devices could reduce high-frequency noise riding on the line. The result? A darker background, less hash, and what initially felt like better resolution.
But listen longer, and the cracks began to show. Dynamics softened. Transients blured. The sound becomes a bit too polite.
Lifeless.
That initial improvement comes at a cost—because these passive devices don’t just remove noise. They raise output impedance. That’s like tying one arm behind its back.
What’s happening is a classic double-edged sword. You get a bit of polish at the top, but lose strength in the foundation. Music sounds thinner, flatter, less engaging. And the worst part is, it’s subtle. You might not notice it at first, but over time, the magic fades.
So yes, power quality matters—but how you improve it matters even more.
Tomorrow, I’ll explain how our Power Plant AC regenerators tackle the same problem from a completely different angle—cleaning up the waveform without sacrificing dynamics, current, or life. If you're curious in the meantime, we’ve put together a new series of simple animated illustrations that walk you through the entire concept. You can check them out at psaudio.com/pages/powerplay. It's the easiest way I've seen to understand what’s really going on with the power feeding your system.
Because good sound doesn’t just need quiet power—it needs correct power.
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