Power Cleanup needed for Plasma display?

[Tahoe Gator]

I will start by saying that I think products from Monster, et al, feed on the same people who believe $100 RCA cables make a difference. That said, I just plopped down some serious change for a new plasma display and one of the sales reps said i definitely needed the plasma power cleaner accessory from Monster (though presume others may make similar) to protect it. Another attempt to extract a few more dollars or are they really necessary due to some inherent risk with plasmas? Thanks.

[Woochifer]

No different than using a surge suppressor with a line filter on it. Panamax sells similar items to the Monster Power products, but they're less expensive. I use a Monster Power surge suppressor, but only because I bought it for about half off.

[evil__betty]

My experience with any line conditioner is fantastic. Yes, some are very overpriced, yet I can see (and hear) the difference when components are plugged into the conditioner as opposed to the wall. For the money that you have paid for your new plasma, is it that unreasonable to spend $200 more to protect it from surges and clean up the image? I definatly wouldn't buy it to use on a 27" CRT becuase the price of the surge bar is half of that of the TV. But when there are some high priced components that you are running, I think that the $200 more is worth it.

[edtyct]

Boy, it's nice to read someone else make that statement. I don't always understand how certain power line conditioners and filters are getting the job done, but sometimes inserting them into the chain makes an immediate difference. Protection alone for any component is important, especially an expensive one, and it should have the joules to do the job, but regulating the power in some cases seems to have positive effect on a daily basis.

[bwithers]

Check out the Furman power conditioners (Power station line: PST8 and PST8 digital). Top notch electronics and it has extreme voltage protection (automatically shuts off if there is a sustained voltage over 137 V). I got all my electronics fried by the power company, so I would highly recommend this protection.

Price is right too ($100-$200) depending on model:
http://www.furmansound.com/products/consumer/power_station/power_station_series.php

I bought the PST8 digital after a lot of research.

[Tahoe Gator]

Seems like a decent deal (tell me where you got it if you don't mind) ... but one worry: tech specs says it can handle 15 A max. Is that enough? At first I thought not, but then I did the following calc, which I believe determines power from the voltage and current of a sine wave: 110 V x 15 A x 1.414 = 2,333 watts ... that actually seems like a lot since it would be 2 hair dryers running at once

[topspeed]

PS Audio is famous for their power conditioners and rightly so. These are not surge protectors. They are power conditioners and in their upper lines, power regenerators that actually stabilize the wave form. Unfortunately, they ain't cheap. The good news is you can find them on audiogon.com all the time.

You might also check out Chang LightSpeed (reasonably priced) and Richard Gray's Power Co. (not so reasonably priced).

Hope this helps.

[bwithers]

Seems like a decent deal (tell me where you got it if you don't mind) ... but one worry: tech specs says it can handle 15 A max. Is that enough? At first I thought not, but then I did the following calc, which I believe determines power from the voltage and current of a sine wave: 110 V x 15 A x 1.414 = 2,333 watts ... that actually seems like a lot since it would be 2 hair dryers running at once

I bought it at midweststereo.com and was pleased with their service. About your question: The current from your "normal" wall socket is limited to 15A by your circuit breaker. Some outlets are 20A but most are 15A. So the short answer is 15A should be plenty because that's the most your wall socket can deliever (in most cases).