Tripp Lite Isolation Transformer

[Hannahman]

Is anyone using this with their HT system? There is very little information about them. I read in a recent post that it eliminated hum and produced a great picture.

I live in a new house and for some reason I have a lot of outlets that are daisy chained together that may be producing line noise and interferance

My current setup is:

Sony 60" LCD
HD TIvo
Denon AVR 3805
Klipsch Spekers
Monster Power Center

I Want to get feedback on how it is working for you and if you think it is worth the money before I consider a purchase.

Thanks

 

[Yamahaluver]

Have been using them for the last 8 years with great results as I live in an area with really poor power lines. They not only reduce noise but also protect from surges and spikes.

 

[Hannahman]

Did it improve your picture quality as well? What unit are you using and how many watts is it rated for.

I am concerned that the high wattage from the 3805 alone would exceed the 1000 watt isolation transformer.

Anyone else using one?

 

[Jason Coleman]

Also very interested, is there a model number?

Thanks,

Jason

 

[Hannahman]

Bump....

Anyone have any additional feedback on a good line conditioner???

 

[Audiosouse]

Isolation Transformer Experiences

Since my electrical circuit, Sony direct view HDTV and Denon AVR-3805 disagree with each other, the Tripp Lite Isolation Transformer was the ONLY product that worked. Period. In fact, Monster products are hyped up snake oil, I can't believe this site recommends them without quantitative back up! And surprise, surprise, Monster refuses to give out specs.

If the 3805 wasn't so damn good, I'd have swapped it for something else. But so far Secrets of Home Theatre and High Fidelity, Sound and Vision (it measured unusually well), Home Theatre Magazine and this site agree. And you can't blame the 3805 for not doing what it wasn't designed to do. The fact you can biamp a receiver at all says volumes about the quality and flexibility of this piece. Besides, 120 watts is way more than enough. If not, hop into your 5.0, peel out and try to forget about your small penis. This hobby's not about numbers. Efficient speakers will induce unstrained ear splitting volume levels in large rooms. Even with seven channels driven you're still getting 93 W/ch. You'll need VERY good seperates to beat that.

With my unique setup, I can immediately see (literally) the results of removing the isolation transformer on the TV. If a power filtering product works, the green discolourations and snow will dissapear immediately. For some reason, nobody's heard of this phenomenon before. So much for all you self proclaimed "experts".

Anyway, the 3805 consumes 7.1 amps max: 7.1 A x 120 V = 852 W. So the IS1000 will due just fine for the 3805 and three other components like your DSS, DVD and CD, which usually consume 10 W or less. However, if you're like me, you want to connect everything to one of these amazing products, so go balls out for the IS1800HG. It's 1800 W capacity as the name suggests and includes six hospital grade recepticles. You'll in no way be prepared for the heft and build of this product, it weighs 58 lbs man!!! And it's still less than $500!

No it doesn't have the lure of an esoteric name, but knowing other idiots are spending thousands for gear that doesn't work is all the more gratifying. Besides, having your own powerplant for your HT is way cool! Your buddies won't believe it! I dare anybody to tell me there's a better product, regardless of price. It's that good!

 

[Audiosouse]

Advertising

That's annoying.

 

[djoxygen]

Anyone have any additional feedback on a good line conditioner???

In other places in these forums some have said that any piece of gear with a decent power supply can be plugged straight into a wall socket. My experience in recording studios and with computers says otherwise.

At the very least some kind of surge/spike suppression is *absolutely* essential (especially for those of us living in the thunderstorm-prone plains). An undervoltage (brown-out) can be just as damaging as a lightning strike, so it's also probably wise to step up to some kind of regulation. You'll be protecting a significant $$ investment in your gear with less than 10% additional cost, and you'll get any added benefits clean power might bestow. (To be debated elsewhere.)

