Having been a power-conditioner "doubter" for so long I am almost embarrassed to relate this story. I purchased this power strip out of concern for exposing my new amp (a Bryston 3bsst) to possible damage during a thunder storm. ..It's surprisingly hefty and well finished - far better than the dozen or so plastic power strips that I used each holiday season when I hook up Christmas lights.
After wrestling with the tangle of cords in my credenza for an hour I managed to get it all hooked up. Up until now, all my plugs were plugged into two 4-socket wall outlets inside the credenza ..The HTS-1000 has labels for the inputs and I was careful to plug my amp into the one so marked. ..All of my audio components were plugged into the strip. ..I left the TV and cable box plugged into the wall outlets so that we can still watch weather forecasts even after I've switched off the power stip.
While far from a properly controlled test (nothing blinded about what I was doing) I was absolutely stunned to find that the amp sounded louder for a given volume setting AND it seemed that I was hearing a fair bit less electronic hiss/hum b/w songs. Generally, it sounded clearer! ..It was striking. Again, I was a doubter about such things. Why on earth would moving the plugs to a power strip make such a change? ..It defied explanation but I heard what I heard and I trusted my ears.
A few weeks later, when thunderstorms were predicted, I reached into the credenza to switch off the power strip even though such a precaution was probably unnecessary. ..A few hours later my wife turned on the TV and….. nothing….. it wouldn't turn on. ..Into the credenza I go to figure out what's happening. Imagine my surprise when I find that I plugged the TV into the power strip and NOT the amp. ..The amp was still plugged into the wall just as it was the day I first hooked it up. ..Ugh. A real, and embarrassing lesson in expectation-bias. A true story!
added note: This happened approximately 10 years ago.
Edited by syd123 - 2/3/13 at 8:23pm
After wrestling with the tangle of cords in my credenza for an hour I managed to get it all hooked up. Up until now, all my plugs were plugged into two 4-socket wall outlets inside the credenza ..The HTS-1000 has labels for the inputs and I was careful to plug my amp into the one so marked. ..All of my audio components were plugged into the strip. ..I left the TV and cable box plugged into the wall outlets so that we can still watch weather forecasts even after I've switched off the power stip.
While far from a properly controlled test (nothing blinded about what I was doing) I was absolutely stunned to find that the amp sounded louder for a given volume setting AND it seemed that I was hearing a fair bit less electronic hiss/hum b/w songs. Generally, it sounded clearer! ..It was striking. Again, I was a doubter about such things. Why on earth would moving the plugs to a power strip make such a change? ..It defied explanation but I heard what I heard and I trusted my ears.
A few weeks later, when thunderstorms were predicted, I reached into the credenza to switch off the power strip even though such a precaution was probably unnecessary. ..A few hours later my wife turned on the TV and….. nothing….. it wouldn't turn on. ..Into the credenza I go to figure out what's happening. Imagine my surprise when I find that I plugged the TV into the power strip and NOT the amp. ..The amp was still plugged into the wall just as it was the day I first hooked it up. ..Ugh. A real, and embarrassing lesson in expectation-bias. A true story!
added note: This happened approximately 10 years ago.
Edited by syd123 - 2/3/13 at 8:23pm
) I figured even it didn't, it was still a reasonable price for a surge protector. So I ordered it. Then, when it arrived, I was so surprised (and obviously influenced) by how solid it was built and by how each input was labeled, I thought, "Wow, there must be a lot more to this thing than just a bunch of power sockets wired in series." So my hopes and beliefs that it would actually lead to better sound grew by leaps and bounds. ..Pretty much the same way as when someone brings home a new component to plug into their system.
