Blue Circle Audio 18X SillyconePrice: $820

Website: www.bluecircle.com

Roger said: Although the 18X Sillycone Filter won’t win any beauty contests, like Blue Circle Audio’s other components stuffed into ABS pipes, it offers performance beyond what you’d expect. Having now used a couple of them, I now can’t imagine my system without at least one of Blue Circle’s high-value power-conditioning products hooked up to it, and the 18X Sillycone Filter would be at the top of my list.

Read the SoundStage! Access review.

The gist: If you care more about clean power than a nice chassis.