AVS › AVS Forum › Home Entertainment & Theater Builder › General Home Theater & Media/Game Rooms › Power, Surge Protectors & Line Conditioners
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Power, Surge Protectors & Line Conditioners

post #1 of 6
1/21/13 at 11:14am
Thread Starter 
Hi,

Wanted to get some opinions on the need for Power, Surge Protectors & Line Conditioners in a casual HDTV (pan 55vt50), 7.1/ Denon 1913 AV/Receiver & game setup.
BB Magnolia sales people suggest panamax or some form of surge protection to qualify for their Black tie GeekSquad protection. While I see some practical logic in surge protection, how agressive does it need to be? Again, this isn't a high end HT setup.

I do need to purchase one, as I just have a basic surge suppressor power strip. But, how much should I expect to spend for a consumer grade, REASONABLY priced/valued power center or surge protector? Will there be any improvement in sound or image as some people suggest? Look at the Amazon reviews...people are claiming they're doing wonders for their setup. I'm not swayed so easily.

I'm leery of Monster Cable as they are mostly overpriced as it is and Panamax products are WAY more than I want to spend.
Is a $100 a ridiculous amount to spend on a lower end Monster Cable unit? That seems to be where Best Buy starts for these units.

Thoughts?
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 6
1/21/13 at 12:09pm
Check out TrippLite, I purchased one of their line conditioners. You could always just op in for a UPS, which will do the same thing. Or just go to Radio Shack/The Source and pick up a power strip.

http://www.tripplite.com/en/products/product-series.cfm?txtSeriesID=829

Most of those extended warranties are complete BS, not to mention the hoops you have to go through with them.

Wikipedia explains Power conditioners fairly well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_conditioner

Power conditioners are good for insuring your equipments lasts a little longer.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 6
1/21/13 at 4:03pm
Before you spend a dime on surge protection at/near the TV, have a whole house surge protector installed, at the service entrance. All your equipment is designed to withstand surges to a few hundred volts. Devices usually get fried from nearby lightning strikes, and the whole house SPD may help to limit that.

I plan on installing the Eaton Cutler Hammer residential CHSPT2ULTR, plus the telephone and cable SPDs, available as a 3-pack for about $180, plus installation. Got that quote earlier today.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 6
1/25/13 at 1:05pm
As Neurorad wrote, a whole house surge protector system is the way to go.

No there probably won't be an improvement in sound or image. All a power conditioner can do is minimize problems and most people don't have the problems that it can minimize.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 6
1/25/13 at 6:25pm
You are wise not to buy into the "snake oil" peddlers. I have an APC power conditioner/UPS (battery backup) in my system. This is purely for the PJ so in the event I loose power during a movie watching I don't fry a very expensive PJ bulb. It has actually been employed once so I consider it paid for. If you have problems with brown outs/power surges or line voltage problems (which with today's modern equipment is happening less and less) I don't think you would see an actual improvement in sound or video. Most if not all that stuff is just marketing hype. The whole house is the way to go for sure, but for extra piece of mind and for the PJ I have my stand alone unit. I'm very happy with it and it has performed its job flawlessly.

Regards,

RTROSE
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 6
1/31/13 at 12:25pm
Quote:
You are wise not to buy into the "snake oil" peddlers. I have an APC power conditioner/UPS (battery backup) in my system. This is purely for the PJ so in the event I loose power during a movie watching I don't fry a very expensive PJ bulb. It has actually been employed once so I consider it paid for. If you have problems with brown outs/power surges or line voltage problems (which with today's modern equipment is happening less and less) I don't think you would see an actual improvement in sound or video. Most if not all that stuff is just marketing hype. The whole house is the way to go for sure, but for extra piece of mind and for the PJ I have my stand alone unit. I'm very happy with it and it has performed its job flawlessly.

Regards,

RTROSE

Ya. I got a Panamax M1500 UPS / power conditioner for my projector for the same reason. It has enough juice so that I can safely shut down the projector and not fry my $ 800.00 + bulb !!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Home Entertainment & Theater Builder › General Home Theater & Media/Game Rooms › Power, Surge Protectors & Line Conditioners