Power filters, regulators etc...



Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox /forum/post/16840955


I'm just curious what peoples thoughts are on devices such as this:

http://www.amazon.com/APC-H15-Theate...pr_product_top


I know Monster also has a line of power filters too, and I have seen a few other brands as well.


I'm just curious if they are 'worth it'?


My house was built in 1977 and the main electrical box was redone in 2003 - God only knows what is in the walls, the wiring is definitely got its quirks still. Although i get occasional dimming and fluxations, I'm not aware of any consistent nagging problems.


Reading reviews on amazon or a few other random places, seem mixed. Some people say they're worth it, others claim they can't see a difference and I've read other reviews saying only the more expensive models are worth it and others saying it depends on how good your power is now (which i'm sure has some truth to it, regardless to the other variables).


I'm curious to say the least. I'm not really fond of spending more than $200 on anything, although I would consider anything $500 or less (mainly in hopes I could find a good buy).

Click to expand...

I have a 1929 home that, when I bought it, had almost original wiring in it. The first thing I had done was the entire house was re-wired. New Fuse Box - everything. And while it gave me a much better peace of mind it wasn't until I plugged in a power regulator/cleaner did I notice a difference. First was the power monitor. I can regularly watch my incoming power go from 117 to 124 - it should be 120. And this is with completely new wiring. I can't imagine how bad it would've been with the old stuff.


But has it made my system sound better? Not that I can tell. The upgraded amp made my system sound better. But with the thousands spent on equipment, a few extra hundred really isn't a deal breaker. But there is that peace of mind to know that if the power goes too far astray it will shut everything down and protect it. That's worth the price of admission to me.


As for the H15... I almost bought it. I was leaning towards the Panamax 4300 but the H15 had better specs. I was almost going to pull the trigger on the H15 when the better panamax model the 5300pm had a real decent price drop. I picked that one up. Works great. The H15 also gets great write ups from the folks around here.


As for the Monster pieces... The company gets a lot of bad press for making overpriced cables. I really never looked too deeply at their power regulator/cleaners but I thought what they offered also ended up on the high price range. YMMV.


So I guess what I'm saying is that the H15 is a good buy from what I know. And if your equipment is on flaky-ish power, I would definitely have something in there.


Mark