No reviews of power conditioners? Just bought apc

5850 Views 28 Replies 8 Participants Last post by rushisrighton, Jul 3, 2006

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · May 6, 2006

I've been trying to find reviews of power conditioners, I did see the one at audioholics on the monster 3500. Other than that, the only talk of them is by forum memebers which usually ends up in boreing debate. So I finally settled on an APC j-15, it looks

nicer than anything else out there. Has plenty of outlets which I am in drastic need of, and has battery backup to boot.

Have you guys seen the price on these? To me it seems like a no brainer, But I've been known to sometimes misplace my brain

. You get a ton of features and the pride of not putting a monster product in your rack. I scored one on e-bay so I'll have to wait for it to come in. But even new they are reasonable, compared to other things. It does power conditioning, surge supression & battery backup. Not sure of the level of filtering, but it looks like a solid product.

However, now I'm trying to find a review on the j-15, can't find one anywhere. The search function shows zip. Do any of you out there reading this have one? If so what do you think of it. Also I see it has a fan, can't wait to get mine, so I just have to ask, how loud is it?

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Kal Rubinson

· #2 · May 7, 2006

J-15? I know of the S-15 (which I reviewed and own) and the H-15 (which is similar but lacks UPS). I see it listed from vendors but not at APC.

Kal

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 7, 2006

I called APC and asked them about the j series. They said that they take longer to recharge, and are a little bit noisier than the S series, but other than that they are identical in components and operation. I also see that the S series has a slightly different face than the J series. All in all though, for a grand less, the J series is a heck of a steal! I never asked them why they don't have it on there sight, just called to confirm that it was there product, and it is. Looks like an S series, for less than half price, with all the features. Can't believe I haven't heard any talk of these on the forum.

cherry ghost

· #4 · May 7, 2006

Is this the one you bought?

http://www.apc.com/resource/include/...m?base_sku=J15

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 7, 2006

Yes it is, although that estimated price is a bit higher than what I've seen. The only obvious difference between that one and the s-15 is the louvered sides, and the black apc logo. I did a search for reviews on the s-15 and that yeilded some good results. So if the J-15 performs the same, I think I got a pretty good item. I did see your review also Kal. Good to know you still have one in your system.

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 7, 2006

Thanks cherry ghost, just realized that was apc's site you linked too. I did a side by side comparison of the j & s 15, there does seem to be some differences, the s is deeper & heavier, probably due to a larger battery maybe? And there does appear to be some options that the J might be missing, although it wasn't very clear. I did see that the J has a higher joule rating.

wgilpin

· #7 · May 8, 2006

Comparing the two units on APC's site, I see several differences.

The most important difference between the S15 and the J15 is that the S15 has a pure sine wave output, and the J15 does not. This implies they use different inverters, with the better one being in the S15. This is where your price difference comes from.

They both use Line Interactive topology, so the power features they offer should be the same, presuming your equipment is not sensitive to an approximated sine wave signal.

Cheers,

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 8, 2006

I think my favorite feature of the J series is the price

. Hope my ebay purchase makes it this week. Won the auction a little over half of retail. 267.00 shipped, which is good considering half of the time people pay almost retail on ebay! Probably shouldn't be talking too much price stuff here though.

I think the stepped sine wave should be fine for getting to the projector to shut it down shouldn't it?

Chu Gai

· #9 · May 8, 2006

I'd tend to concur.

wgilpin

· #10 · May 9, 2006

Code:

Code:

J10/J15          S10/S15
                             =======          =======
Rated Watt Capacity          600/865          700/900
Battery Quantity                2                4
Recharge Time

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #11 · May 18, 2006

Well, according to ups shipping, my apc j15 should arrive tomorrow

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #12 · May 18, 2006

wow, this thing is heavy & deep. Looks like I'm gonna have trouble integrating it into my rack. Looks like it's time to rearrange & tidy up wires, probably gonna have to sell my minidisc deck to make room.

