power conditioners v/s surge protect

leftwinger57
leftwinger57 Posts: 2,917
edited October 2010 in Electronics
Hello ,once again I have a question that truelly I do not understand.
I need a definitive comparison between power conditioners and surge protectors.It's my understanding that surge protectors are there primarily
to protect gear from stray or close lightening strikes. I've seen first hand
at what lightening can do to any thing electric in ones house way beyond just audio gear.Things like garage door openers, kitchen appliances, cable boxes and the list goes on.These were all blown off to insuance adjusters.
What exactly is the role of the p/c and if all your audio gear is goining into
one unit that to me seems to be a weak link.If the device does something entirely different please clue me in.Insurance aside I would not want to
replace any gear ruined because of being ill informed.

Next.Do you guys use the switched or u/swd outlets in back of pre-amps or just go direct into ones house outlets.....LW
2chl- Adcom GFA- 555-Onkyo P-3150v pre/amp- JVC-QL-A200 tt- Denon 1940 ci cdp- Adcom GFS-6 -Modded '87 SDA 2Bs - Dynamat Ext.- BH-5- X-Overs VR-3, RDO-194 tweeters, Larry's Rings, Speakon/Neutrik I/C- Cherry stain tops Advent Maestros,Ohm model E

H/T- Toshiba au40" flat- Yamaha RX- V665 avr- YSD-11 Dock- I-Pod- Klipsch #400HD Speaker set-

Bdrm- Nikko 6065 receiver- JBL -G-200s--Pioneer 305 headphones--Sony CE375-5 disc
Post edited by leftwinger57 on
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Comments

  • LeftCoast
    LeftCoast Posts: 408
    edited September 2010
    Awww, man! That means I have to get a bigger component rack :(

    Where do I get one of those, Lasareath?
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  • digitalvideo
    digitalvideo Posts: 983
    edited September 2010
    Stay away from MOV based surge suppressors, they do not fully protect your equipment. Stay away from all surge suppressors from Best Buy, Walmart, Staples, Office Max etc, those are MOV based systems. A MOV is a tiny little wire that looks like a wish bone and that is the only thing standing between your equipment and the wall outlet, they will either weaken over time or suffer a catastrophic failure. Surge suppressors are a scam, they do NOT fully protect your equipment and the people who sell them sell a lot of snake oil, there's a lot of misinformation on their websites. There will be people on here who will tell you they had great luck with Panamax or whatever, yes there are some people who have had luck with those MOV based systems but there is also lots of horror stories with those as well and I would challenge anyone with a MOV based system to look inside and check the quality of the MOV.

    SurgeX is a respected surge elimator trusted to be selected to use in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, new Yankee Stadium, Carnegie Hall, Paramount Studios.

    http://surgex.com/

    SurgeX vs MOV Suppressors:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RixUrc-FRcM

    Big Bertha:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmcD635NNPU&feature=related
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  • digitalvideo
    digitalvideo Posts: 983
    edited September 2010
    Lasareath wrote: »
    I like it. Looks like I need one of these also. I can plug my Panamax into the surgex

    What's the lifespan of a surgex?

    Where does the surge go?

    http://www.markertek.com/SurgeX.xhtml?gclid=CNfk79mVoKQCFZhL5QodfiXX5A

    These videos explain how they eliminate the surge in their products...

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79p3ysUnx_Y

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3SUYkeP5Qg

    You might also find some good deals on SurgeX models here too:

    http://imsproav.com/
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  • digitalvideo
    digitalvideo Posts: 983
    edited September 2010
    First off it matters what circuit amp you're running it off of, is it a 15 amp or 20 amp?

    For my main home theater I have the SurgeX XR15 which is their residential model, it's the same as their SX1115RT and SX1120RT. The ProAV line isn't as pretty cosmetically as their residential line but they have the same internals. It's around $800 for the XR315 and around $500 for the SX1115RT. I would save the money and get either the SX1115 or SX1120RT depending on what your circuit breaker is.

    http://surgex.com/
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  • digitalvideo
    digitalvideo Posts: 983
    edited September 2010
    Lasareath wrote: »
    My Circuit breaker is only 15amps. The most I ever drew is around 4Amps as shown on the front panel of my Panamax. Everything is plugged into the Panamax, even my amps.

    So, they say the Surgex has a minimum 1000 surge lifespan. I guess that's pretty damn good for $500

    I took a picture of my Panamax and I can't see any MOV's

    The SurgeX SX1115 line would be perfect for your application. SurgeX also has a 10 year warranty.
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  • digitalvideo
    digitalvideo Posts: 983
    edited September 2010
    Yeah, the SA15 is a good model too.
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  • JPSmario
    JPSmario Posts: 142
    edited October 2010
    what's an MOV?
    Dual 1229/Grado Gold/Rotel RCD1070/RC995/RB980BX/Pioneer 7100/Denon DRM710/Monster HTS3600MKII/PolkAudio SDA2B/TL's
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  • TrashyTrucker
    TrashyTrucker Posts: 225
    edited October 2010
    JPSmario wrote: »
    what's an MOV?

    Metal Oxide Varistor ie... a clamping device.
    Integra DTR 50.2 used as a preamp
    Rotel RCD 1520 cdp
    AudioQuest Jaguar 72v dbs ic's
    AudioQuest type 8 wire
    biamped to:
    2-Hafler 9500 trans nova's
    AudioQuest NRG-3 power cable's
    dedicated AC line for
    Tesla Plex 20a duplex receptacle
    Panamax Max 7500 pro surge/line conditioner
    SDA SRS 3.1 TL's modded...
    spikes, rdo's, rings, dynamat, sonicaps, mills & aeon
    Panasonic Viera G20 50" plasma


    ...SDA's are just like candy for your ears...
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