Surge Protection

[kitjv]

Before I power up my new 2-channel system, it would seem prudent to have a quality surge protector. Recommendations? Thank you.

[PewterTA]

Go ahead and power up your 2-ch system. Don't wait for a surge protector.

Not saying to NOT get one, but don't wait for it. I'd say there's a bunch of good ones out there, just depends on your price range as to what kind you get. Give us a price range and we can find you some good ones that will fit it. :T

[kitjv]

Go ahead and power up your 2-ch system. Don't wait for a surge protector.

Not saying to NOT get one, but don't wait for it. I'd say there's a bunch of good ones out there, just depends on your price range as to what kind you get. Give us a price range and we can find you some good ones that will fit it. :T

Rather than give a price range, let me say that my system cost about $20K. I am not looking for power conditioning, just surge protection that will do the job without having to pay a premium for unnecessary fluff. Hope this helps.

[Hdale85]

Well you can get a nice surge protector that regulates power but also includes some conditioning for around 300 bucks. If thats not really what you want just get a nice quality surge protector.

[Glen B]

IMO, the best bet for surge protection only is to have an electrician install a whole-house surge protector at the electrical service panel as a first line of defence, supplemented by backup surge protection at the point of use. The surge protector which gets wired to the panel thru a double-pole circuit breaker, protects both 120V legs. Makers of whole-house surge protectors include Leviton, Intermatic, Square D and Panamax.

It is virtually impossible to find any "audiophile quality" surge protector that does not have some form of noise filtration, unless one goes DIY. There are a few empty non-ferrous power strip chassis available that come with holes pre-punched to accept duplex outlets and an IEC power inlet of one's own choice. Balanced Power Technologies also sells an already wired power strip called the PPC (Pure Power center).

If I were going DIY, I would wire up one of these, install an MOV across hot and neutral and plug all of my system compnnents into it. MOVs lose their effectiveness over time so I would keep extras on hand to replace the one in the power strip every once in a while. I have a specific MOV I use available from DigiKey that I can recommend.

Alternately, you could buy a relatively inexpensive conditioner with surge protection from PS Audio (The Duet), Furman Sound or Belkin PureAv. There is a previous thread here at HT Guide on the Belkin PureAv products and the Model PF-60 in particular, which a number of us own.

Empty Power strip chassis:

http://www.cryo-parts.com/mtub.html

http://www.vhaudio.com/powerstrips.html

PPC: http://www.b-p-t.com/products.shtml

[kitjv]

Glen B, thanks for your thoughts. The reason I am looking for surge protection only, is that the manufacturer of my amp (Bryston) does NOT recommend power conditioning which might restrict power & ,thus, affect performance.

[Glen B]

(Bryston) does NOT recommend power conditioning which might restrict power & ,thus, affect performance.

This may be true of some power conditioners [that employ wire coils in series with the load as part of their filtration method] but likely not those that employ simple technology such as one or more capacitors in parallel with the load. The whole-house surge protection may be your best option. One will run you about $200.00 plus labor. That's cheap insurance to protect your $20K investment.

[cavey]

I would also check out Brick Wall surge protection.I have had mine for a couple of years and am very happy with it.

[twitch54]

the manufacturer of my amp (Bryston) does NOT recommend power conditioning which might restrict power & ,thus, affect performance.

The majority of amp mfg's don't as well. I agree, I plug my amps directly into their own dedicated circuit, unplug when traveling or nasty weather is near.

FWIW, check your homeowners ins. policy, that's probably the most important protection you have.

outside of the above, well received systems from ETA, Furman, Panamax sem to do well.

[zmanbands]

My Experience Not What I Was Told To Do!

I have a rotel 1090 380 w/ch power amp. I plugged it into the wall directly always, not into my Belkin Pure AV power conditioner. I upgraded my Belkin to one that shows volts and amps being used. [Special Note: I have very efficient Klipsch RF-7 speakers] I discovered that I was using only 2 amps for my whole system with the power amp plugged into the Belkin AND to my surprise the amp sounded BETTER that way. FWIW If you have efficient speakers this may work for you and you are getting noise filtering as well!!

[David Meek]

I strongly recommend running everything through a surge protector - whole-house or otherwise, and consequently here's a second vote for Brickwall. I run the PWRMOD15AUD for the shelved components and the PW2RAUD for my plasma and for my sub. I like them for the simple fact that they don't use sacrificial parts like MOVs to absorb surges and so will last far longer.

Conditioning is a whole separate issue. . . .