Ace of Space

· #13 · May 22, 2006

Rushisrighton, where did you order yours from and how do you like it so far?

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 23, 2006

I won mine in an auction on E-bay, don't know how I snagged it, but good deals do come along now and then! I think if I were to buy one, I'd look to pricegrabber for where to shop. I first learned of the j-15 on pro-vantage's website. Sounds like a good reputable dealer, with great prices. Unfortunately the j-15 was listed as out of stock on the unit though.

So far I think the unit is awesome! The battery backup works great, just unplug the unit from the wall and everything keeps on running like it was still plugged in. Filtering seems to work well, I plugged my x-10 ir sensor into it and it filtered the x-10 signal out of the line, so my lights wouldn't work. I had to plug my x-10 ir into a regular outlet so the signal could pass through. I can also see on the display how much voltage is being drawn by each one of my components, and the constant voltage regulation works great also (OSD shows that it keeps it at a constant voltage during peeks and dips).

LOOKS COOL TOO!!! I'll have pics up after the weekend in my signature link, this thing looks bad a$$ at night, but you can dim or turn off the display if you want too. I cannot think of any more features that a guy could want for a powerconditioner for under 500.00

This unit is a steal at this price.

Totally glad I went with the apc, I always looked at the s-15 but it was too spendy for me, the j-15 hits the sweet spot though.

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jturn00

· #15 · Jun 5, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by rushisrighton
I called APC and asked them about the j series. They said that they take longer to recharge, and are a little bit noisier than the S series, but other than that they are identical in components and operation.

Kal Rubinson's review of the s15 said it was very quiet. how much noiser is the j15?

rushisrighton

Discussion Starter · #16 · Jun 6, 2006

I have not heard the S-15, but the j-15 is quite loud IMO, but it only makes noise when the battery is engaged. So 99% of the time it is dead quiet, no fans or any noise during regular operation.

This weekend there was a thunderstorm and we had a fairly close lightning strike, the j-15 did it's job, as we were watching the movie, we heard it revert to battery power as soon as the lightning strike hit. Not so much as a flicker in the sound or picture. The only way we knew is we heard the battery engage for just a couple seconds. Man this thing is good!

Ace of Space

· #17 · Jun 6, 2006

I am also looking into the J-series from APC. Rushisrighton, I'm curious as to what brand and model of TV you have. I have a Sony 60inch SXRD. When the J15 is on battery it outputs a "stepped sine wave". I've heard that a stepped wave is not the best thing for home theater equipment. I'm torn between the J-type and the H-type. I rarely lose power where I live, but would like the option to properly cool down the bulb if the power ever does go out. How often does your J15 switch to battery power? I thought it only did that if there was a blackout? Anyways, I'm glad you like your J15.

jturn00

· #18 · Jun 6, 2006

Last night I read the instructions for the J15, H15 and s15. The operation does seem the same between the different models. I am not sure how the H15 handles under voltage in its AVR (I think it shuts things off but that's an assumption), but I did read that the J15 uses the battery to apply the additional power.

What effect does the square sine wave have and what equipment does it effect the most? I am in the process of upgrading my system so I don't want to add any items that can be affected by the square sine wave.

Kal Rubinson

· #19 · Jun 6, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by rushisrighton
I have not heard the S-15, but the j-15 is quite loud IMO, but it only makes noise when the battery is engaged. So 99% of the time it is dead quiet, no fans or any noise during regular operation.

The only sounds I hear from the S-15 are the fan test at turn on (but since it's always on, that's not an issue) and the relay clicks (when it switches to battery and/or VR). Dead quiet otherwise.

Kal

Ace of Space

· #20 · Jun 6, 2006

Kal, what are your thoughts about using a J-type conditioner just to cool down my SXRD bulb in case of a blackout? Doesn't it switch over to battery only if the power goes out? Otherwise I may just get the H15 instead, since I don't lose power that often.

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