Puritan PSM 156: POWER UPGRADE + buddies' REACTIONS 

Have now been running the Puritan 156 for a week...my verdict? Incredible... haven't stopped listening or smiling 😁 all week...the psm156 adds another entire dimension to the sonic signature of my system...best way I can describe it is that it completes my system...thank you for your video

Nice Job Loki - Thanks for the Video

Fantastic video, really cool to see the reactions from several other people in their systems, no question that there's a big impact. I wonder how it would sound on a phono preamp....

It was fun watching these guys have their Enid Lumley moments, realizing that the source is the most important part of your system.

Puritan must love you, cause I just ordered one based on this video😉👌. Believable with ordinary audiophile and not biased paid reviewers. I have the PrimaLuna evo 100 dac as well.

Great video!!!! It's amazing how clean power makes a difference!!!!

Oh I had to come back and say Dude that was one of the coolest reviews I’ve seen. I dig your style my man

I truly wouldn't even consider my system to be my system without the Puritan! The completely natural tonality, separate and defined instruments, sounstage and imaging, dynamics, literally every aspect is improved beyond what I thought possible. And it never varies, no bad days! I have everything plugged into it, and personally noticed a big difference between integrated (with tube pre) plugged into the Puritan vs a Brickwall surge protector/line conditioner. I must have really crummy power!

Awesome stuff👍 all three we had the same reactions.The Puritan is just amazing we can’t deny that🤷🏻‍♂️

This is fascinating. Great review!

I have a PSM156 for about 10 weeks and i totally agree with you!!! It's even better after burning in. I have a Ultimate and a Classic+ powercords too to be perfectly happy. Your video is great cause your friends got exactly the reactions that i had with this beautyfull product. Have a nice day👋

A friend of mine has been building mains cleaners filters, mains leads etc etc for 25 years. I have been using them for that amount of time. They DO WORK. The descriptions in this video describe the improvements made by removing noise from the mains supply. They Work

I've had mine for about a month and the improvement was phenomenal. My Marantz cd player is on batteries. I use a Marchand tube electronic crossover feeding my 845 Chinese SE Tube amp. Innersound Eros speakers with panel upgrade. Every component was greatly improved. A total no-brainer. I used a monster cable noise sniffer to check it out and no noise was detected. Next step is to convert my room to Solar inverter. Cousin is using one in addition to another unit similar to this. Mind boggling! TT is even better than before. No dedicated ground run yet.

Great video. Thanks Sounds like the Puritan unit is a winner. I suspected I had DC on the mains causing transformer buzz and hum. I built a power conditioner with basic filtering and a DC block circuit and it made a substantial improvement. Power cords are also impactful. In my experiments I found any form of inductor sucked life out of the music so I don't use the common mode inductors that see in the Puritan. Also had the same conclusion using isolation transformers. Perhaps Puritan has found just the right amount of induction and it works. I did find a ferrite clamp on the safety ground also helped and likely reduces cross component contamination. Sounds like the Puritan unit is a winner.

I’ve been living with the Puritan for a few years now and I still think it’s one of the best upgrades I have ever made to my hi-fi. It lowers the noise floor quite noticeably which means far more musical details shine through.

Loved the video! Would have loved to have been a double blind test.

I am really digging your channel since finding it, and did subscribe. This power conditioner, I went and visited the Puritan site, and what I saw reminded me of the filters Emotiva builds and sells. I have two of their CMX 6 units for the bulk of my gear, but they also sell a filter with DC offset and it looks darn near identical to some of this Puritan gear, their CMX-2 Precision Common Mode AC Line Filter With DC Offset Eliminator. I just ordered one, $82. I am going to give that a go with my new Denafrips Venus II 12th DAC I have sitting in the far reaches of my kitchen burning in. Just finishing up my home run to my panel for the AV gear, will have 6 dedicated 12/2 20amp circuits when finished, along with filtering on the LAN side. Again, thanks for another outstanding video! I will let you know how that Enotiva unit works out.

I'm doing a mod to my current power conditioner to mimic the inside of that one. Found a good filter board for $100 and a couple of toroidal inductors. Then rewiring with up-occ in Teflon in parallel. Then adding a small filter board to each outlet. Hopefully I get good results. If you order these from a hifi store in England they are much cheaper, just might take a while to ship.

