Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions A question I don't see asked nearly as much?

So when I hookup fronts, surrounds, sub, center, receiver, dvd player, and Display... What kind of power is this going to need, use, should be protected by? I'm looking for info as what all this should be plugged into before it gets to the wall. Surge protector, line filters?(I think thats what they're called to cleanup interference?) Anyway things of this nature.................

Oh, god, here we go...

LOL, what.....?! I didn't do it I swear!

Oh yes, you did. I know. I did it too....

You'll get a variety of answers, and then a flame war. Basically, stick with a decent surge protector, and you'll be fine. If you feel paranoid, go with a line conditioner of some sort (look at the computer ones, they're about 40 gajillion times cheaper than the "audiophile" ones.)

NONE of them will improve your sound.

Fire in the hole!

If you don't HAVE power problems in the house, don't worry about it, protect the equipment from surges (pay some money and get a good surge protector - like one with a real indicator light - the ones that start solid red and start flashing as they get more and more damaged - surge protectors are sacrificial - and I don't mean buying a specialized HT surge protection "specially designed for home theatre systems!") and you'll be fine.

If you DO have problems with your power (like you live somewhere with no electricity and use a diesel generator to power your HT), about the only thing I'd suggest is a power conditioner like the Furman PL-8 (and to vent the generator exhaust out the window! )

Bren R.

I'll second that advice.

go with a surge protector you can buy at office depot. I think most surge protectors sold today have some kind of insurance if they fail.

Alright, just makin sure there wasn't something in particular I should be aware of. Or something that I "needed" so to speak. Always good to know when I'm in a store, so as not to get railroaded into something I supposedly "need" by a salesman. Thanks guys, a good quality surge protector, got it, thats kind of what I figured anyhow.

Take note that the surge protectors are often rated for a certain current draw on them and that the insurance offered only applies if the equipment connected is within that limit. Cheap computer surge protectors will often not cover the modest draw of a computer system much less the draw of receivers/power amps.

alrighty i will set you on the right path. you will need one of the power plant models by PS audio. they are of the highest quality and will do wonders to your audio. the ac power coming in has more signals in it than a long distance phone line, and doesnt always run at 115 volts. with one of these PS audio units you will get clean power and constant power. that your system needs.





ok ok.. that works over at AA but not here!

If you are going to get a surge protector (i dont use one) get something HALFWAY decent. the ones you find at any discount store are junk. If you take them apart you will see what i mean. there are some decent surge protector/ line conditioners for a couple hundred bucks if you shop around, you may or may not notice a difference. I do like the offerings from PS audio, if only i had the money. at the moment i have my stuff plugged directly into my wall outlets. simply because i dont want to have it all coming off some cheap pos surge protector and because i put a dedicated 20 amp line in as well as hospital grade plugs so i want to take full advatage of that stuff. If you want something that i would feel ok with putting in my system you should probbly expect to spend around 100 bucks. just for a surge protector, not counting a conditioner.

I'd just get a fairly beefy surge supressor from APC or Tripp-lite. Should run around $50-100.

yep exactly.. heres a couple i found that looked pretty decent.

Surge protector



And heres a whole bunch more. alot more power stuff

I've often wondered about these devices. Here's a question for you...

What's the point of plugging your cable TV into a surge protector? I bought a $50+/- protector from RS, and it has inputs and outputs for cable TV cables. I plugged it in, and my cable TV picture turned to complete poo. I've gone back to having the cable go through my VCR to the TV again.

This is what I bought. Good enough? Or should I get something better? I'm not of the mind that a surge protector/line conditioner is going to improve the sound quality of my system. I just don't want my system going up in smoke from a power spike or brown out. If it'll truly protect my system, I'd drop $100-200 for the piece of mind.

I've contemplated this item from Rotel

I'm not trying to add fuel to the "it'll improve your sound" fire. I'm just looking for protection suggestions. Perhaps my little Radio Shack job is good enough. ??

http://www.audioconnect.com/html/power_port.html

Then there's stuff like this... for $50 a pop, you'd think they'd hire a photographer instead of making you imagine what they look like in the top pic... but I guess all that inking on the front of the outlet is expensive.

Apparently it's UL-listed (green dot), isolated ground (which depends on the house wiring, so I call "BS" on the orange triangle), AV Grade (which means as much as "antibacterial" on a soap bottle), and the two blue marks, until I realized it was a logo - I thought was the Staff of Caduceus and came with the American Medical Association's seal of approval

Bren R.

the point of plugging the cable line in is to isolate that as well. because if you had lightning hit it could go through the cable,phone,power etc. So by isolating everything theres no way to blow your stuff up (yeah right)

If it did that to your cable tv, imagine what it did to your power!

Here's the official page for the PowerPort. They sure make it look sexy, don't they. You have to wonder about these hyper-marketed products, though.

i dunno what happened to that pic bren. looks like someone highly inexperienced with photo imaging software! Heres the PS audio site, PS audio

When we were building our house and it came time to get the plugs i wanted those 50 dollar ones. but yeah right im gonna spend 100 bucks for a couple plugs. i bought some 20 dollar a peice ones from a local electrical supply store, the main reason to buy the higher quality plugs is because they have a much higher contact pressure which equals a better connection.

I almost bought one of these ultimate outlets over the summer. Still in the back of my mind, i do need something to protect my stuff from power surges or whatever. I might just leave it the way it is until i can afford something decent though.

Thanks to Asalante for starting this thread... bunch of new messages to look through on my day off! *laughs*

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The main reason to buy the higher quality plugs is because they have a much higher contact pressure which equals a better connection.

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Hmm.. makes me wonder why more audiophiles don't just hard-wire their systems in, and avoid the outlet/plug situation altogether. Also makes me wonder about whether this company makes "AV Grade" mains breakers.

Bren R.

Yeah. I mean, how far back are you going to take it? What about "audiophile grade" power plants? You have to use just the right kind of coolant, otherwise the transients will suck. Plus, make sure you use high grade OF copper or silver windings on the generators, or your bass will be muddy.

Too true. One would think in order to make any sort of difference, you'd need to clean up your entire power pipeline. That means (assuming the power to your home from the power company is clean) replacing circuit breakers, in-wall cabling (if your house is old), and your receptacles.

I find it amusing that adding a fat and overbuilt power cable at the end of this long power chain is supposed to make a huge difference. PS Audio asserts that power calbes are the most important cables in an audio system.

Anyone have any comments on my questions?

I think your device falls into the "sufficient" category. It may work better if you jumper the coax and phone circuits, though....

Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by "jumper the coax and phone circuits"?

I have no phone line to hook up. The only used phone line is upstairs in our computer room, and is used for DSL only.

When I put the cable TV coax through the thing, my picture went to poop.

(completely facetiously) I mean put a short length of coax cable between the in/out and a short piece of phone cable between the in/out of your surge protector. That way the electrons don't just spill out into the air.

I should have known you were talking out yer backside.

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Hmm.. makes me wonder why more audiophiles don't just hard-wire their systems in, and avoid the outlet/plug situation altogether.

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actually, some people do. lol. but obviosly it makes moving equipment nearly impossible. i think thats saved for people with the worst case of audiophile nervosa.

I recently acquired a Panamax 4300 surge protector/filter. I live in a rural area where we only have marginal over the air signals from at least 60 miles away. After connecting through the Panamax several new stations were watchable and all were clearer. I was pleasantly surprised.