GroundMasterThe GroundMaster unit is much heavier & more robust than I imagined, I don’t think “the audiophileman” quite did its construction justice!
GroundMasterFirst off Wow very happy. The installation went smoothly without problems. I first became interested in grounding when I went to a Nordost demonstration at the Montreal Audio Fest last spring. The A-B test was very convincing but I wasn’t about to spend 6k on three grounding blocks. Next I read Paul Rigby’s review and from reading other of his reviews I trust his opinion. Now to my review; the volume increased 1 notch very obvious no placebo. The instruments are more fixed in the soundstage and they sound more like they should. The vocals are clearer and harmonies are more separated. The piano sounds more like a piano and the bass is deeper. Minute background detail can now be heard. On live recordings you can hear background talking that is not present when you remove the green ground wire from the box. In essence more detail.You would have to spend 5-10 k on a cartridge to do what this Groundmaster did to my system.
PSM156I bought the original PSM156 to supplement my Isotek EVO3 Sigmas with Synchro but on listening decided to replace it. I find myself listening to all sorts of albums to hear what they now sound like – which is always great! In the main Linn Klimax system I am using both PSM156s as I need all 12 sockets. I am also using one Guardian at the other end of the room where a PC, modem, multiple routers and switches are located. It seems to help a lot, The other Guardian is used in another simpler Linn Klimax system where it provides a nice improvement. (no space for a PSM). I took both PSM156s to my friend, together with both Guardians. His system is split between the front and back of a large room so he cannot plug all components into one PSM156. The one at the front gave the largest improvement so that is where he will place his. (my last order was one for him and one for me). So I am very glad that I took the chance to buy a PSM156 at the Windsor show, Wishing you every success with the business. You have another convert!
PSM136I received my PMS136 2 Weeks ago. Now, I have done many upgrades; valve amps, electrostatics, even a new arm, but your mains unit is the most significant upgrade I have ever done by far! Most impressed, a really unexpectedly great product.
PSM136I have been looking into the update of my second hand Hi-Fi components for some time. The question was where to start. Fortunately, I recently purchased your PSM 136 and some of your power cables. I found that I had upgraded all my components, LPs and CDs, at a single stroke, with clear definition of the instruments and voices and pure pleasure. I now realize that what I thought would be the last item to address, the power supply, was the first. I will now attend to isolation and the room. The components will take care of themselves in due course. I cannot thank you enough.
PSM136My interest in the Puritan 136 developed from Paul Rigby’s and Jason Kennedys reviews. Since I was trying to address the issue of DC Blocking on my AVM Ovation CS 8.2, Jason’s review caught my attention. I had auditioned 2 conditioners, both of which did not work on my AVM/PMC Fact 3 rig. So started a series of questions to Mr. Mike Lester, which were very patiently addressed and in substantial detail. Many thanks Mike. With the PSM 136 (post 60 hours of burning), the drop in noise floor levels, elevated the transparency and micro details to an extent that is quite amazing. With that came the added benefit of the sound digging deep into the mix, with excellent instrument separation, allowing each instrument to breathe; creating a sense of spatiality. There is no drop in dynamics or change in tonality- in fact there is an improvement in dynamics as well as in transients. Imaging is rock solid. The decay in the music is very palpable. A rich musical experience, without any listening fatigue.
Using Puritan cables with the PSM136 the sound is further enhanced – it’s taut and fast. It replaced a top of the line British power cable, which itself is a very decent cable. Indeed a well-engineered product, at a relatively affordable price point, that can be heartily recommended. Users of class D amplifiers may benefit by exploring the Puritan.
PSM136Wow! What a difference; the detail and clarity, the soundstage, bass, mid-range and treble frequencies more defined, more dynamic yet gentle, controlled, harmonious, beautiful, engaging and very, very musical. It’s as though the Chord Electronics CD Blu ll and DAVE are being allowed to deliver much more content uninhibited and it’s very impressive with some recordings astonishingly good, even older and poorer recordings benefit greatly. Live recordings are actually like being there and studio recordings are either akin to being in the studio or the musicians are in the room with you … This really does prove that the expensive Turntables, DAC’s, CD Transports, Amplification and Loudspeakers are all well and good BUT they’re only as good as the weakest link will allow them to be. It’s such a shame the equipment manufacturers do not tell you or readily acknowledge this, even many dealers do not either.
