Reccomendations Needed!

[Bigmoney]

Currentl I am using two generic surge protectors from separate outlets to protect my equipment. I am using a lexicon preamp cp3, rotel 1080 amp, b and w speakers (602s3), a marantz 3002 dvd player, panasonic lcdc tv, and a crystal acoustic sub. My sub and amp both draw a lot of power. I have two questions.... Can someone please reccommend me a power conditioner. On that note do you believe a power conditioner is really needed in most set ups???? If not please reccomend a surge protector. My budget is one hundred dollars. Lastly, considering I have two outlets on the front wall by my equipment, would it be beneficially to hook the amp and sub to one outlet and the remaining equipment to the other..... Thank you... Help needed..

[basite]

do you need one?

depends, do you live in a place where electricity is not clean anymore? (a large appartement, or similar)? or do you have huge power flucuations? if not, you'll still do pretty well without...

They can make a big improvement, but at the same time, there also lies a 'danger' within them. Since what you want in a power conditioner is that it 'cleans' the power, which means it's going have to filter the power. This can limit the dynamics in your system, 2 good brands I know are PS audio (especially the regenerators) and Isotek.

unfortunately, they're both pretty expensive...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Bigmoney]

Any reccommendations under 100, I have spent a lot on my equipment lately most of it's new so I need to save cash. I don't think I NEED a power conditioner but a goos surge with a little filtration might help. My biggest question is whether it is important to separate my amplifiers(rotel and sub) from the rest of my components, by connecting them to two separate outlets. In which case, I would need to buy two surge/conditioners therego limiting my funds.

[Mr Peabody]

I got a pretty good improvement in my audio and video gear when plugging into my PS Audio power conditioner. It includes outlets that DO NOT limit current so shouldn't effect amp performance. They are not in your price range. They do have a 4 outlet version which you could maybe buy one at a time as you have the money.

If you buy a product claiming better performance from your gear then you should buy from a place that will allow a return if you don't see the result. As mentioned, results may vary depending a many variables.

Monster is usually cheaper than some and I have not compared but from talking with dealers they really don't do a great job until you get up to the Stage 3 filtering. Of course, as you go up in stages you go up in price, so take this for what it's worth.

Some here use either Panamax or Tripp Lite for just a good surge protector.

[Feanor]

Currentl I am using two generic surge protectors from separate outlets to protect my equipment. I am using a lexicon preamp cp3, rotel 1080 amp, b and w speakers (602s3), a marantz 3002 dvd player, panasonic lcdc tv, and a crystal acoustic sub. My sub and amp both draw a lot of power. I have two questions.... Can someone please reccommend me a power conditioner. On that note do you believe a power conditioner is really needed in most set ups???? If not please reccomend a surge protector. My budget is one hundred dollars. Lastly, considering I have two outlets on the front wall by my equipment, would it be beneficially to hook the amp and sub to one outlet and the remaining equipment to the other..... Thank you... Help needed..

In the $100 range I recommend this Tripp Lite Isobar 8 Ultra (http://www.tripplite.com/products/product.cfm?productID=111). This provides what you need most: (1) surge protection, and (2) EMI/RFI filtration with multiple filter banks so your components are isolated from each other.

Whether you need more sophisticated power conditions depends on the cleanest of what your local utiltiy supplies and your in-house conditions.

[blackraven]

I use the Cyberpower 1030HT surge suppresor and EMI/RFI with an audio and video signal scrubber. It costs about $65-$85 and its rated for 6000 joules and has 10 outlets along with cable & phone jacks. I bought mine on ebay but there are plenty of sites to buy it. It has a lifetime warranty and $400,000 protection coverage. It seems to be built well and weighs about 6lbs. The price has come down, it used to cost $100.
www.pcuniverse.com/product.asp?pid=3512564&m_id=32

[meltdown]

One surge in power distribution due to a lighning strike or the power plant not maintaining between 118 and 120 KV bus voltage, and your finished. A Brown Out with intermitent surges, and you finished.When a squirrel does a dance on top of the tub in front of your house, you might as well roll the dice. I did and lost, smoked everything. Dont take the risk.

[meltdown]

Oh... I almost forgot about the Knuclehead downt the street that fires up his generator and ties into his bus so he can light up his house during a Black Out. He ends up backfeeding the line, and under motoring your gear. Not to mention risking the safety of the linemen working on the downed service.

[aevans]

I use a old office depot battery backup, works great at protecting the system from brown outs, and keeps it running for about a minute if the power is cut. even better it's cheap and as a display to tell me if the internal wireing in the house is correct. good stuff.

http://www.google.com/products?q=battery+backup

[Bigmoney]

Thanks, as always you've all been a big help. I guess it is safe to narrow my purchase down to two products. One being the tripplite home theater bar and the cyber power as mentioned above. Which do you think provides the better noise filtration, and which do you think will provide me with the best surge protection. All in all, which is the better product?

[blackraven]

Both will do a very good job. The Cyberpower has 6,000 joule protection though and I don't think you will really see much of a difference in filtering unless the power coming into your house is really dirty or if you have alot of RF interference. I compared the Cyberpower to the monster and AR surge suppressors and it was better in just about every way.