Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater What power conditioners do you guys use?

I'm very familiar with APC equipment (since I'm in TI/Networking). But I don't know about their AV power conditioning line of products.

Monster units seem to get good reviews and isn't over-priced like their cables. By that I mean it falls within the price of other units (PureAV/Belkin etc)

I was curious if the folks on this board had a preference.

Thanks

I read from some websites about IsoTek poewr conditioners. Are they any good? Do they really help improve the sound and picture quality?

What about mains cable? I read about Clearer Audio Copper line?

Thanks,

I have a Belkin PF60 and it does it's job, it lets me know what each component is using for power. I like being able to see the voltage fluctuations from 118V to 124V. I have a pretty good electrical system around my house and haven't noticed any difference with it hooked up or not.

I have heard some very good things about Panamax as well.

Tripp Lite HTPowerBar10

None,

Why do you need/want a power conditioner? Isn't that what a power supply (transformer) in the amp is for, to regulate the power. If you are buying such cheap amps (as in bad quality) they are needing a power conditioner is the least of your problems.

A surge unit to protect against spikes and lightening striks is probably a good idea, but if the power in your house is that bad that you need one of these conditioning units, you've got other things you need to spend your money on.

I'll admit, they look cool, but I don't think there is any real advantage having one of these things IMO.

Paul

Mine is for power surges, strikes, etc. It has isolated outlet banks to eliminate cross talk. And yes my amps are top quality, if not better than Rotel. My Tripplite is not a power conditioner per say, like the others are using.

Nice website. I did not find your amp(s) anywhere. Intentional or future pages?

Every so often, I have brown outs. Not often, but it happens. Since all my computer equipment (and routers and switches) are on UPS, I can hear the UPS kicking in for a split second to deal with the brownouts.

So, I am in need of surge suppression, among other things. Since I have to get something, I figured I might as well as investigate additional benefits that I can gain. Some reviewers have eliminated interference, etc. Hence the questions.

I don't see a problem with using a computer UPS (as long as it's a Smart-UPS, rather than a Back-UPS). Unless you want the goodies from an AV supressor/UPS, don't spend the extra dough. Those goodies are usually sequenced outlets, a little display that glows blue and shows useless information, and a silver enclosure.

I use a Belkin computer rackmount UPS of some variety. It keeps the TiVo on and recording during a blackout, and that's about all I care about.

I knew that would get a rise out of Rick.

Yeah, I haven't updated the website in some time. Many of those pics are old, I'll see what I can do..

APC S15 (allows trigger control) and APC S20 (no trigger but RS232 control) have received good reviews. These are UPS/power conditioners. No improvement in audio or video, in general, but there are some who report improved black levels on displays, deeper bass, and blacker audio background. Would take comments regarding improvement with a grain of salt. One negative I heard with the APC units is that some have heard a clicking noise whenever incoming power is unacceptable or deviates from a sine wave, and unit goes into battery back up.

Tripp Lite's SmartOnLine SU2200XL is a double conversion UPS that has a large capacity with 2200 VA / 1600 watts. It continuously converts incoming AC to DC, then back to perfect sine wave AC output at 120V AC (+/-2%). Some have used this product in home theaters with good results. I think Dave (dllewel) in this forum has this one.

I have the Belkin PF60 and have been relatively pleased with its operability. It is not a UPS and I neither expected nor received any improvement, audio or video wise. Belkin AP30800-10 is a nice UPS but does not offer the same filtration as PF60 and some have complained that it hums. Belkin advises against plugging the PF60 into the AP30800-10. The way out is their AVU1500, which basically gives the functionality of both units in one unit. This is in contrast to Panamax, which indicates that one can plug their power conditioners into one of their UPSs.

I think connecting a power amp to UPS/conditioners is not thought to be a good idea even if some claim to have inductorless outlets for high current amps. I think Alan had a post about this somewhere and, interestingly, the manual for the A1400-8 explicitly states this. If you heed this advice and plug the amp to the wall and the rest of the equipment to a UPS/conditioner, then getting surge protection for the whole house may be in order since the amp may pass along a surge to the rest of the equipment to which it's connected.

John

Han, I also prefer to use the power conditioning which the engineers who designed my electronic components built into their power supply sections. I've never considered it to be worthwhile to spend money on an extra "power conditioner" when that money can be better spent where it's actually needed.

In a bigger amp

Excellent post.

John

Yeah, the whole "power conditioner" topic reminds me of why I didnt buy Monster A/V or audio cables.

I just use some kind of Belkin pure a/v glorified HT power bar, with a bunch of capacitors in it. The capacitors should basically even out any fluctuations in draw from the same circuit. I notice when I power up my amp and TV, the lights in the living room flicker.....maybe I should put a line conditioner on those to protect them from my HT gear..

i have the belkin pf60. its not installed yet as my theater is just getting drywalled. the price was right and it will at least look cool in nothing else . later.

I got a TrippLite Omni1000 UPS at Costco for $99. I just wanted a UPS for the TV bulb, HTPC and HD-DVR. No problems yet. It seemed like a good value. And those blue LED's are b!tchin'.

This is correct, and it works well. It protects the main gear, and is supplying the outlets in the room for the projector and subs too. And yes, I agree that it is probably overkill- but it was a fun project.

I got mine as a display unit from BB. A Monster HTS 3600 MK II. $250, normally $500.

Thanks everyone, for you posts. I think I'll just stick with an APC UPS. I wonder if their "protect your whole home" UPC ever took off. Never really saw it advertised anywhere.