Power Strip Recommendation needed

[solomr2]

Hi there. Newb here looking for power conditioner / power station recommendations.

I'm setting up a HT environment, and I want to get a decent power center or power bar for my system to clean up power (dreadful FPL in S. Florida), protect from power surges, and keep the cables under control.

I will have Pioneer Elite VSX-84TXSI receiver, a bunch of Def Tech speakers, Sony PS3, Toshiba XA2, a flat panel (yet to decide which one), and the dreaded Comcast DVR box. All will be connected into the same power station.

My budget is around $150.

Thanks.

 

[Ryan8886]

Take a poke around in the "A/V Interconnects" forum and you will find some info there to chew on. Don't buy to heavy into the "power conditioning" thing...there's a LOT of snake oil out there on this topic.
After a lot of research, I just purchased an APC H10. It handles surge, filtering and voltage reg. What I purchased it for was the surge and cable management. Also, I wanted a rack unit, not a power strip. I have not seen ANY improvement in picture quality, nor did I expect to.
Just make sure that you know what you're buying and why you're buying it. No filtering/regulation device will perform miracles for sound and audio...no matter what you may read....and you will read a LOT!
One note...if you go with a DLP TV, you may want to look into UPS backup, such as the S series from APC. If you have frequent power losses, it can put serious wear on the bulb due to the inabilty to run it's cooling fan during sudden power loss.

 

[solomr2]

Thanks Ryan. I've been shopping around in the Deal forum and found the Belkin PureAV station and the APC H10. Unforatunately, the eCost site seems messed up so I can't place an order on the APC unit.

One note...if you go with a DLP TV, you may want to look into UPS backup, such as the S series from APC. If you have frequent power losses, it can put serious wear on the bulb due to the inabilty to run it's cooling fan during sudden power loss.

Ah, great point. I won't be going DLP, but I didn't know this. Thanks.

 

[Ryan8886]

Just a word of caution with eCost. I originally ordered the PF60 from them. The site listed 8 in stock. As soon as I placed the order, it went immediately into backorder status. The site actually showed an increased number in stock the following day. I then did some research on ecost and ran across some VERY unhappy customers. Their shipping and return policies were regular complaints.
I sent an email canceling my order at that time and received nothing back. I called them a day later and spoke with customer service. To be fair, she was very polite. She acknowledged that my order had not been canceled as I'd requested and took action on it. It was confirmed via email shortly thereafter. Overall, their prices are great, but not sure I'd go with them if I was in any hurry to receive what I ordered. Also, I just checked the eCost site. You can get it cheaper. Shop around! I later found a good deal on the H10 and the store had a local outlet, saving me shipping.

 

[solomr2]

Well, I just placed an order with eCost for PF60 and used Google checkout to get another $10 off. If the item goes on BO I will follow your footsteps and cancel.

Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[solomr2]

Well, I just placed an order with eCost for PF60 and used Google checkout to get another $10 off. If the item goes on BO I will follow your footsteps and cancel.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Just a follow-up:

eCost sent me a shipping notice and tracking number within 2 days, so it appears they are in stock. Good deal for $149.

 

[Bryce_H]

I have Panamax throughout both my home theaters. Furman and Tripplite also make great products. Only in case your current transaction doesn't work out or once you get the product you don't like it.

 

[Bassman2]

I have a $40 Panamax 8 outlet strip with one cable and one phone line plus, of course, surge protection and filtering. What makes a $140 unit "Better"?

 

[solomr2]

What makes a $140 unit "Better"?

Same thing that makes a $1000 speaker or receiver better than a $100 speaker or receiver... quality of materials and internal components, the features, the insurance policy and marketing of course (i.e. some measure of snake oil).

Here are a couple of reviews that might help explain the difference;
LINK1

LINK2

And, of course, the Audioholics pro review page on power condititioners: LINK3

 

[Bassman2]

Same thing that makes a $1000 speaker or receiver better than a $100 speaker or receiver... quality of materials and internal components, the features, the insurance policy and marketing of course (i.e. some measure of snake oil).

Here are a couple of reviews that might help explain the difference;
LINK1

LINK2

And, of course, the Audioholics pro review page on power condititioners: LINK3

Judging by the only two reviews available neither the $300 dollar nor the $400 model surpassed my little $40 strip in filtering except for a rather unique noise situation in the one testers listening room which I and most others don't have. Oh, and the $400 one is rated to 1300 joules and mine is a close 1125. I'm sure there are other differences but in the realm of filtering and protecting the average home system I'm having trouble finding them. Thanks for the links, is there a tutorial somewhere? (not written by a manufacturer)

Has anyone ever heard of a company paying out those high dollar insurance guarantees, like when the lightening jumps the whole box or something like that?

