Not sure if anyone knows it or not but Buy.com is selling Monster Power HTS3500 mkII's for 159.99 with a 50 dollar rebate and free shipping.

http://www.buy.com/prod/Monster_Power_HTS3500MKII_10_Outlet_PowerCenter_w_Stage_3_Filtering/q/loc/111/90119434.html

The rebate needs to have your reciept dated by the 28th. I bought one for myself, along with nearly every member that read a similar thread at audiokarma.org and im very pleased with it. Great build quality and really nice lookin. My total price after i get the rebate will be $150 and i think thats a pretty good deal even though most people only are paying 109 total with the free shipping.

Regularly these sell for 400 bucks at most places. Thought id throw it out there because i wouldnt have known if someone else didnt start a thread. But i wanted to wait till i got mine because they sold out the first time i tried to order one

So.. I have decent surge protection at this point... anyone want to sing praises of/debunk the use of power conditioners? It sounds like a good deal at least..

Not sure I buy into all the "improves the sound of your system" hype, but for that price it's a good looking piece of equipment at about the same cost as a high-end surge protector. Seems like a pretty good deal.

What I like about the power centers, not only are they a decent looking surge protector, but I use the timed outlet for my amp(no remote) to turn it on 6 seconds after my reciever is turned on.

I added dual Belkin Pure Av units when they were on sale, as others have stated not beacuse of any hopes of sound improvments,. They were a good buy, looked sharp, will sove the issue of not having enough plugs, and they are programable., and with the readouts, I can see how much power its costing to run amps at higher volumes. lol

I use the Tripplite HTPowerbar10 and enjoy its features very much .

Sir.. do you notice video & audio improvement.. or is it like I'm leaning towards... perceived? I understand the convenience of more outlets, programability (sp?), features... but what about the sound & video? I already have a high end surge protector that handles anything entering my home (mounted before the main breaker)as well as a UPS at the outlet. Will I benefit from a Tripplite or Monster conditioner?

To be honest, I'm not 100% sure if it improves in the way it claims. Many on this forum says conditioning is not possible, I'm not sure how a company like Tripplite that has been around for many many decades would make claims if it was a snake oil story. The surge on the HTPowerbar10 is very high, compared to most. I like the way the various outlets are labeled for you equipment, and there are voltage indicators that show how many amps you taking up and that your getting a stable 120volt circuit. Personally, I think it does clean up some things. Do your lights flicker in your house when the fridge, dehumidifier, or compressor kicks on? The tripplite and others stops this from happening.

Let me sit down while other bash me...

I can't honestly say I have noticed better sound or picture quality, but I have read about people who claim it has cleaned up their cable picture quality.

Power conditioning ( filtering ) is certainly possible. Alot of componets have some sort of L and C filter networks in their arsenal for the Mains power coming in. perhaps not so prevelant among audio componets but most computer power supplies and such have them built into the IEC plug. But these dont provide near the filtering capacity of something like the monster. Heres a pic of the inside just so you can see the difference between a standard power strip or surge protector.

Now, weither you WILL be able to heard a difference or see a difference is certainly debatable but is it POSSIBLE you will? Certainly, because it does really DO something unlike say, a pair of interconnects. But thats a different story in itself.

Heres an intersting link showing the difference between some cheap units and expensive ones. Considernig that it costs 30 or 40 bucks for a halfway decent surge protector 120 for one of these is pretty good deal. Noticed i said 120. The price went up! ouch!

http://www.rycher.net/Equipment%20reviews.htm