Pick a rackmount power center for $100 or less

[jjminch]

First, I've read the threads and don't really subscribe to the super clean power conditions and all the hype, so no need to rehash them. I also agree that a whole-house surge is the way to go, and will consider them at a later time.

With that being said, I need a surge protector/power strip/power conditioner/power center...whatever you want to call it, for my rack because:

-I only have a single two-outlet wall wart in my media closet (later I will look at having another circuit added, not in the cards now)
-Its a tight fit, won't have access to the rear of the rack, this will make my wiring easier

What is getting plugged in: (Onk 707, Dayton HPS1000 amp, Crown 402 amp, xbox360, wii, router, BD player, HTPC, modem, Tivo, and maybe one or two other small things)

So I need at least 10, pref 12 outlets. Needs to be able to handle the amps, realize that is a lot, but don't ever drive anything that hard and nothing else is really on the circuit.

I found these
http://www.amazon.com/Furman-Standard-Conditioning-Outlets-Spacing/dp/B0014598WQ/ref=pd_cp_MI_2

I don't like Monster either but its the cheapest surprisingly
http://www.amazon.com/Monster-PowerCenter-PRO-900-CleanPower/dp/B000NJD5TG/ref=sr_1_17?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1299154605&sr=1-17

http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-ISOBAR12ULTRA-12-Outlet-Protector/dp/B0000512D3/ref=sr_1_5?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1299155928&sr=1-5

http://www.amazon.com/G5Blk-9-Outlet-G-Type-Rack-Mountable-Conditioner/dp/B0028RCZSS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1299157624&sr=1-1

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Hard to go wrong with Furman, but for a few bucks more you could get this nifty unit from Carvin that has power sequencing.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=AC120S&cid=61

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[jostenmeat]

Thanks for that rec. Hm, the max delay I can have between any sequence is 4 seconds it appears. I swear my Crown XTi amp takes forever to be completely done powering up . . . well at least when the little green lights for each ch light up. But maybe the caps are totally charged already, and that 4 secs is plenty for any sequence? I think I want this.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Typically the power amp should be last-on in the turn-on sequence, and first-off in the turn-off sequence.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[jostenmeat]

Typically the power amp should be last-on in the turn-on sequence, and first-off in the turn-off sequence.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

May I ask why? I turn on pre/pro first, then my two amps (the Crown first, then the NAD mch amp), and then my source and projector. I thought (outside of the pre/pro) I might save some other electronics from deep voltage drops when the amplifier caps are being charged . . . ? Thanks Wayne!

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Well, I can certainly see some merit with your method.

However, source first/amps last sequencing is the way it’s always been done in larger pro audio systems. IIR, the idea is to give the front-end electronics a chance to stabilize so that you don’t get a big “pop” in the speakers. The BFD equalizer commonly used for subwoofers is notorious for causing a pop in the speakers when it’s turned on, and with a sequenced start-up you won’t get any pop from it.

Turning off the amp first minimizes speaker pop by letting the amplifier capacitors discharge before turning off the front end components.

The vintage Adcom ACE-515 is one sequencer that does it right: At start-up it delays the amps something like 5-10 seconds, and on shut-down switches off the amps first, then waits 30 seconds before shutting off the source components.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[jjminch]

That Carvin unit looks nice. I guess it comes down to that or the APC G5. The the APC has the power delay/sequencing thing as well and I like how it is more configurable than the Carvin. For instance two of the outlets are always on, good for a PC/network. So you can use the master switch to power everything else off. The delay is configurable in any time length up to 60 seconds for each component.

The Carvin can do something similar, just it appears it is all manual, hitting all the individual switches to turn off or on. Not as high-speed I guess. I think it comes down to which unit is better built, they both seem to be good names.

 

[walter duque]

I use the Cinepro Sequencer. It's old, but works great.

 

[jostenmeat]

That Carvin unit looks nice. I guess it comes down to that or the APC G5. The the APC has the power delay/sequencing thing as well and I like how it is more configurable than the Carvin. For instance two of the outlets are always on, good for a PC/network. So you can use the master switch to power everything else off. The delay is configurable in any time length up to 60 seconds for each component.

The Carvin can do something similar, just it appears it is all manual, hitting all the individual switches to turn off or on. Not as high-speed I guess. I think it comes down to which unit is better built, they both seem to be good names.

So I googled the APC, it's pretty affordable, and one of the search results led me right back to AH (consumer review), where I participated in the thread too. You'll be interested.

I also like the always-on outlets just in case any of my components uses volatile memory (I honestly have no clue which if any do though).

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59514

 

[jjminch]

So I googled the APC, it's pretty affordable, and one of the search results led me right back to AH (consumer review), where I participated in the thread too. You'll be interested.

I also like the always-on outlets just in case any of my components uses volatile memory (I honestly have no clue which if any do though).

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59514

Yea that was a good review. My only hang up with the APC is I'm not sure if it can handle two amps and a receiver for now. Read some reviews on the Carver unit from the pro-audio guys and it was doing that without any problems.

I was thinking of getting the carver, then a cheap UPS for just the network items and HTPC. Only downside is money of course.