 

[solomr2]

As I said, I'm sure there is a certain measure of snake oil in there. I don't know where your pricing is coming from, but I paid $149 for the PF60 (top of the line model). The MSRP is far from reality I think.

 

[solomr2]

Has anyone ever heard of a company paying out those high dollar insurance guarantees, like when the lightening jumps the whole box or something like that?

I think someone here posted recently they had a lightning strike burn several components, and I believe the insurance paid for replacements.

 

[Ryan8886]

Just a follow-up:

eCost sent me a shipping notice and tracking number within 2 days, so it appears they are in stock. Good deal for $149.

Glad to see that! That's a nice unit at a good price!

 

[Ryan8886]

I have a $40 Panamax 8 outlet strip with one cable and one phone line plus, of course, surge protection and filtering. What makes a $140 unit "Better"?

Bassman,

"Better" is a VERY relative term, particularly in the realm of power conditioning. Your Panamax unit is quite likely everything you (or I for that matter! ) need for surge protection.
It just depends on what you want. If the extra cash is worth it to you for the fancy display in a rack mount unit with good cable management...then you pay for it.
The Belkin PF60, my APC H10 and the Panamax strip you own are all solid and do well what they are designed to do....protect your valuable equipment from regularly occuring power flucutations that can cause damage.
As for the rest, it often adds up to bells, whistles, looks and a wee bit of snake oil!

 

[stratman]

If you live in South Florida the best insurance is free: when the bolts are about to drop, pull the plug. I think it was Skizzerflake whose system was fried to a crisp, also a friend of mine and he had all the expensive do dads. Lightning is unforgiving, not matter what protection you're sporting, direct hit, kiss it all bye bye. Check your home insurance policy I'm not sure if they might cover it or you might get a supplement with coverage. But if it's gear you can't replace and you're attached to it (emotionally)do yourself a favor, unplug.

 

[solomr2]

If you live in South Florida the best insurance is free: when the bolts are about to drop, pull the plug. I think it was Skizzerflake whose system was fried to a crisp, also a friend of mine and he had all the expensive do dads. Lightning is unforgiving, not matter what protection you're sporting, direct hit, kiss it all bye bye. Check your home insurance policy I'm not sure if they might cover it or you might get a supplement with coverage. But if it's gear you can't replace and you're attached to it (emotionally)do yourself a favor, unplug.

If you're home, yeah, go ahead and unplug. But if you're out and didn't unplug before you left, you better have a surge suppressor.

 

[NYyankeeboi]

I have a rather large battery/backup/surge protector and well a friend of mine say that was a good thing, even tho it weights a lot. He said that that weight is a big battery and absorbs a lot of the surges, spikes, etc..etc... Is that true?

Theres not much lightning in Los Angeles... so you dont hear about this kinda thing too much

 

[stratman]

If you're home, yeah, go ahead and unplug. But if you're out and didn't unplug before you left, you better have a surge suppressor.

What I do is check local weather before I leave, if there are indications of severe weather, I unplug just before heading for the door.

 

[Bassman2]

Bassman,

"Better" is a VERY relative term, particularly in the realm of power conditioning. Your Panamax unit is quite likely everything you (or I for that matter! ) need for surge protection.
It just depends on what you want. If the extra cash is worth it to you for the fancy display in a rack mount unit with good cable management...then you pay for it.
The Belkin PF60, my APC H10 and the Panamax strip you own are all solid and do well what they are designed to do....protect your valuable equipment from regularly occuring power flucutations that can cause damage.
As for the rest, it often adds up to bells, whistles, looks and a wee bit of snake oil!

Sounds reasonable. I'm new to this stuff so I....need input. I'm on Long Island NY so we get some pretty good thunder storms, Back in about 1982 I lost a TV to a nearby lightening strike although the stereo and everything else in the house was spared. I have a treadmill that absolutely blots out all AM radio in the house for some reason but doesn't seem to put any noise on the lines. I will unplug the Panamax anyway if there's a storm though.

 

[Bassman2]

As I said, I'm sure there is a certain measure of snake oil in there. I don't know where your pricing is coming from, but I paid $149 for the PF60 (top of the line model). The MSRP is far from reality I think.

Yeah, I just used the prices in the link.