PSM136I have always been wary of mains conditioners, for a variety of reasons: I have very few electronic devices (being somewhat of a Luddite), I have a dedicated mains supply for the hi-fi, I have a very highly resolving system (SME / Kondo / Living Voice) which I thought might not need any further help, and I was concerned about losing tone and dynamics. How wrong I was! The PSM136 had a slightly positive effect when I first plugged it in without plugging any components into it. Plugging my preamp and amp into it gave a massive improvement in soundstage size and depth, separation of instruments, precision of placement of instruments, textural and tonal improvements, and so on, just as the description promises. In fact, dynamics appeared to be enhanced because you could now discern more precisely the separate strands within the whole. Then I plugged in my turntable. I didn’t notice any particular difference but I already have a Wave Mechanic conditioner feeding the power supply of my SME 30, so I wasn’t surprised. Finally, I moved all the earth cables from the preamp earth connector to the one on the back of the PSM136. Another revelation. More of the same improvements, plus deeper apparent bass and a rock solid image. This has been a real eye-, or should I say ear-opener for me and a major, major enhancement to my system. Thank you for a great product.
PSM136Vinyl now has an almost silent background with outstanding dynamics and clarity. It’s quite alarming at times. Unbelievably though the major beneficiary of the PSM136 has been the digital side of things. This sounds almost as good as the vinyl playback without the need to flip a record every 20 minutes or so! I’m guessing that there has been further benefits from having my amplifier on the star earthing system too. I can honestly say that my system has never sounded better. Thank you for such a fine product.
PSM136PSM136 used with Devaliet Expert Pro 1000 (2 Power amps) and a Melco N1A server. You’re not having it back! The control your conditioner has made to the overall sound is amazing as I mentioned earlier, and has had a significant impact on the bass notes.
PSM136I’m thoroughly impressed by your power cables after doing an A/B comparison against my friend’s pricey [Brand Deleted] power cable (high-end British made – launched at this year’s Munich Show). Tests were made in conjunction with the PSM136. Right out of the box, the Puritan power cable equalled, if not beat, the (Brand Deleted) cable. I was told by two other visiting audiophile friends who visited (my friend) some days later after me that the Puritan is the superior cable in every way. We also heard the PSM136. For the first time I heard a power conditioning device that didn’t colour the sound or inhibit the dynamic swings in music. Impressive!!!
PSM156I recently upgraded my PSM136 to the new PSM156 and would like to share my experiences for anybody wondering whether to make the same upgrade or a new purchase.
I’ve been using some form of mains conditioning/filtering for over 15 years. Before I owned the PSM 136 I was using a PS Audio Premiere that worked well enough I thought in my system, but one day I saw a very brief piece in the hi-fi press stating that a UK company called Puritan Audio was launching a new mains filtration device. The price looked right so I decided to try it out at home. To cut to the chase my PS Audio Premiere was sold on eBay and I bought the PSM136 in 2016, as it surpassed the PS Audio unit in all aspects, but especially in terms of musical transparency and clarity.
Earlier this year I saw a review by Paul Rigby extolling the virtues of the very new PSM156 and decided to pester Mike at Puritan Audio to let me try one at home. Once he was happy that the performance of the new model was up to his high standards he sent me a unit and I plugged it in expecting a little improvement of what I had been experiencing with the PSM136. How wrong I was!
The first experience that made me sit further back in my listening chair was the marked increase in bass power from my system. Although I’m a classical music fan I have a weakness for 1970-75 Miles Davis’ electric period, and particularly the Sony Japan import versions of the live albums Aghartha and Dark Magus. These albums have some of the meanest electric bass, drums and percussion that I’ve heard on disc and through the PSM156 the bass blew me away. What a beast! I use a REL T9i subwoofer to supplement my Harbeth Monitor 30.1’s and I had to turn down the volume control on the REL two notches as the power was too much for my room. My LFD integrated amp is certainly no multi-watt behemoth but what it does do very well is to give a very accurate rendition of the tone and timbre of instruments. It’s also a very transparent amplifier so that I can hear the result of even the slightest change made in the signal chain.
After this initial favourable impression I began to notice other aspects that had improved noticeably. The size of the musical image became much bigger, wider, higher and deeper. It reached further back behind the speakers and further forward into the room in front of them. Within this larger, lifelike soundstage there was a greater separation between the instruments so that the architecture of the recording venue became much more palpable. Each instrument was clearly picked out spatially and became much fuller and three dimensional. Micro details of guitar fingering, the breathy rasps of Miles Davis’ trumpet playing and the slap of hands and fingers on percussion instruments were now much more vividly present than before, producing a more lifelike image of living breathing musicians on stage.
During the next few days I listened to a wide range of classical material and all of the recordings I played benefited in exactly the same way as the Miles Davis electric albums. Instruments were more clearly delineated spatially and their timbres more lifelike. Everything was much more realistically rendered, from triangles to double basses. There was no way I was going to return the PSM156 to Mike at Puritan Audio and it is now an invaluable component in my system. I would highly recommend that you try it in your system at home, and if you do, I’d be very surprised if you sent it back!
