Quality PC: plug into wall socket or conditioner??

To me it depends on the equipment and the location of where you live. Audiophiles in my area have long decried the quality of the electricity in my neighborhood. So my sources get plugged into an isolation transformer and/or power conditioners with their aftermarket power cords. My amps that have Pangea AC9 power cords get plugged right into the wall but I changed out my outlets to Albert Porter Hubbell based outlets.

"Well, I could stick my finger in the electrical socket to judge the quality of the AC, measured by how far it propels me across the room"

That was a good one. We couldn't have you doing that. Who would keep the Audiogon forum alive and exciting.

One way to check the AC was with a Kill-A-Watt. I plugged that into the socket check consumption of my gear and found settings for it to check voltage from the socket. I found that in my audio rooms the voltage goes from 118v to 125v. Lots of spikes throughout the day. As for how dirty it is I just took the other guys words for it. I don't know how to measure that.

I feel for you though. Playing all those WHO tracks and getting threatened by a neighbor. things like that is part of the reason why I just stopped tweaking and just plugged and played a lot of stuff I have now. Listening to music became a chore where you are just trying to pick up differences. I had a notepad with thoughts and findings of tubes I used, all sorts of IC speaker and cable combinations etc. After playing a favorite Depeche Mode track for the 5th time straight I just said screw it all and this is just not fun.