I have always had great luck with Furman and APC units. Both companies have long histories in the market and are well respected in the professional audio and IT worlds (respectively). Plus they have nice replacement policies should their gear fail to protect your gear. Sadly, you probably won't find either brand in the HT department of your favorite electronics retailer, so head over to the computer department (for APC) or drop by the Pro Audio desk at a Guitar Center (for the Furman). There's no way you should spend over $500 on this, and even that's probably a couple hundred higher than necessary.

 

[Jason Coleman]

What are people's thoughts on Tripp-Lite's Isobar Surge Supressors? Do they do a decent job of eliminating line "noise?"

Jason

 

[djoxygen]

If they are truly "Surge Suppressors", they do nothing to eliminate AC line noise. However, Tripp-Lite makes fine products that do no more or less than they claim to.

What you are looking for is a "Line Conditioner", which attempts to create a pure 60Hz, 110v (in North America) sine wave on one cable, zero voltage on another, and a solid ground on the 3rd. (A "Balanced" power supply accomplishes the same goal in a different manner, but a topic for another time, perhaps.)

Beware that some, less-reputable manufacturers may claim their power strips are conditioners when they are nothing more than 6 outlets and a circuit breaker that will (hopefully) pop when lightning strikes your house.

*Generally*, every step up the chain will include everything underneath it:

Power Strip
Circuit Breaker w/ Power Strip
Surge Suppressor w/ Power Strip, Circuit Breaker
Line Conditioner w/ Power Strip, Circuit Breaker, Surge Suppressor
Balanced Power Supply w/ all of the above

Furman has an excellent white paper on all of this at http://www.furmansound.com/pdfdata/whitepaper.pdf

There's a fair amount of heady technical stuff in there, but much of the information can be digested by us mortals.

 

[Jason Coleman]

Thanks for the info! I'll try to digest it over Thanksgiving dinner!

Jason

 

[Audiosouse]

Tripp Lite ISOBAR, Line Conditioning and Isolation

As djoxygen mentioned, the Isobar isn't really designed for filtering. I own an ISOBAR6DBS, which claims power noise filtering from the wall and each bank of two recepticles is filtered from the others. However, when I plugged in all my equipment, it didn't clean up my TV problem, I needed the isolation transformer for that.

Power conditioning products automatically regulate incoming voltage to keep equipment working through low voltage (brownouts) and high voltage indefinitely without the assistance of battery power; includes surge suppression and line noise filtering. Isolation transformers provide complete line isolation, noise filtering and surge suppression that eliminates the need for a dedicated AC line.

So it all depends on your problem or where you live. If you require line isolation, as I do, then the isolation transformer is the way to go. It's most audiophiles dream to have a dedicated AC line, this is an inexpensive way to achieve that without rewiring your house. But if your AC is inconsistent, the power conditioning is the right choice. As far as I know you can't daisy chain the two. I don't know of manufacturers other than Tripp Lite that affordably offer all three, and you'll be shocked at how affordable they are. I'll have to check out Furman though.

 

[Jason Coleman]

Thanks for the info. We actually had 2 dedicated 20-amp circuits put in for our HT when our house was built, so it's not an issue of other crap being on the line. I ordered an Isobar which arrived today, so I'll hook it up tomorrow and see how it does. I'd like to get the line conditioning model, but new surround speakers and an amp proclude that. I'll check back in.

Jason

 

[Hannahman]

I just hooked up my Tripp Lite 1000 Isolation Transformer. At this point, I am scratching my head in disgust....

So far, the only change is that my wallet is $240 lighter and I have gained a large box with 4 outlets and red light on it. It appears the only thing this device provides is 4 outlets and a pretty red light.....

I still have speaker hum from bi-amping the 3805.

There is no picture or sound improvements

I still get interference / pixels while whatching TV.

Jason Coleman, did you experience and difference since your Tripp Lite Purchase?

I am going to call Tripp Light tomorrow to find out what they suggest...

At this point, I am ready to send it back for a full refund.

Any thoughts?????

