clean power protectors

bvette94

I have trashed two monster clean power protectors 2500mk2 now just by turning up the system .they shut down with a screaming pitch .monster cable says send it back for a repalcement .i understand why the equipment is drawing too much power. What would be a better replacement for this? i am using a denon avr5800 receiver and have my rt3000p amps plugged in. Apperantly they draw a lot of power more than the protectors can handle. what one should i get to replace it with. Monster cable is gonna warranty it however i am not gonna use it and want better protection for my equipment. any help would be greatly appreciated.

dorokusai

Richard Gray makes gear that does not limit current, but still provides surge/spike protection and a line filter. The RG 400 or 400 mkII roll onto Audiogon pretty regularly, and go for about $400-$550 depending on particulars. You will need two of those units, or you could look into the RGPC 600 or 1200. All of them float through Audiogon. They retain their value very well, and have an excellent reputation.

I will presume that if the MC is doing this, so will Panamax, hence why I didn't suggest them. PS Audio is just not worth the money, when RG offers competitive products at much lower prices.

Just a thought, good luck.

Richard Gray Power Company

jmierzur

Not sure what your budget is, but I found balanced power provided the best results on my system. Go to the local shops and see if you can take home some units for an evenings trial.

You state your equipment is drawing more power than Monster units can handle (15 amps, one circuit). Are you using a 15 or 20 amp circuit for your system?

If it is a 15 amp circuit, try powering your system using two circuits (different breakers on pannel, not just two different wall outlets) with two power conditioners. If the existing circuit is 20 amps, try finding one 20 amp power conditioner or two 15 amp power conditioners..


Edit: reworded.

dorokusai

20 amp gear should technically require 20 amp service....the application defines the action.

If you wish to run 20 amp gear on a 15 amp circuit, knock yourself out.

bvette94

Those are interesting things i should look at . I know i am using a 15 amp circut at least the outlet is i am pretty sure it has 14g wire and a 15 amp breaker not a dedicated circut.i never paid that much attention to the reciever specs and or the power conditioner.as things stand right now i have an ra number to send it back to monster cable for replacement.i was lucky that it burned up instead of my receiver or my amps on my rt3000s or cs1000p. i may end up trying to sell the replacement power conditioner and get a better one. as for the lack of circut it will require a lot of work to change it so i will have to keep the volume turned down to keep from overdrawing the circut. i intend to build a new house in the next year and will dedicate a circut then. thanks for the tips. i will look at those suggested power conditioners.i can always rely on the people from this site to offer sound advise.

bvette94

looking back i guess i got what i deserve.i was trying to take a pic of the sound meter while i was trying to get the sound meter past 118 db. i was lucky i didnt blow up some speakers also.like they say people blow speakers trying to pull more out of their system than they should. power (watts) doesnt blow speakers distortion does. i was lucky the power conditioner was all that went.

ezc

You need protection from somthing with dedicated high current outlets. Like Doro reccomended RG makes great progucts or we use Monster Power HTPS 7000 for our main system. The best would be a dedicated panel box for your audio/video equip. Not one dedicated circuit, but a whole dedicated panel box. Each peice of equipment to have its own breaker. If you have 5 peices of equipment you will have 5 breakers & so on. If your drawing that much current you need to multipul circuits to seperate you equipment for the best results.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
If anyone's interested, I wrote a construction article in Audio Amateur, a few years ago about building an AC line filter and incorporating an isolation transformer in the overall design. If anyone's interested I'd be happy to send a copy. I found the isolation transformer combined with the line filter to be very effective. The transformer had a dual secondary, so I was able to have one section for analogue and the other for digital equipment, trying to isolate the two.
Regards, Ken

hotwheelman

I would like to have a copy ken, would make for a good father son project with my 10 yr old. He is into this just as much as I am.


Regards,
Mike

Willow

Please and thanks

[Deleted User]

Hello,
No problem, just send me an email at kswauger@polkaudio.com with your address and I'll send it right out.
Ken

ezc

Ken,
Thanks for the plans for the ac line filter! Got it today & will look it over. Looks like a great project!

Thanks
Ace

[Deleted User]

Hello Ace,
You're welcome, I'm glad it looks interesting. I remember building the coils, first time I had ever done that. I had the wire going out of the room I was working on, across the hallway and into the next room. I looped the wire through the hole in the middle of the toroidal core then tapped it in place with a wooden mallet so it would follow the shape of the core. Pulling tight on the wire and holding it taught as I wound the next layer. The core was in a vise and I had to hold onto the wire, keeping it tight pull the end of the wire through and then walk it into the next room maintaining tension all of the time. The wire was fairly heavy gauge and stiff so this was a complex procedure. All for good sound?
Take care, Ken

hotwheelman

Ken, have mine in hand as well and want to say thank you also. It looks like my son and I have a fun project ahead of us.


Regards,
Mike

[Deleted User]

Hey Mike,
You're welcome. Maybe your son can help you wind the coils? I could have definately used the help. Let me know if you have any questions.
Have fun, Ken

dorokusai

Ken - Is that the general idea behind Jon Risch's DIY power conditioner/surge arrestor?

[Deleted User]

I'm not sure, is there a link to the project? The surge protectors, I used, are not the typical MOVs. They are devices used in aircraft electrical system protection and the inductors use toroidal coils. Also, combining line filtering and an isolation transformer is fairly unique. You can place the transformer first, then plug in the line filter, or vice versa. I believe different environments need a different combination of treatment. In my area, the AC power wires are strung on telephone poles, so they are exposed to all of the RF and electrical noise that is around. For other people their power wires might be underground not as exposed to contamination. Also a very good grounding of the AC is very important. If I ever get ambitious enough I'll add a similar grounding plane to what ham radio enthusiasts use. In radio transmission the grounding plane is extremely important. So there are very serious grounding devices that they bury in the ground. I think this has been ignored in audio, I would like to try some better grounds than just a piece of rebar stuck into the ground. Then all of the audio components would be grounded together to this "super" ground.
Another thing I've always wanted to try is to use a really powerful amplifier combined with a signal generator to produce my own 60Hz AC source. In other words, if you had a suitable high current regular power amplifier and fed a 60Hz signal into it, then the output could be adjusted to 110 Volts (big amplifier). this in turn could be the source of the electricity that powers your system. This is what PS Audio has done in their power generator.
Ken

dorokusai

Jon Risch

I also subscribe to the grounding idea. I agree, it's not talked about very much but is very important. I am going to install a better ground for the whole home, when I get to that item on "The list of many things to do". I will probably just use a split ground array, since it's simple, cheap and far better than the current grounding for my house. I am bumping up my service and cleaning up the electrical mess of 1979 at the same time, so it's a multiple step project for me. No more piggyback breakers!

If you get a chance, email me your design as well.

[Deleted User]

No problem, Doro, but I don't have it "email-able"; send me your "snail" mail address and I can send it to you.
Regards, Ken

dorokusai

Cool, thanks much, I'll email it to you in a couple minutes.

madmax

Hey Mark,
Could you make me a copy when you get it?
madmax

dorokusai

Nope Sure thing.

madmax

Originally posted by dorokusai
Nope Sure thing.

Bite me Thanks!