Best video from Loic. Now I need to go over and steal his Psm to try.

I have used one of these for a couple years and its brilliant. I quickly sold the PS Audio that often sounded worse than having the components being plugged straight into the wall.

Puritan products are highly recommended including the mains cables which are very flexible. There are three grades of cable (Classic, Classic Plus and Ultimate) but even the most reasonable Puritan Classic cable is very good and represents good value. The PSM156 has six outlets and can be fitted with USA, UK or Schuko. There is also a 12 outlet version if required.

This is your best video. Excellent work. Now if I could only try this. Too bad you're not in Toronto.

What, 3 hours and not a single troll? Slow Sunday? For what it's worth, I've tried a number of mains filters, DC blockers, and regenerators, and whoever says they can't hear a difference probably hasn't even bothered listening. Not all make a difference for the better, some actually for the worse, but to claim they make none is… Keep up the great work!

I love mine. It works like you say here for sure. All transformer hum is gone.

Linear power supplies too... They do make a very real audible difference. I have three on the way, enough to handle 6 pieces of gear I have. I'm a true believer.

Thank for the video, Im curious about all of the source gear that feed all those DACs. Can you please share more info about them,thanks.

Thanks Loic...if I am listening to your analysis properly I am concluding that none of us has truly clean power...your 3 audiophile friends all experienced significant improvements in overall sound.

Thanks, please share your testing too!

Nice review Loic! Want to try another something that's not too expensive and gives almost the same improvement? A gutwire ultimate ground cord for a single device at 600 canadian. At least investigate it and see reviews. Worked the treat on my intergrated amp! Your iris ddc supplier yakkin here. Cheers bud!

Brilliant-love the way you showcased 4 different systems. I’ve already seen the vids from OCD Mickey and Steve Huff and they had similar reactions. Question: did you use whatever power cord that came with it or puritans higher priced cord? I recall they have a top line cord that sells for $800

Excellent video - love your channel. I’ve been waiting anxiously for this video as I ordered a PSM156 based mainly on the Steve Huff review and it should arrive soon. I’m curious, during the first tests was it the DAC only plugged into the Puritan or DAC / streamer?

Thanks for nice video. Couple weeks ago i tested Niagara 1200. Background is black, less noise. But sound become tense. Then i understandt that i need to try higher level. Before i was tested Ps audio for 5k and i have Taga 1000. Taga i like more then Niagara 1200. On Psaudio my plasma tv shows nice but in sound i don't feel some diff. like with Niagra 1200.

Fun video. Yeah, after reading the forum threads about Core Power Technologies' amazing (and very affordable) balanced conditioners, Im not surprised at all with your reactions. Though if my memory serves, people seemed to see a bigger change with their amps and preamps than what you guys experienced. I didn't see any mention of plugging the music servers in. Did you try that? That could easily be as big a change as the DAC. The influence of clean power on digital sound is in a sense, absolute. Even putting a linear power supply on the router is a big improvement for streaming quality, as an example. Im stoked to learn of these Puritan conditioners. As a musician trying to make my Rig and small PA as hi fi as possible, these are a much better form factor and weight for that purpose. It seems there's no real wattage limit on this? All 6 outputs can put out 15a /1800 watts at the same time? That seems hard to believe, but I couldn't see any other spec about it. Anyway, Enjoying your videos.

I just got mine and use it with a battery with pure sine wave inverter. Incredible. The battery and inverter are way cheaper too. You can make a Stromtank type device for very little. Audio Science Review tested that unit and found that it does work well at filtering higher frequencies.

Very good video! If you want a far less expensive alternative with just one plug= Audiolab DC block. = 200$ . And its upgradable if you have soldering abilities, if not, i can do it. My jaw dropped for 200$! That has never happened before...

The Puritan 156 is very good but you have only scratched the surface. Would you believe me you can make your digital sound like analog? Try the City Master and the puritan route master. You ground all your components with wires supplied into the route master, You run a wire to the City Master and plug into the wall. The difference is huge for digital! The Puritan City Master is an alternative to the Puritan ground master where you would hook that up to a copper rod running outsidfe your house for ground. The grounding system is cheaper than what other charge like the one from Nordos or Shunyata??? You have not heard your system until you ground your components. I am from Montreal and just installed it yesterday! For the last ounce, I would suggest getting an isolation transformer connected to the Puritan 156. Believe me...its like changing to a new component! The grounding system from Puritan really works and is cheaper!