 

[Mudcat]

I have the Tripplite LCR-2400. Until recently I figured it's major asset was all the outlets (14). Finally, the right conditions arrived lastnight in the form of Bonnie (the Tropical Storm for all you misogynists). Lights flickering, clocks all flashing 12:00, but the LCR kept Kill Bill V2 playing right along as if nothing was happening. I also have an ART surge suppressor (with volt and amp meters) before the LCR and a Monster HTS 5000 after it. Prior to the storm, everything was cruising along at 127 volts and 3.3 amps When the lights flickered the volt meter on the ART went down to 82, the amps went up to 7.8, and the volt meter on the HTS 5000 stayed at 125. So the LCR did its job very well. You can check out my system in the "Member System" area under the thread titled "My What A Nice Rack".

Gratitious Advertisement there.

 

[Hannahman]

Bump-

Jason, did the isobar remove the hum from biamping the 3805?

I have the isolation transormer 1000 and it didnt do anything.

I then purchased a UPS to try to regulate my incoming voltage. No luck either....

Has anyone figured out a way to eliminate speaker hum after biamping the 3805?

 

[Jason Coleman]

Sorry...just got back in town. I haven't had a chance to hook up my Isobar...I'll post after I get it set up.

Jason

 

[djoxygen]

TL-1000 disappointment

I just hooked up my Tripp Lite 1000 Isolation Transformer. At this point, I am scratching my head in disgust....

I still have speaker hum from bi-amping the 3805.

I still get interference / pixels while whatching TV.

Any thoughts?????

You almost certainly have a ground loop, and it is somewhere downstream from the TL-1000. The 1000 is probably doing whatever it claims to do as a power conditioner, surge suppressor, and/or whatever else.

Assuming *everything* in your system is plugged into the TL-1000, somehow you are providing some piece of gear with two paths to ground. Most likely one is through an audio connection and the other through power, but these can be very tricky to isolate, diagnose, and correct.

The first step is to simplify the system as much as possible - get it down to one signal source, one amp, and the speakers. Don't chain any power off other gear (i.e. don't plug the amp into receiver plugs - everything should power directly off your TL).

If this setup is OK, add back in one at a time - crossover, add'l amps, add'l sources, TV, etc... - until the hum returns.

Unfortunately the piece that triggers the return of ground loop hum isn't necessarily the offending item. It may only be the catalyst, so you have to leave it in the system while removing others one at a time to see if the problem disappears again.

Once you determine which two pieces of gear are having the negative interaction, you can *temporarily* lift a ground using a "cheater plug". (Do *not* run in this state permanently, only use it as a diagnostic tool!)

What to do once you isolated the issue? That's even tougher. You can try different wiring schemes, audio isolation transformers, grounding straps (like turntables use), among others. Probably you should post back here once you diagnose and we can all try to figure out the best course of action.

 

[Jason Coleman]

With the Isobar connected, the hum is still there. I wasn't really expecting it to remove the hum, as I don't think that the hum has anything to do with ground-loop/line-conditioning issues. It's simply an unfortunate byproduct of bi-amping the 3805. When I get some time (yeah, right!), I'm going to try to use different inputs and configurations with the bi-amp. It's strange that some people have the hum and others don't. FWIW, I love the way my speakers sound bi-amped, but the hum is troubling even though it's only audible 6" from the speakers.

DJOxygen's advice is excellent and thorough...it does sound like you have some line issues, but I wouldn't expect for that hum to disappear. Hopefully I'm wrong in which case you'll post how you fixed it and I can stop screwing around with my setup!

Good Luck!

Jason

 

[djoxygen]

There's nothing about a bi-amp setup that should produce anything other than maybe the tiniest amount of residual noise increase from there being more pieces of electronics adding their own noise floors to the final output. If you're hearing 60-cycle that isn't there when not bi-amped, there's either an internal or external ground loop at fault.

Once you've ruled out your connections, you're left with a faulty piece of gear. Have you unplugged all signal sources and confirmed that the hum is still there with only the amps, x-overs, and speakers?