Puritan Audio PSM156 Studio Master Mains Purifier

Excellent service from Peter. Very knowledgeable and helpful. Thank you.

I was impressed, you have to hear it

Excellent upgrade in resolving very dirty mains supply.
Removed all noise from supply without affecting overall detail and soundstage.
Thank you to Igloo Audio for the great advice.

One of its claims (supported elsewhere on the Internet) is the removal of DC offset. My mains has only 5mv DC offset so I cant make an informed comment.

Where I have found it amazing, is in cleaning the mains supply, particularly noise introduced by Switched Mode Power Supplies SMPS

Brief History
I have been into Hi Fi for over 50 years. My system has evolved over those years and as the system got better all the normal attributes of Hi fi improved.
About 5yrs ago I was able to set up a dedicated listening room, but ironically this is when I became aware of an underlying harshness (glare) to everything I listened to. So in a traditional fashion I changed bits of gear (mainly valve stuff), then interconnects and speaker cables, then treated the room with absorbers and diffusers, then tackled component isolation. All the while I moved the system around the room to search out the best location. I even got my ears syringed in desperation

After all this time and effort, improvements to the Hi Fi were marked, but that slight glare still invaded all my listening, meaning my music sessions never went past 90 minutes. - Sad.

The Cure
Recently I became aware of the damage that SMPSs do to the quality of mains power, injecting high frequency mush back into the supply. A quick count up of my house revealed about 30 SMPSs not including my neighbours.
They were all invasive - 3 Alexas, 8 chargers, computers etc etc, even on one of my DACs and First Watt pre-amp.

As best I could, I turned off every SMPS and listened again. The improvement to the enjoyment of the music improved enough to justify the purchase of a Puritan PSM156

This was a revelation. My system now sounds fantastic and I listen for many hours without feeling the need to go and do something else.

Specifically music seem more real, more relaxing, more enjoyable. I see reviews elsewhere claiming more bass, better instrument separation etc, but I see it much more simply. Removing the MUSH has let the system breath

Attributes

1. Silences within music and between tracks are blacker. Sometimes it seems like the whole system has turned off.
2. With MUSH removed everything is better defined
3. With MUSH removed small detail is revealed. This shows itself at the boundaries of the soundstage meaning the soundstage itself is wider and deeper
4. I can plug my Hi Fi SMPS devices alongside everything else with no downsides
5. My system sounds the same no matter what else is turned on in the house or what time of day.
6. The cost is spread over 5 devices so its easier to persuade yourself its good value
7. I have lots of experience and you will just have to trust me that spending this money on any other component(s) would have got nowhere near this improvement

Caveat
The Puritan PSM 156 takes several hours to burn in
It can be left powered on 24/7, consuming just 0.2W of electricity
This device worked for me in my system. Your mileage may vary.

The care and service from Igloo Audio was first class

Swapped from a non-filtering distribution strip; difference was immediately apparent. Blacker background, music has more depth front to back. Tracks have greater 3D; instruments appear 3 dimensional, rather than a collection of instruments pasted on to a 2D canvass.

Track components also seem more articulate than without the 156, and the space of the recording is more apparent; the ambience of the room is easier to discern - greater atmosphere/emotion.

The PSM 156 to my mind should be considered a component, as important as any other in a system, it is that good.

Great product, no hyperbole, it does what it is advertised as doing. Now for Puritan's Grounding products

Having read several reviews that were consistent in their very positive view of the Puritan, I decided to take the plunge and buy one. Any regrets? Absolutely not. This thing is quite simply superb in my system consisting of a WT Versalex, Leben CS600 and Harbeth P3s. It does what the maker claims and the reviews reflect. Very pleased.

Mains products are hit or miss but having several components with Toroidal Transformers I have been plagued but Transformer hum, watched a YouTube review of the PSM156 so took a chance, Igloo had a great deal and the unit arrived within a day or two. Plugged everything in and silence, no hum at all, then as I played some music I got improvement in detail, sound floor, cannot recommend enough

I have found the Puritan 156 to be a great success. I am running a Lumin streamer to a pair of monobloc valve amps and active stereo subs. The Puritan removed all hums and buzzes from the power amps and I perceive a noticeable 'tightening' of the bass - and perhaps a better soundstage too. And it is great to be able to run the entire system through one mains socket and be confident enough to leave it permanently switched on. Highly recommended.