Does power conditioning really matter?

Yes, power conditioning and surge protection does matter. Buy the best piece that you can afford.

It does matter to every objective person out there once blind listening tests verify what engineers are skeptical l(strongly) about : that a difference can be heard.

Speakers, yes! Cables, power supplies...not verified scientifically. Hey, faith still exists!

i have a mid-fi system at best and a belkin pure av power conditioner and it, absolutely, without question, i ain't playin witchu, makes a huge difference. now, does the quantum symphony improve the system? hard to say.
ps. i also have dedicated lines to the system.

I had A few Shunyata hydras, Monster AVS 2000, Ps audio power plant and not one of them did anything positive to the sound. Maybe its ones location but I know I never have to waste money on them anymore

If you can hear the difference changing any part of your system...go for it. That goes for the amp, pre, cables, wires, power cords..you name it. If you can't hear a difference and you're just trying to upgrade because the "guru's" say it's better...save your money. In many cases just moving speakers around makes far more difference than changing any part of the system. Treating the room to control bass and reflections also can significantly improve the sound. If your room is acoustically poor, then putting in $20,000 speakers or the world's best analog amp is a waste of money.

There is a vast difference between the cleanliness of one's power depending on many external factors that you have no ocntrol of. If you have lousy power coming in with lots of noise and ripple, a good conditioner may really noticably help. But, if your power is good (and most people get good power in the US), you don't need to condition it...it's that simple.