Line conditioners in the $350 range.

Here is a review written by a gentleman over on ***************.com. Reading this along with the price purchased were the deciding factors for me.

http://www.***************.com/htsth...iew.php?rev=76

Wow amazing price for the PF60, I thought I found a good price before at $198 but this is even better.


After reading 2 reviews on the APC H Type I have decided not to go with that one, the reviews found that it affected the sound in a negative way, removing the life from the music, kinda weird but thats what they said. They compared to it to a Monster 3500 and the Monster sounded better.

I got a belkin pure av 21110 and am very pleased with its performance. I got it at a tiny electronic outlet store. It had a scratch on the top but I got it for $25.00. I guess the guy did not know what it was worth.

> Not really something I'm sure I need

Ditto. Don't bother. Save your money for something actually useful.

I am actually happy with my Monster 3600 (60% discount on it) and I can actually say there is a visible difference (I didnt have my audio setup previously so cant comment on audio). More than anything, I just wanted some peace of mind and it looks really cool

If you're not having a problem then one good reason to buy a 'line conditioner' or 'surge protector' or whatever you want to call it is for the functionality and utility of such a product. They can provide a central location for you to plug your equipment into as well as give you other creature comforts like isolated outlets, 12 volt triggers, sequenced turn ons, and so forth. Most also provide some rudimentary surge protection as well as various amounts of noise reduction. Sometimes, but not always, there are audible benefits but those are largely due to possible minimizations in ground loops which can result in reduced or eliminated hums. Video also is sometimes cleaned up which can typically be seen in the lower channel numbers (50 mHz and up). As far as sucking the life out of music, blame the recording engineers.

Quote:
I don't fully agree with this inasmuch as I believe the performance of my power amps was degraded (at high power output) when plugged into a surge suppressor/noise filter. The particular unit in question has a bunch of chokes in it that I think were causing current limiting at high power. Mind you, the four amps I had plugged into it represent a sum total output potential of 1480 watts RMS.


The amps went from the suppressor/filter to their own circuit while the source gear stayed on the suppressor/filter on their own circuit. I really think this brought some life back to the music, but a difference only at very high volume levels which are not the norm.

I would never consider paying anywhere even remotely close to $350 for a line conditioner. My Monster HT power strip accomplishes the same thing for about $60.

It's a really tough call whoaru99 when it comes to this 'current limiting' aspects of what you're describing. Generally this is said to be due to the presence of things like you said that are wired in series. But then you've got the people who claim they hear no difference while using something like a BrickWall device and that's got nothing if inductors and capacitors up the wazoo wired in series. There could be other matters at play here like an overall inadequate electrical service and a signficant voltage drop but you'd have to dig deeper. In other areas like say the use of large photocopiers which draw substantial amounts of current rapidly, companies like Panamax address the aspect of current limiting by having a special line of surge protectors. In any event, it doesn't appear to be all that difficult to find devices, like for example the Belkin, that have outlets specially designed so that current limiting is 'limited'.

Back before I had a dedicated circuit for my HT equipment, I can unequivocally state that a line conditioner (Panamax) CAN make a noticeable difference. The Panamax DOES filter the AC line -- I tested it using a blender.


Now that I have a dedicated circuit, I doubt I still need a line conditioner, but it's nice to have a nice looking very high quality surge protector if nothing else.


IMO, Belkin and Monster are very overpriced when compared to Panamax. I've also received good customer support from Panamax.

Think so rynberg? They discount the hell out of the Belkin's.


The old blender test...I've got an old, and I mean old Sears floor fan that has a switch that causes pops when you change speed. That's my stupid little tester...if it's on the same circuit that is.

Eh, just talking MSRP. They don't discount the Monster crap.


You need to switch to a blender Chu, much easier to move around and store than that old floor fan...

You gotta hear the pop that fan makes on computer speakers! It's a killer. Besides, you know how many years it's taken me to get it rusty just so?

Just as a follow up, I actually am having a few problems,first off my AC power is 137V (tested with a $200 digital multimeter, I trust it's accuracy) which I think is too high I'd like to have a voltage regulator, also unlike my Apartment in TN, which I didn't get any high volume hiss, I do now.


So I think some sort of voltage regulation and power cleaning will be beneficial to me.


I'm thinking about going ahead with the APC H15.

Well yeah, but that high voltage is a killer. I'd check the multimeter by measuring other outlets (like work or friend's homes) but with a voltage like that you're going to be drastically shortening the lifetime of anything else you've got in your home.

The outlet I tested previously, and others are now testing at 131V this morning, which is still high but not as scary high as 137V, also the meter might high by a few volts probably. I wanna say realistically that the outlets are pushing maybe 127V, but heck thats even high, I'd expect 115-120v like it should be.


Also it makes me wonder why such a huge drop from last night to now.