Mondter Surg/Power Strips

Pauly

Know i know a surge protector does do some good like when lightning hit's and i am in Tampa, FL so i have a higher chance of this happening but Monster sells power strip's w/ "Clean Power" and my question is it really worth the investment? Do these things really "clean" the power? Why is my power from the outlet so "dirty"? Will it help my AVR/Speakers perform any better? Any input is always appreciated!

Late,

Spastic!

gidrah

That is a debate best settled between your power provider and your pocket book. I don't use anything more than a Radio Shack version. Even then I usually plug any amp that is doing heavy duty into the wall. I try to find an outlet that isn't tied into anything that has a dimmer or large motor.

Pauly

well i was kinda being sarcastic but my real question is are they worth it?

dorokusai

I picked my MC strip with Clean Power cheap from Ebay. It is 100% worth it, simply for my peace of mind.

Ron-P

I run an HTS-2500, I could not tell a difference between my gear plugged into it vr. a standard outlet. Weather or not the 'clean power' works, I'll never know. But, that is not the reason I bought it. I mainly wanted it for the ability to plug all my gear into one box, having that box fix into the audio rack like the other gear and for surge protection. For all that, it works great.


Peace Out~:D

Pauly

anyone have any Technical Point/ Counter Point on this?

fireshoes

I had visibly improved picture as did my parents when I got one for them. They are not videophiles by ANY stretch of the imagination either.

mrgoodcheese

Originally posted by spasticpitbull
Know i know a surge protector does do some good like when lightning hit's and i am in Tampa, FL .........

Don't ever put 100% faith in any surge protector, no matter how expensive it is. Lightning can travel through anything (walls, floors, ceiling, wood, concrete, dirt, air), and in any direction, when it strikes near by. Be absolutely certain to have proper level of renter's / home owner's insurance for electionics. Just a reminder, as I'm sure you already do, living in FL.

I'm a diehard Monster opponent, because of their voodoo marketing and insane pricing. So I'll let you guess my opinion of their power/surge strips.

ezc

Yes the Monster Power products with clean power do work! Find an authorized Monster power Dealer near you & ask top see the clean power demo using a noise sniffer! We have one here & do demos often. When the customer sees the demo its almost a sure sale. Upon installing equipment for customers we also do a noise test to show the customer how much noise is in the home ac line. Most homes have even radio stations playing out of the ac line. I always reccomend stage 2 and above for home theaters. If you have a real basic setup you can get away with a stage one like a ht800. If you have equipment that has a high current draw make sure you get a surge/conditioner that has dedicated high current outlets. I use ht800's on my small tv's & computers. I use a AVS2000SS & a HTPS7000SS on our HT system. When we added in the 7000 I had to recalibrate the display beacuse the picture changed noticibaly, the sound changes also, the mids opened up & seemed just cleaner. Im a beleiver of clean power & have spent lots of money on ac conditioners! AC is like your foundation, if your foundation isnt correct everything attached to it wont be correct. Try monsters website they had a clean power demo, I dont know if it is still there. If your dealer near you can come out to your home & do a demo there you will be supprised how much noise is in your line & how much noise is removed from the ac line with Monsters ac surge/conditioners. With the stage 2 filters almost 99% of the noise is removed, with my HT using the HTPS7000ss 99.99% of noise is removed. Hope this helps, just my findings through out my trial & errors.

ntculenuff

if you can get a hold of a noize sniffer plug it into your wall, we do this at all our customers house that we go out to and a lot of times we can pick up a radio station.. it is pretty wild when it happens a cust is like what the ....hook up the monster power center with clean power and depending on which one is used it will get rid of most or all of the static noize going thru the system

John K.

No, Spas, the "clean power" aspect of those devices is pure nonsense and isn't worth a penny extra. Electrical engineers are fully aware of the fluctuations in electrical power that the equipment they design will work with. Any competently engineered equipment handles the electrical power routinely with no effect on performance. Save your money.

Early B.

No need to fall victim to Monster's notorious marketing hype. There are plenty of lower priced alternatives that do the same thing. I use Tripp Lite Isobar surge protectors, the same ones used in commercial applications to protect computers, copiers, etc. If these surge protectors are good enough to protect sensitive computer equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars, they are certainly good enough to protect my system. They cost about $40 bucks.

As for whether or not they make a difference in sound quality, I haven't noticed any significant difference. But who cares -- I didn't buy them for that. If I want better sound, I'll get better equipment.

dorokusai

JohnK - Why don't you toss your theory over to PS Audio/Panamax/Monster Cable, I am sure they would drop their R&D based on that comment. Hey, you should drop that generic link that you post all the time, and perhaps they will file for Chapter 11.

"Clean Power" is real, maybe Monster Cable doesn't apply it in the correct format, but it does exist. There are many fluctuations in AC current, it is a byproduct of multiple service, it is REAL. The current at your home is always variable, period.

