Please keep me out of the Rabbit Hole - Power Strips


I am finishing a new piece of furniture to contain all of my audio gear.  I need a total of 10 electrical outlets.  I can not spend much on the power strip at this time but I want to make sure that I do no harm.  I have heard that cheaping out on things like power conditioning, surge protection, etc... can result in treatments that can cause other issues.  When I renovated the house I did install a dedicated 20 amp circuit for this main outlet.  My gear is perfectly quiet.  Thoughts or Suggestions welcome.

My Gear;

Aragon 4004 mkII Amp

Aragon 24k Preamp

Aragon 10T2 Tuner

Linn LP 12

Linn Linto Phono Preamp

Eversolo A6

SMSL PL200T CD Transport

Topping D70 Pro Octo DAC

maam522a

OP, I second the Shunyata recommendation, with the caveat that if you're open to used suggestions, a used Shunyata MPC 12 would outperform the Venom one people are recommending I believe.  I got one for $650.  Retailed for $2000 I believe.  Shunyata is amazing to work with - they will even help you with used gear. I asked them in my case, whether or not going with the MPC 12 vs another older unit was better.  They said hands down the MPC 12C was better for my home theater application.  Before you buy anything shunyata, check what is available used and then send give them a call asking which unit will be better for your given situation.  Well worth that effort!!

@mclinnguy I do wonder if the NR is truly as good as XC for a power conditioner like you're saying.  The filtering is just an extra thing to mess up the current I would think if there's no noise you're trying to isolate.  I am no cable engineer, but this just seems like an extra piece of the chain so to speak.  I use XC on my power conditioners from Shunyata, and I use Cardas parsecs for all my other gear (amps, DAC etc) and they do well for me.  I haven't cared for Shunyata cabling or Nordost compared to Cardas in my system for pretty much everything, minus the cable from power conditioner to the wall.  In that case, the Theta XC I have was actually a wild upgrade.  Wild being contextually that I was able to hear a noticeable improvement that was repeatable when swapping back and forth as fast as possible (with help from a friend)
 

I ran the NR vs XC debate by an associate of mine who has a long history with Shunyata.  Furmans, like Panamax, Monster, etc, are considered as non-passive devices and have found to be unpredictable with NR of any sort - even as the NR is passive.  He has experienced greater success with XC from the wall to power conditioner.

@jrareform Could be, there is only one way to find out- get an XC and compare. Maybe I’ll give them a call in the next year, I had some other questions for them as well. 

 @audiostick 

 He has experienced greater success with XC from the wall to power conditioner

Ok, thanks for letting me know. It is a little confusing how they have an XC or "extra current" cable, so one thinks they should use it on the amplfier as well as the power conditioner, but then Shunyata suggest the NR "is excellent on amplifiers. "and yet they now have a QR cable which is "particularly suited for high powered amplifiers"

But this is right from Shunyata’s website: 

SIGMA-X XC
SIGMA-X XC was designed specifically for use as a wall-connection power cord for use with Shunyata Research power distributors. Due to the extensive levels of filtering in Shunyata Research designed power distributors, NR filters are not needed at the wall connection. For use with other manufacturers power conditioners, the NR models will likely provide a performance benefit.

Bottom line is I can assure you my system doesn’t sound like the current is restricted in any way. But hey, not doubting the fact that maybe the XC is better. 

@mclinnguy I'm super curious myself.  I don't doubt Shunyata, considering they are the creators.  But I am wondering if sometimes the engineer's intention gets lost on the way to marketing/customer service. 

I appreciate your curiosity on this matter.  Because yea I've always felt like XC would mean power amplifier too right?  Matter of fact I've only tried XC shunyata stuff to the power amps I've had based on the dealer recommendation.  And it never touched my Cardas parsecs.  But now I'm wondering if NR is better for power amplifiers.  And if so, maybe I misjudged the gamma and theta power cables for the power amplifier and need to try an NR with my Pass Labs amp instead!  Curious if in the case of power amps if it's an "XC or NR" kind of thing and may depend on the amplifier.  I trusted the dealer as he has worked with Shunyata for a long time and he said they recommended XC at the time for power amps.

@jrareform 

If you preferred the Parsecs over the Theta's I would be happy and leave well enough alone, as the Cardas are 1/3 the price of the Shunyata Theta's! 

But yes, curiousity usually gets in the way, that is why we are audiophiles.