Could anyone tell me if line Conditioners are any good? are they the same as a Surge Protector?

If so what are the better brands out there and how much do they go for?

Thanks,

John

Depends on what you mean by "good." I use this one

Belkin PureAV PF60

I could NEVER afford a unit like this, but before Christmas several vendors were offering it at a ludicrous price. I paid 27% of MSRP for mine, and you can still find it online for around 50% of MSRP.

This is the top of the line PureAV model. They do have less expensive ones. Does it make everything look and sound better? I don't know, I don't care, and I would never claim that it does. I did not buy if for that reason. I bought it because it has a number of features that I really like, such as 13 programmable outlets, time delayed off and on outlets, and it looks cool. And yes, it provides some degree of surge protection. "Because I like it" and "Because I want it" are legitimate reasons for any purchase.

Line conditioners are also surge protection, however, not all surge protectors include line conditioning. Also, there are different levels of conditioning.

I use the TrippLite HTPOWERBAR10.

Costco has some Tripplite Battery backups, which are supposed to have some line conditioning properties, as well as automatic voltage regulation. Its meant for computer or as they put it, home theater use. I bought one for other reasons besides audio equipment but i havent done any listening tests to see if the line filtering makes a difference, also if the voltage regulation kick in that basically means its on battery power which from my measurements was around 100v fluctuating pretty frequently. Also, when i plugged my NAD C370 into it on battery mode the transformer made a very loud buzz. Not exactly what you would consider voltage regulation IMO. Oh well...

In most of the United States and Canada you SHOULD NOT need a line conditioner. The power supply of your gear should take care of the voltage variations. Most of what you read about the need for line conditioners is "snake oil" just like the BS about speaker wires/ cables.

I would strongly recommend a surge protector. You never know when lightning may strike near you. a surge protector is cheap protection.

For what it is worth.

John, as Bernard pointed out, the power supply section of a receiver has a transformer, rectifier and filter capacitors which feed the amplifying section clean DC and does all the "conditioning" necessary. Audio equipment is also designed to handle nearly all power surges routinely. It may be of some benefit to use one of the surge protectors available for $20 or so in the rare case of a surge too strong for the equipment to handle it routinely, yet not so strong(e.g. what a very nearby lightning strike on the power lines would cause)as to burn out the power cord before it could reach the equipment.

John: here in the Sunny Southern part of the United States, lightning strikes are NOT all that rare. In the Spring and Summer, when some of the strong weather fronts come through, it is common to have storms that have OVER 100 lightning strikes per hour. That's right, over 100!! That is a lot of electrical energy banging around.

Research has shown that some of these surges have extremely fast rise times. So fast, that a common fuse does no good, no good whatsoever. It will destroy your gear WITHOUT effecting your power cord, cable wire or telephone line. ALL OF YOUR ELECTRICAL, CABLE, AND TELEPHONE CONNECTIONS NEED TO BE PROTECTED!!!

I would strongly recommend quality surge protectors if you buy any at all. Tripp-Lite is my preferred brand.