Does it make a difference in your audio? I have no idea, I could care less. The only thing I am concerned about is surge suppression. If the "Clean Power" comes with my SA, then I consider that kinda neat.

eclypse

When i first moved into my condo i knew i'd be buying up a Monster Home Theater powerbar 2100 Stage 2. v2.0. Everyone shares the same power source in my building and theres 12 units attached. Any time they use there microwave or vacuum cleaner or refrigerator will add noise to my AC and i dont want that meassing with my new entertainment system!

Its like didnt you guys ever watch tv with your mother or wife runing the vacuum and you would see static all over the screen?? Yeah thats freakin noise! You all sure the same power with your neigbors.. so its only smart to clean the juice before it gets to your equipment.. it will degrade your picture and add static to your stereo.

I've never owned one of these powerbars before but its pretty sweet forsure! Cable management, video and audio filters, switched and unswitched outlets, plus its stylish! Also lights up like christmass morning hehe.

Hey if i'm gona spend 10,000 on a home theater, i'm going to make sure everything is secure and safe from harm! Plus if something does go wrong theres a $300,000 dollar replacement warrenty.. heh i think that should cover it.

Pauly

Originally posted by Early B.
No need to fall victim to Monster's notorious marketing hype. There are plenty of lower priced alternatives that do the same thing. I use Tripp Lite Isobar surge protectors, the same ones used in commercial applications to protect computers, copiers, etc. If these surge protectors are good enough to protect sensitive computer equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars, they are certainly good enough to protect my system. They cost about $40 bucks.

As for whether or not they make a difference in sound quality, I haven't noticed any significant difference. But who cares -- I didn't buy them for that. If I want better sound, I'll get better equipment.

You got a hyperlink?

ntculenuff

we went to an engineers house that gave us the same bs about electricity and all that, told are salesman that the monster display was a set up blah blah blah... wouldnt even listen he had all these commercial this commercial that..
are delivery guys show up wth his stuff sees that he doesnt have a line conditioner so he brings in the noize filter, guy starts to go off again, our guy says ok fine but i have to show it at every delivery it is part of my job you dont have to listen to me..
plugs it in and picks up a radio station so clear the guy thought that our delivery guy had plugged in a radio..
he didnt believe him so the cust takes the noise sniffer and runs around the house testing various plugs, ends up buying a few monster power line conditioners..
they work so do some of the others that are made..

i've plugged the noise sniffer in the cheaper bin surge protectors (i mean power strip) and a lot of time they will actually induce more distortion than straight out of the wall socket

Early B.

spacticpitbull--

Here's the hyperlink you inquired about...

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/setup/interconnects/bulletproofing.php

ezc

ntculenuff,
We do the same test for all our installs. If a cust buys a product & wants free install & hookup we automaticaly bring the noise sniffer in to test the outlets. Every single home that we have ever tested has had lots of noise in the ac line. about 60% also has radio stations of some sort playing through the noise sniffer. We use a PB1000 with stage 2 filters for the demo & that removes about 99% of all the noise in the line. We also bring along a HT800 which has stage 1 & removes about 80%. Most customers buy atleast a HT800 but there have been many that have purchased hts 3000, pb 1000 mkII & better. We have tested many surge protectors & many put more noise into the line than what is comming out of the wall. I have a power conditioner by another well known companys that I have used for my computers for a few years. I paid at that time over $500. I tested that agenst a HT800 with stage 1 filters & the HT800 did a better job! Gee $79 for the ht800 or over $500 for the ac conditioner that I bought for my computers. ( the Ac conditioner was bought a computer store & the box claimed it will remove all the noise from my ac line. It removed about 60% of noise not all!)

Pauly

ATC let me know the outcome when you get and and test it!

ezc

ATCVenom
Awsome choice! I have a avs200 & a htps 7000 & yes it works! This past weekend while watching a movie I noticed the input voltage on my avs2000 fluctuate greatly. Than at once the lights in my home dimmed & all at once my whole HT system shut completly down. The 2000 & 7000 did exactly what it was supposed to do! Im not sure if the sagging voltage went below the low voltage point causing the system shutdown or if the voltage spike when the voltage came right back on tripped the system. I waited about 20 min & repowered the system & everything worked perfect. Im guessing that the voltage sagged & caused the 2000 to shut the system off beacuse when I repowerd my Mits said reset time power falure. If it was the 7000 the 2000 should have still been on. That was the first time that has ever happened to me. None of my components were hurt, but my ac in my home office didnt fare as well. It was on & plugged directly into the outlet. After the voltage sag or surge the air was off. I tried turning it back on but it wouldnt come back on. A repair man came over yesterday & replaced a board or somthing (my wife was home) & got it to work again. He said there was a component that failed on the board probably due to a surge. Damm it costed me $120. I should have bought a ht800 for $75 to protect my ac it would have been cheaper.The ac was the only thing that was damaged. Our laptops & other tv are all plugged into ht800s & I guess thats what saved them but again they were not on at the time.