Panamax M5100-PM Conditioner
Hermitism
Posts: 4,262
I know someone that has a Panamax M5100-PM Conditioner and is willing to sell it. He asked me to make an offer. I know nothing about AC Conditioners. Is this a good product/brand? What should I offer? If my electrical outlets aren't grounded in this house, will I get any benefit from using a conditioner?
Thanks!
DGS
Thanks!
DGS
Post edited by Hermitism on
Comments
-
Do any of your components have 3 pin power plugs?
Is this a stand alone audio system or does it have wire connections to the outside world (internet or cable TV) ? -
It's not connected to the internet, but is connected to DISH network. The only two with a three pin plug is my TV and DISH receiver. All the audio equipment is two pin. I'm currently using a $30 six outlet power strip.
-
How old is your house ? Older homes can have two-prong ungrounded outlets, but the metal receptacle box in the wall may be grounded because the branch circuit is run with "BX" cable, an older type of armored cable, with flexible steel outer jacket. That steel jacket was usually grounded at the electrical panel end, and clamped to the receptacle box in the wall, making it grounded. You can have an electrician check to see if the receptacle box is grounded. The cover plate will need to be removed and inside checked for type of wiring, and if bx cable is present, verify the presence of a ground connection with a multimeter. If the box is grounded, all that will need to be done is replace your old two-prong outlet with a three-prong grounded outlet.If my electrical outlets aren't grounded in this house, will I get any benefit from using a conditioner?
BX cable:
Main System: Denon DP-59L | Audio-Technica AT33EV | Marantz SA-11S2 | Classe DR-10 | Classe CA-300 | Classe RC-1 | PSB Stratus Gold i's | DIY Balanced AC Power Conditioner | Acoustic Zen and NeoTech cables | Oyaide and Furutech power connectors | Dedicated 20A isolated ground line.
Home Theater: Toshiba D-VR5SU | Laptop #1 |Outlaw Audio OAW3 wireless audio system | Marantz SR-19 | Phase Linear 400 Series 2, modified | AudioSource 10.1 EQ (for subs) | Axiom M3 v3’s | Axiom VP150 | Optimus PRO-X55AVs | Dayton 12” powered subs (x2) | Belkin PureAV PF-60 line conditioner.
Party System: Laptop #2 | Audioquest Dragonfly USB DAC | Technics SU-A6 | Acurus A-250 | Radio Shack 15-band EQ | Pioneer SR-9 reverb | Cerwin Vega DX9's | Dayton 100° x 60° horns with titanium HF/MF compression drivers. -
It's not connected to the internet, but is connected to DISH network. The only two with a three pin plug is my TV and DISH receiver. All the audio equipment is two pin. I'm currently using a $30 six outlet power strip.
Dish Network boxes should not be connected to surge protector's per Dish personal. If you pay for the Dish protection 7.00 per month you will be covered no matter what. Also do not run any of the Dish RG6 through any of those you will lose about 1.5db-2.5db of signal and in stormy/snowy weather conditions it may mean the difference between enough signal to get picture or not any signal at all. If non are grounded you could go and buy THNN green covered wire buy a grounded outlet and run that THNN back to the ground on your panel to get the ground. I had to do that before I removed all my knob and tube wiring. -
It is a good brand and a good unit, but you have a two prong surge protector? I didn't even know they made those!
-
My surge protector is three prong. I have to use an adapter. So it's not actually being used as a surge protector, but I needed six outlets. It's just a $30 six outlet strip. The wiring was redone around 1975. It's as thick as modern day wiring but does not have the ground wire. The "grounded" and "protected" lights do not light up on my power strip. I knew that you needed a ground for a surge protector to work, I just didn't know if I bought a conditioner, if it had to be grounded for it to be used to improve picture and sound quality. Some people say they make a difference and some people say they don't as far as filtering "noise". I thought it would be worth buying at a good "used" price. I'm not having any problems with background noise, I just didn't know if I'd get any benefit from buying one. I plan on running a ground to a cold water pipe and clamping it to the pipe. I don't know much about conditioners, brands and prices, so I thought I'd ask.
-
I've been trying to make small inexpensive upgrades. One of the things I wanted to try was to buy a used power conditioner for $75 or under. The guy that had the Panamax unit wanted too much. I ended up buying a Monster Home Theater Reference Powercenter HTS 5000 on eBay tonight for $60 plus shipping. I know they made a HTS 5000 MKII, but I don't think this is a MKII because it doesn't say it anywhere on the unit or the original box in the pictures. I assume the MKII is a newer version of the unit.
After doing a lot of reading from various boards, some people have mixed opinions about conditioners. I've seen a few people complain that conditioners limit current delivery and can damage amps. I know nothing about this, so I'd like to get everyone's opinion on this. This unit has two outlets for "High Current Filters" labeled "Main Amp" and "Surround Amp". But has a different outlet for "Video Filters", one which is labeled "AV Receiver". I'm nut running a separate amp on my system. Shouldn't my Receiver and Subwoofer both be plugged into the High Current outlets?
Thank you for taking the time to help.