Hi, you mention managing voltage drop is something that the model provides. So does it keep the voltage steady at 120 volts so that the voltage does not fluctuate? If this is a feature that this model provides then I would be very interested in adding it to my system. Thank you.

Hi Loïc thank you for this insightful video. I have been suspecting power issues where I live. Some hours of the day my system sounded great and at other times during the day my system was lifeless . I thought that my personal mood was the cause. Where did you source your Puritan unit.

I’ve blue-tacked 20mm obsidian pyramids on the negative posts and contacts throughout my system. Yes, I believe in smooth signal transmission. Silver cables and crystal filtration also sharpens my tv image as well as my audio. Try Furutech Liquid Nano. It sweetens and smoothens the sharpness/sibilance that rhodium plugs shrill out. One more, I use a Tripp Lite Isobar (no cable) plug in unit. That filters the energy and adds lighting protection from the wall instead of just the conditioner applying the filtering. I also add obsidian crystal towers that radically reduces ground noise.

Good point Loic, make it 1K or less and we have a winner! Thank you Loic, interesting finding!

I just returned the Audioquest Niagara 1200. It was extremely disappointing. It actually collapsed my soundstage. Went back to my Furman. I want to try this next.

Hi… thanks for the review! Quick question did you use the 2M classic cord or the upgraded ultimate power cable? Thanks again!

I have been using an Isotek V5 Elektra for several months. To put a number on it: 20 percent improvement overall versus plugging my AVR into the wall / protective power strip. I just compared again yesterday and yes same result. Of course I am curious, whether this Puritan would yield another 20 percent over this Isotek Elektra….

Man, your production value on these videos has skyrocketed, well done 🤝 I keep putting off buying an power conditioner. I live way out in the country, not a lot of EM interference floating around. What’s your opinion? Like if I got the base model PowerQuest?

Great review! I’m planning to get the Puritan PSM156, am doing my research and found this video review! May I ask what power cable are you using? Is it the Puritan Ultimate XX or the regular one? Thanks for the help! 🙏🏻

Impressive! How does a Transparent Powerbank 6 compare to it?

Will the Puritan contribute to reduce sibilance in vocals? Thanks and great video!

Very, very interesting - have you all already got good AC power cords in your systems? I have been having very similar improvements with both a Pine Tree Audio Iso-Power filter ($250US with 8 outlets) and their Iso-Braid AC power cables ($75US for 4' and $85US for 5'). Like you all, using these on my system was/is jaw dropping. Since you already own the Puritan, it would be great to have you compare them - please? I am thinking it is a noise thing - the background "haze" just disappears, and the instrument separation and dynamics all are just staggeringly great. The tech in the PSM156 is definitely miles more sophisticated - and for the price, it has to be. All I am saying is that I have heard the effects of clean(er) power, and it is *wonderful*!

Does the puritans have the polarity marked on the device

I have ifi DC blocks. Could these be used with this? Or would they be superfluous?

So, I would be interested how much it improves the sound if you are using CDs or Vinyl as your source?

So if it makes a great difference with the source (dac), so I take it should be good to plug my streamer and audiophile switch in it too, right, as both influence what goes into the dac. And the at the end, add the integrated amplifier. Right?

Getting a 156 soon to test including their Ultimate power cable, plus they will be fitted with a C13 (EU) plug on the cable and C14 on the 156, so I can use my own cables and test the Puritan against my Furutech PowerFlux power cable !

Have any of your buddies previously used any other kind of power conditioner/filter??

Intrigued. But, how much better can this be than say the Emotiva power strips that have both common and differential mode filtering and cost less than $200 USD? Plus, most audiophiles that go into the rabbit hole of upgrades usually have linear power supply(s) at various parts of their signal chain. So what secret sauce (if any) is in this Puritan device and is it any better than much less expensive items on the market (including Emotiva, Waudio and others)?

Is-it better with dedicated line + fututech gtx-ncf inlet or the box do all ?

So DAC with the regenerative power supply is probably enough..Thx for the video

Thank u. Ordered one already. I hope it wont disappoint me.