For me the PSM156 is a stone cold bargain for the price, as the effect it has had on my system is by no means subtle. What’s more it means we can support another British hi-fi manufacturer – my amp and speakers are both respected British brands. I know there is a lot of talk about how mains filtering devices can be current limiting, to power amps in particular. Far from doing this in my system the PSM156 has only unleashed more power and in doing so has increased my enjoyment of my music collection enormously.
PSM136Despite already having a dedicated mains supply, with a single consumer unit feeding my audio system, and individual tails from the consumer unit to silver-plated sockets behind each piece of equipment, there is a definite benefit to simply using the PSM136 and running everything from that instead. The sound is blacker, more spacious, more detailed, less harsh and more musical, rhythmic and enjoyable. It’s not a night and day difference, rather one of those subtle but profound changes that benefits everything and not just one particular characteristic like the soundstage, making the sum much greater than the parts – if that makes sense. Not only that, but the occasional transformer hum has disappeared, and it still times well and has lost no element of dynamic tension. I use a Naim preamp and, contrary to perceived wisdom, it has worked extremely well. The system works well at all times of day, not just in the late evening. In short, the PSM136 does what it says on the tin!
PS106 DCJust to let you know how I am getting on with my PS106-DC and power leads. Obvious stuff first, well packaged, ,came when you said and looks a quality piece of kit. Connected it up to my Cyrus PrQx PreAmp, Cyrus200 stereo Amp and Marantz SACD (no earth), Immediately the music sounded full bodied but lost a bit of detail very listenable. I have a Cyrus PsXr which I tried in and out but left it in sounding slightly better. Here I am a few weeks later the detail has returned and some, and combined with the full fat sound the music has gone to a new level incredible product at any price a bargain! Thank you Chris.ps sorry for the non HiFi descriptions its hard to put into words the improvement in sound.
PSM136I promised to give you some feedback following the purchase at the recent Bristol show. If you recall I had two issues intermittent mono-block amplifier hum and low level speaker buzzing.
Having had the Mains purifier in the system for a few weeks both issues appear to be resolved so far.
I was concerned that the unit might have some dampening effect on the sound also, but on my system the following is what I can hear:
1. The bass has improved both deep and tight
2. The midrange is much more focused with bigger better sound stage
3. The edge on the treble is less and far more detailed
And now the annoying bits:
1. I find I can’t help turning the sound up even though I know I have gained more db than previous, this is annoying the family.
2. The really annoying bit is that critical listening is really hard, I keep getting drawn into the music after a few moments.
I will caveat the scale of the above improvements which I think may be having a greater effect on my system as it now nearly ten years old but it has never sounded better and this is probably the best tweak to date.
As an engineer I hope you find the feedback helpful, thanks for making such a good product. I have attached a photo of the unit in the system rack you may find the context useful.
PSM136I received my new toy and it is all up and running. I really do like the build quality. Have you had any Hi Fi Magazine take a look at your Multiple Mains Purifier and given a review, as I think it is bloody marvellous.
PSM136It was as if I had been looking through dirty windows and suddenly had them cleaned.
It just works; improving sound quality no end with the bass extension increased by quite a lot.
It has moved the audio quality from my (All Naim) system to somewhere I am now really happy with.
PSM136Just to update you on my thoughts on the PSM136. It’s definitely a keeper!
Having had some time now to do a bit of serious listening, the improvements brought by the conditioner are clear. The most obvious & immediate improvement is in the sound staging & the bass. The sound is more detached from the speakers, wider & deeper front to back. This seems to give the music more flow & naturalness. With the bass, more clarity tone & shape & the impression of going deeper than before & my system was very clean in the bass prior to the conditioner going in.
More subtle improvements are better decay of sounds, small details/cues are more apparent & easily heard. With music that has a lot of stereo panning of sounds, in particular electronic music the sense of the music moving around & between the speakers has improved greatly which was a nice surprise as didn’t see that coming.
Overall the conditioner has lifted every area of replay, some in more dramatic ways than others but this is an across the board improvement with no negatives at all. Even some of my less well recorded music, of which I have plenty is more satisfying albeit you do wish it had been better recorded in the first place. You can just hear deeper into the mix which makes for a more satisfying listen.
I am still throwing all sorts of music on & hearing more texture, more relaxed & just better music!
I could go on but I won’t & as I said it’s not going back.
