[farblue]

Hi Folks,


To try to make a long story short...


Years ago, I used to use a surge strip made by Radio Shack that had a "control" outlet on it. I used my preamp as the control, and had my amp (and other stuff) plugged into the switched outlets.


I am in the slow process of putting together another HT, and would like to do the same. I'm using an HT receiver with preamp outs to my amps, but the switched outlets only have a max load rating of 200 watts, which is just a *little* shy of what I need


I've been doing a lot of surfing and store browsing, and cannot seem to find what I need, and was hoping that one of you good folks could help point me in the right direction.


At a minimum, I'm looking for something with at least four switched outlets and a power rating of at least 2000 watts (more would be preferred, up to 3000).


Many thanks in advance,


Farblue

 

[audiblesolutions]

Niles makes the AC3 and Sonance and Xantek make thier versions of the AC3. Any will perform as you wish with the addition of a 12v wall wart connected to the switched outlet of the receiver.


Alan

 

[farblue]

Thank you, Alan.


The Niles unit was one of the ones I ran across, but its power rating makes me a little hesitant to give it a go. I had an Isobar unit (no switched outlets) that had the same rating as the AC3 (1500 watts) and I tripped the unit off line on a digital recording of the 1812 (everything went well until the cannon blasts ) and I was only running the front two channels. Needless to say I am afraid of a repeat performance with the possibility of amplifier damage.


I did see a unit manufactured by a company called Furman with a 2400 watt rating (Furman PM PRO 20A power conditioner) at a reasonable price, but I haven't heard anything about the company, and don't like dealing with unknowns.


Looking forward to more input,


Farblue

 

[Max Spivak]

Furman is not an unknown.


A friend of mine has one of their power conditioners and loves it.

 

[farblue]

Thank you, Max. I suppose I should have been a bit more specific, I meant that I am unsure of buying products based soley on the manufacturer's claims of performance. I've been bitten a few times by believing marketing hype and getting caught up in fantastic-looking performance figures.


I appreciate your reply!


Take care,


Farblue

 

[audiblesolutions]

The Niles AC3 and their counter parts from other manufacturers are nothing more than relays. The 12 volts is to trip the coil. They are rated to pass derated 20 amp circuits. I do not know as I would place a Krell amp on one of these but doubt a normal amp would cause a problem. I have never had a AC3 fail or cause a hic up as you describe listening to the 1812 Overture in almost 20 years.


Furman is an other fine brand and although considerably more expensive than the Niles, Xantek or Sonance units as you might expect from a pro product and a product that provides surge protection and RF/EMI filtering. If Furman advertises its specifications as 2400 watts it will pass 2400 watts. If Niles claims 1500 watts its specification is also valid as you will in all probability trip the circuit breaker before the contacts fuse.


You could also try some of the SurgeX products which like the Furmans are built for the commercial market. They also permit you to daisy chain units so not only can you sequentially turn on devices ( say your source equipment first and then one amp at a time ) but you can link multiple units together and so turn on entire stacks sequentially. Look at this link:
http://www.surgex.com/products/sx2120seq.html


But you are speaking of very different price points when you speak of Furman or ( the less expensive ) SurgeX.

Such is my experience at least.


Alan

 

[Toxarch]

How many amps can the power feed handle? If you have a 15 amp breaker on that plug, then it won't matter if your Furman surge strip or whatever can handle 2400 watts cause your breaker will trip before that happens. A 15 amp 120 volt breaker can only handle a peak of 1800 watts and a regular load of 1440 watts. A 20 amp 120 volt breaker can only handle 2400 watts peak and a regular load of 1920 watts. So you may be overloading the circuit you are plugged in to. It's just that the breaker on the power strip is tripping before the house breaker trips.

 

[farblue]

Alan,


It looks like I'm going to go with the Furman unit. I found a supplier that has the Furman power conditioner/sequencer and a control unit for about $350 plus S&H. That's actually cheaper than I could find some of the other units for, and it seems that Furman is a very popular brand among the "pro" circuit (DJ's, lighting/sound techs, etc.)...


And to Toxarch - I recently moved into this home and had the electric service upgraded (another reason it's taken me so long to get started) and the HT room now has two dedicated 30A/120VAC circuits wired with 10 gauge Romex, and heavy-duty outlets for the AV equipment only. Unfortunately, it's still in the process of construction, but everything's framed out and wired, so hopefully it won't be much longer.


Sufficient power was one of my first considerations, and I didn't even think of beginning until I knew I had enough juice for my application. At the time I tripped the Isobar, all I had hooked up at the time was one amp and the SACD player. Granted, there is a chance the Isobar itself had issues, the unit is about 3 years old, give or take a few months, but I didn't want to take another chance with anything with less than a 20A rating. On a side note, the main amplifier itself has a 15A fuse which I have yet to replace.


Thanks for the feedback,


Karl