Power Surge

Hi guys, i am looking to buy a power surge to protect my sound system. i am currently using just an extension from the wall outlet and i guess that´s a pretty bad idea. i have a onkyo NR609, a pair of PSB B5´s and a Martin Logan Dynamo 300 Sub.
i dont know how much i need to invest in a power surge. i have been looking at ones on the 100 range and other up to 300 range. what should i look for? how big a difference can power surges can have?
i appreciate any help i can get, i need to buy it this week!

thanks for the help.

Here are a few very good Surge protectors.

Surge Protectors for Home Theaters and Audio Specific Equipment | Brick Wall


SurgeX - Products - MultiPak

8 Outlet Models | Zero Surge


All three use the same technology. I would go for the cheapest. I would not spend $300 for one. I currently use a Cyberpower but will be upgrading to one of the above units.

Here are some great deals on some good units-

Amazon.com: Monster MP HTS 1600 8-Outlet Power Center with Stage 2 Clean Power: Electronics

Amazon.com : Monster Home Theater HTS 1700 PowerCenter with Clean Power Stage 2 - 9 AC Outlets with 1 Front Utility Outlet - 9 AC Outlets with 1 Front Utility Outlet : Power Strips : Electronics

Amazon.com : Monster HTS 3600 MKII 10-Outlet Power Center with Stage 3 Clean Power : Computer Surge Protectors : Electronics

Amazon.com : Tripp Lite HT10DBS Home Theater Isobar Surge Protector 10 Outlet RJ11 RJ45 Coax : Computer Surge Protectors : Electronics

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Originally Posted by blackraven

Here are a few very good Surge protectors.

Surge Protectors for Home Theaters and Audio Specific Equipment | Brick Wall


SurgeX - Products - MultiPak

8 Outlet Models | Zero Surge


All three use the same technology. I would go for the cheapest. I would not spend $300 for one. I currently use a Cyberpower but will be upgrading to one of the above units.

Here are some great deals on some good units-

Amazon.com: Monster MP HTS 1600 8-Outlet Power Center with Stage 2 Clean Power: Electronics

Amazon.com : Monster Home Theater HTS 1700 PowerCenter with Clean Power Stage 2 - 9 AC Outlets with 1 Front Utility Outlet - 9 AC Outlets with 1 Front Utility Outlet : Power Strips : Electronics

Amazon.com : Monster HTS 3600 MKII 10-Outlet Power Center with Stage 3 Clean Power : Computer Surge Protectors : Electronics

Amazon.com : Tripp Lite HT10DBS Home Theater Isobar Surge Protector 10 Outlet RJ11 RJ45 Coax : Computer Surge Protectors : Electronics

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A feature worth looking for in such products is multiple, separate receptacles that are isolated from each other by RFI/EMI filters so noise of this sort generated by one of the plugged-in components does not get to the other plugged-in components.

The Tripplite models designated "Isobar" all have this feature. No doubt some other makes of surge protector also have the feature but be sure to look it.

APC HT-15 is a decent one as well as most of the Furman units

There are some nice Panamax's on Audiogon for reasonable prices.

APC just had a major recall of some of their products

I bought a fairly inexpensive Monster surge protector/RFI filtration from Best Buy. My Krell is plugged into the wall but all my other components are filtered and protected. I live in an 8 unit apartment building and the filtration helped reduce the noise. Works well and I have had no interest in looking further.

I highly recommend ZeroSurge particularly the 8R15W-I. Great unit. Stay away from the Monster units, stay far away. When it comes to surge protection it blows my mind why anyone would actually spend their money they work for on anything from Monster when there are a jillion better options.

The ZeroSurge, Surgex and Brickwall are all the same design and copies of each other. I believe either Surgex or ZeroSurge did the original design.

While I am not a big fan of over priced and over hyped Monster products, I have read some good things about some of the Monster surge supressors. The 1600 and above use similar tech as the Brickwall and its clones, no MOV. Read about MOV. I will be replacing all my MOV supressors that I use with my high end gear.

If you get a Brickwall or its clones make sure it is a 15 amp model! One thing to note is that units like these do night sacrifice themselves if it takes a hit. They can safely be used again, unlike an MOV which will need to be replaced.

Raven...do those clones let all the detail come through? Have you heard anything negative about the sound quality?

Frenchmon, I have read a lot of posts about those clones and there really is nothing bad about them. Some people have said they improved the sound other say they did not change the sound.

The other thing that I read about units that use MOV is that they can go bad with age and you may not know it until poof!

The Monster has protected my equipment for a number of years and the noise reduction has been good. Of course I never plug my integrated amp into it only into the wall outlet. This Monster is similar to my model in that I have eight outlets with surge and noise protection. Certainly not overpriced for what is does.

Monster Home Theater PowerCenter Surge Protector MP HTS 950 - Best Buy

thanks for all the recommendations, i just ordered the Tripp lite HT10DBS, we´ll see how it goes.
one more doubt, is it a good idea to have my AVR, sub, dvd, TV and turntable all plugged in to the power surge? or is it too much to handle?

thanks again!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by limonv

thanks for all the recommendations, i just ordered the Tripp lite HT10DBS, we´ll see how it goes.
one more doubt, is it a good idea to have my AVR, sub, dvd, TV and turntable all plugged in to the power surge? or is it too much to handle?

thanks again!!

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I have found with my integrated amps that surge protectors seem to limit their abilities. They have always sounded better plugged into the wall. I am not sure if it is the other components plugged into the strip or the strip itself but they seem to be current limiting. My amps have always been more dynamic with their own outlet.