It’s easy these days to complain when things go wrong or service is bad etc. but praise where it’s due, & that’s certainly the case here . Obviously I have not tried the high end/high price units available from other manufacturers but pound for pound against the improvements the Puritan has brought, in my system it’s a no brainer.
I should also mention my background is electrical engineering; installation of domestic, commercial etc. As a result my system is served via a dedicated, fully screened 40Amp radial circuit from distribution board to socket as plus RFI earth stake serving Hi Fi only. Even with all this, the Puritans improvements are as clear as day.
Another point of note is the mains lead supplied. From a performance perspective I cannot really comment as I have not switched between cables I already have, but from an ease of installation & dressing the cables point of view, what a pleasure. Absolute piece of cake as opposed to battling with stiff, don’t want to bend, awkward mains cables so I may be back to you in the new year for some more to serve my existing kit.
Cable + GuardianThe power cable is very fast and very dynamic, both very positive features in my book
The Guardian has mellowed the sound of the radio system, more autumnal and a thicker sound, Brahmnsian! Before it was brighter and more forward, with a chromium metallic flavour.. Response: definitely clearer! The sound was good and is very listenable as you say.
The computer is still running more smoothly than usual and on Saturday night the radio three music stream only dropped out once for a couple of seconds, but it corrected itself. Normally it drops out after about one hour and needs to be reset. Whether this is down to the Guardian plugged into a different main on a different floor, I leave you to judge. It certainly is an amazing co-incidence it if it is not the influence of the Guardian.
I have just asked someone reasonably familiar with the kitchen radio sound (Pure DAB tuner digital output into DPA Dac, Heed Obelisk amp Eikos speakers) whether he noticed any difference. Response: definitely clearer! The sound was good and is very listenable as you say.
PSM136The high frequencies in particular have cleared up considerably. There is more zing and shimmer to cymbals and other high frequency instruments. I noticed that there is also less overhang on double bass and more definition of the specific timbre of the instrument and the players fretting etc.
CableThe power cable is very good, deeper and tighter bass and a very clean and clear presentation, allowing micro details at the back of Jazz recordings and pianissimo trumpets and horns in big orchestral pieces to be more easily discerned. The soundstage is bigger and more solid.. I also should add that the power cable is very fast and very dynamic, both very positive features in my book.
The general blur in the large acoustic has clarified, and the instruments have become clearer. In the American in Paris piece there is a lot of percussion, played with devastating precision by the orchestra. I have never heard it so cleanly as with your cable. Also the clearer lower strings showed me rhythmic patterns which I had never noticed before in many listenings. You have got something right.
PSM136I am more than happy with the PSM136 , music is more enjoyable. It has taken the edginess off of vocals making them sound much more human.
PSM136First impressions of the PSM136 are quite positive. There is a distinct increase in treble (which I was looking for), possibly at the expense of a slight loss of bass – but this could be due to the change in the main mains lead or the fact that I have been playing music with a treble bias.
I will monitor the performance of the PM136 over the next few weeks and would be more than happy to provide feedback when I am more certain as to the exact changes. Should I expect any changes due to a burn-in period, or do you expect the results to stay the same?
Many thanks, I am delighted with my purchase.
PSM136Arrived in excellent condition.
My first thought upon unpacking was “how do you deliver so much kit for so little??”
I am totally pleased and it is one more item I can cross off my wish list.
An extremely satisfied customer.
PSM136I normally would have waited longer as I am sure the PSM 136 will continue to improve, but I have heard enough to characterise its essence of its effect on my system.
Firstly, the soundstage is marginally bigger and wider (no slouch there already). The sound has a refinement and mellowness which shows the beauty of the 300b system which I have not encountered to this degree before. Relaxed and non-fatiguing. Paradoxically there is an extraordinary precision to the sound articulation, both in the starting and stopping of notes and instruments, and in their dynamic level. Stravinsky used to work for hours on orchestras to get clarity in the articulation of dynamic levels, he would be impressed here. The lack of smearing reveals many details and notes behind the notes, an X-ray of the score perhaps, which I had not noticed before, even in fairly reverberant acoustics. I noticed this effect with your power cables before but here we are on another level altogether. This precision is in no way mechanical but allows for startling dynamics where required which says to me there is no inhibition in current delivery through the PSM 136.
I have tried many genres of music from Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, Bruno Walter’s Bruckner, George Szell’s Beethoven, Antal Dorati’s Respighi (often fierce sounding but much sweeter with the PSM 136) Boston Pops, all invariably a fresh an often-thrilling experience.
Congratulations and thank you; a beautiful device in every way and something of hi-end bargain given that it is less than half the price of the filter it replaced which it trumps in every respect!