Thanks for very interesting stream😊I understand that Psm156 will be most effective on DACs, will it be that much effective on Turntables + Phono preamps? Also does it matter what kind of transformer like internal or external power cube? Thanks again

I have a Chord Dave with custom LPS Farad3. The effect is huge. But unsure adding the PSM1512 will help in this case. Thanks.

With clean power comes clean responsibility

Is the PSM136 same technique with less outlets?

I had the same experience with an inexpensive power conditioner plugged into my DAC. The conditioner was an Audiolab DC Block, a $100 product, plugged into my Denafrips ARES II DAC. Noise levels went way down, bass was more clean and defined, and most of the other things you have described. BUT! There is a big but, I felt that this thing was sucking the life out of music, the listening experience was less enjoyable and the bass presence was lacking in body and extension, although improved in clarity. I ended up disconnecting it. Maybe in a much better system than mine it would have made an improvement without all the shortcomings I described.

thanks for this video which I highly appreciate but would it not be fair with 6 sockets to use them all so we know if it keeps it's true potential full loaded with hifi-gear IMO the reason why the difference with the Dac + Amp + Pre isn't as clearly discernible, as soon as you went listening your expectations bias was now even higher, because of that your brain assumed that it would, but now the difference was less obvious your brain takes it over. Do I think or does I hear a noticeable improvement. If so I can as well buy the cheaper PSM 136 version, hopefully somebody could shine a light on the sonic difference between both versions and maybe saving me some money Ones it's a part of your hi fi rig taken it out will make you anxious for missing something. But to wrap this up for this kind of money I admit I'm sceptic, I hope it's true potential is for real even for less money with the version 136. I hope you share more inside videos about this matter hopefully pulling me over from sceptic to a I have no doubt listener/subscriber, maybe you could lend it to Thomas & Stereo I'm also curious of his opinion as well.

Many dealers across Canada carry the Puritan. Drop in to see a Puritan dealer when convenient - you don't have to only believe the videos, you can also visit your dealer in person for a demo. Contact the Canadian distributor for info about your nearest Puritan dealer.

I was a total non believer after having tried many good quality power filtering products, until I heard the Puritan. The difference is so important that you could easily do a blind test and know exactly if the Puritan is in the system or not, especially for the DAC. If I’m correct, from the pictures of the unit’s belly, it is a balanced AC, plus it seems to have DC blocker and multiple filtering stages per outlet.

Hi Guys. I am considering the 156 and I do have a dedicated line … but with a generic wall socket duplex though. My question is … has anyone found that it “darkened” the overall sonic character of your system ? Perhaps too smooth and a very slight roll off in highs? This is not necessarily a bad thing … but not something I need in my present system. Thanks.

You have selected one of the top 10 best power cleaners on the market in terms of value. The slightly cheaper Isol 8 mini sub axis is actually a bit better, and so is the Substation integra from Isol-8. (they are the most natural ones) But the PSaudio dectet for only about 900 USD can even beat the Isol-8, if you to start with having a transformer as the very first part of the system connected to the wall, and in that transformer box you then use these types of power cleaners like the Puritan 156, they will then go to a whole other level of sound. So yes in a way the DAC is the best difference. But I will actually say that, it is disguising the real culprit which most times is the SOURCE before the DAC. Because these PC streamers are usually the one component that is holding most systems back. (preventing the rest of the system to spread itś wings. Streamers create so much noise that they choke the other units) So the best thing you can do is first have a transformer for about 1-3k USD which is the most important part of the HIFI system. Then connect your fancy box which is for most things except the streamer. The streamer then goes into a very special plug in the transformer that is totally isolated from the fancy box that you have. (they usually have circa 3 totally different plugs those transformers) Plus another factor to weigh in, is the bandwidth of power which gets hugely affected once you fill up more and more into the Puritan 156 model. The reason why it does not sound so good is because the quality of power gets less and less the more units you plug into this and other similar boxes. (especially when a PC streamer with a LPSU or regular atx power supply is connected)

being the cheap skate that I am... would the Puritan Audio PS106DC Power Purifier Strip offer similar performance at a reduced cost for the DAC only?

I wonder how good that would be with a chord tt2 dac, that is already considered well isolated by its supercondensators... I've a bad noise situation in my system with ground issue here and there. I'm currently still using my audioquest powerquest 2 that I bought at my beginnings and I was considering a ps audio power regenerator but this one looks very interesting. The gear that would be plugged in would be : both of my speakers audio acoustic ae1 active, hugo tt2, audio gd master 9. Maybe my internet router because it's noisy. The rest of my source chain is isolated on battery. What do you guys think? Thanks in advance!

