The previous posts said it well. If you need conditioning--it almost always helps things--go that route. The only area you need to be careful with conditioning is on power amps, even ones that are made for high current I have found frequently degrade the signal. I too prefer to plug power amps directly into the socket (I've replaced all the sockets with Hubbel sockets). If you don't really need the conditioning you might try one of the Monster power strips--they have a few that have a little filtration and good quality plugs. I use one on a smaller system in the house and am pleased. You can probably pick one of them up used for around $100.