Hi Loic! I appreciate your HiFi interests, sensibilities, and recent videos you and Thomas have been posting. Have you yet considered the Puritan GroundMaster designed for the PSM 156?It would seem to me that would be the logical next step if you are confident in the Puritan technology. Perhaps you could reach out to Mike at Puritan (who is very responsive to communication). I also have the 156 however have yet to install my GroundMaster which I may do in the spring. The GroundMaster requires installation of 8’ earthing rods (one or more)….you may already be aware. That comparison of the 156/ plus GroundMaster vs. 156 alone might be interesting! My 156 is powering my player/DAC as you have done. Have you yet to try amps yet, including the Willsenton 300B? Any further content you produce related to any of the above will be welcomed and appreciated. Thanks!!

Late comment here. Great experiment. If you were to get more bang for your buck, wouldn't it be better to buy an Ifi DC blocker just for the DAC? Or is there another phenomenon going on here?

Important things to note: 1. price stated is in Canadian dollars I think as I paid 1.5k pounds in UK 2. makes your system sound its best any time of the day, never had a single time I thought it was sounding sub optimal like it always happens during different times/days 3. sensibly improved the image from my xiaomi ust DLP laser projector!

Hi Loic, I was deciding on which tube preamp to put in front of my integrated SE tube amp, elekit TU-8800 EL34. But, now you just made that decision even more difficult, LOL! I shouldn't have had clicked on this video MAN!🤣 If you were me, what would you buy as an upgrade? A tube preamp or PSM156? The rest of my system are: pontus ii dac, lii-audio F-15 in open baffle speakers and ian canada digital streamer complete kit (IRIS /HERMES DDC equivalent).

Who is the female artist singing with the Fender Rhodes piano on that stellar recording? Also, woill you please tell me the name of the record? Thanks!

Which power cable were you using with this?

Not sure if I believe it Loic, send me the unit to test and I'll let you know 😉

Q: did any of these systems have other power filters or regenerators before this test?

Did you try everything but the amplifier plugged into the Puritan?

Great Video! Question, do you think that that PSM136 or one of their lesser products could potentially have a similar effect? I realize you haven't probably tried them but just your opinion?

What if you wired your system directly to 24v LiPo batteries (like used in boats, RV's backup house systems) and ran it through an inverter to avoid powerline noise?

Hello! Has anyone here plugged a current-hungry amp into their Puritan PSM156? I'm curious if the Puritan will constrain my 300W solid state amp

Aghhh! What have you done😅

Wonder how does it compare with the Furman 20Pfi Elite, another $3k conditioner… that I’m using. Has anyone compared these? Just wondering…

Which power cable did you use? The classic or ultimate?

Can this "clean Power" affect/alter video (GPU) and computing performances?

Try it on your TV, see if you get a better picture. I've heard it works.

You think plugging in a turntable, phono amp with a dac, streamer, and preamp is ok?

Where are you located? These are $1800 in the US. Best money I’ve ever spent on my system.

if i plug my router to the puritan will my internet run faster? im sure voltage drops make my internet slower

did the Puritan affect dynamics? bass?

What does clean power cost?

claiming that the difference with the dac is monstrous ok thats awesome but what for those how listening to vinyl as I do, will the difference be audible enough to justify that amount of cash that's the big question. some extra tests for what it does with amplifiers cd players turntables would be highly appreciated for us subscribers.

please bring on Thomas from Thomas & Stereo

Greetings from the UK I recently added the Connected Fidelity Balanced mains unit to our system. I had it built to include two output to enable me to hook up the integrated amp and phono stage. The difference it made to the soundstage was fantastic IMO. The dynamics is great and the instruments more pronounced. I am so pleased with what it has added that l won’t be taking it out of our system.

Ametek Powervar makes medical grade pwr conditioners.

Queue the double blind test guys comment lol

Why not just put the dac on batteries.... 😅

It would have been nice to let US hear the OMG difference...all we heard was talking.

there is only one person who can convince me and that is Thomas from Thomas & Stereo or his audio buddies mr Kanta mr Jazz mr Quad mr 707 or mr Vintage