APC Power Conditioners with Battery Back Up

[gene]

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><A href="http://www.audioholics.com/news/pressreleases/APCS10S15batterybackup.php"><IMG style="WIDTH: 125px; HEIGHT: 95px" alt=[apc] hspace=10 src="http://www.audioholics.com/news/thumbs/apc_th.jpg" align=left border=0></A>American Power Conversion (APC) today announced availability&nbsp;of their&nbsp;new S-line of power conditioning battery backup models designed exclusively for the high performance home audio/video (A/V) and custom electronic installer market. The new APC S10 and S15 A/V Power Conditioners with Battery Backup help eliminate power anomalies as a threat to component hardware, A/V signal integrity, and system availability.</SPAN></P>
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<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">[Read the Press Release]</SPAN></P>

 

[HookedOnSound]

It's nice to see APC offer products in this market segment (A/V).

This might sound like an endorsement but as an APC customer I have always trusted APC in my data center and I am confident that APC will offer competent products for audiophiles. I am sure these products will service ppl for years.

They aren't the cheapest solutions for sure but I honestly can't remember the last failed unit (APC) under my responsibility.

The only thing I would note is that going with a battery backup means that you have to treat the batteries as a consumable, I have run in to alot of ppl in IT who just don't seem to understand the concept.

You're covered for the first 2 years under the wrty but after that you have to buy battery replacement kits.

As an example, we have a 5 yr old APC unit and have replaced the batteries twice so far so we are quite pleased with the performance considering the unit was slightly undersized for its application. Unit load is also a determining factor.

Aluminum finish (S10/S15)! Awesome!

Thanks for posting the article.

P.S. they also have a very good recycling program, free shipping in the USA for used batteries if I am not mistaken.

 

[gene]

We have had several discussions with the design engineers at APC on these products. All we can say is they appear to be snake oil free. Note the UL markings on the backpanels. This is very rare for power conditioners and we are noticing there is just as much snake oil in this area of home theater as there is in cables. We plan on cracking this wide open in the future Stay tuned....

 

[Takeereasy]

You guys are busy little beavers. I too am a big fan of APC products. We use their uninteruptable power supplies at my office. Those things are built like tanks and I've never seen one fail, and had to use them three or four times. Being at a desk next to one when the battery starts to go is damn annoying though. It's nice to hear that they seem to be carrying that quality over to HT. My power bar is an APC model as well, no UPS though.

 

[claudermilk]

I'd be truly amazed to find any snake oil in an APC product. We use a ton of them here & have never had a single problem. Now I wonder if they have something a bit more affordable for a more modest HT system.

 

[Mort Corey]

Is the base unit the top piece and the two lower units the optional additional power packs? Any idea what the backup time rating might be? It'd be nice (for me anyway) to just have five or ten minutes to be able to shut things down properly in a blackout.

Mort

 

[Shadow_Ferret]

Wow. $1200? Why can I get a good UPS unit for my computer for a 6th that price?

 

[gene]

Now I wonder if they have something a bit more affordable for a more modest HT system.

They do, for around $400 with no battery backup. I will post the press release tomorrow.

 

[HookedOnSound]

Wow. $1200? Why can I get a good UPS unit for my computer for a 6th that price?

Most computer grade UPS have square/modified square sine wave output waveforms. Although perfectly acceptable for most computer based applications, there are some equipment that will perform poorly or simply not work at all.

Pure sine wave UPSes use better quality inverters to regenerate an AC waveform with utmost fidelity.

Factors such VA rating, rated current, etc. that are also important and affect price as you go to higher application needs. That is why it's important to size your UPS accordingly for its intended use.

 

[philh]

Are power conditioners worth the "overhead" power costs? Of course as I sit here wondering how much the recent power outage (thunderstorms) will cost me a year from now, as equipment begins failing. Will a power conditioner stop spikes from passing through? I kinda came into possession of a power conditioner designed for an old DEC mini computer. Don't remember the brand or any other details other then it uses a 20amp twist lock 120V cord. Also tested it once and it pulls 150w just sitting there. Thing is physically very heavy.

 

[HookedOnSound]

Are power conditioners worth the "overhead" power costs? Of course as I sit here wondering how much the recent power outage (thunderstorms) will cost me a year from now, as equipment begins failing. Will a power conditioner stop spikes from passing through? I kinda came into possession of a power conditioner designed for an old DEC mini computer. Don't remember the brand or any other details other then it uses a 20amp twist lock 120V cord. Also tested it once and it pulls 150w just sitting there. Thing is physically very heavy.

As to your question about spikes, look at the specs for your power cond. Newer ones have built-in Surge suppression built-in, I wouldn't assume though.

About the 'overhead'? It's all relative. If you don't have/suspect problems with power then you might be better off with simply a filtering (EMI/RFI) surge suppressor.

It's kinda of like a 'piece of mind' thing, some would rather have it than not have it. Others don't know and don't care.

But if you have $15,000 worth of gear hooked up to an electrical, would you not want to spend $500 for an AV power cond. with $150,000 protection and not have to worry about it (damage)?

Only you can decide the value of adding such a piece of equip. to your H/T.

Good Luck,

 

[Buckle-meister]

Better sound?

Hello folks,

Sorry to interupt, but can anybody set me straight here?

I understand that power conditioners prevent spikes from passing through to separates etc, and hence protect our gear, but I was also under the impression that they 'cleaned up' the AC current to the effect that, being fed with 'clean' power, the quality of sound from hi-fi separates would be audibly improved.

Is this true, or yet another case of my being told a lot of rubbish.

Regards

 

[mtrycrafts]

but I was also under the impression that they 'cleaned up' the AC current to the effect that, being fed with 'clean' power, the quality of sound from hi-fi separates would be audibly improved.

Is this true, or yet another case of my being told a lot of rubbish.

Regards

No real evidence for this. Well designed components do a fine job of filtering the line.

 

[RichB]

Are the S10 and S15 available online?

I have not found a dealer searching with Google?

-- Rich

 

[Audioholics]

I understand that power conditioners prevent spikes from passing through to separates etc, and hence protect our gear, but I was also under the impression that they 'cleaned up' the AC current to the effect that, being fed with 'clean' power, the quality of sound from hi-fi separates would be audibly improved.

Is this true, or yet another case of my being told a lot of rubbish.

This is what we'll try our best to discover, though we're guessing it won't affect audio at all. We've also a few industry veterans comment on "very noticeable" video improvements and we intend to check it all out (this could be easily shown without complicated setup or even DBT).

 

[cmonache]

S15 vs H15

Hello,

I am definitely interested in this new APC product. Have you been able to get a good understanding of the difference between the S15 and H15? Is it only the UPS/Battery function? There is about about a 35-40 lb. difference between these two products so I wonder what is included in this difference in weight. The S15 appears to have a better case and then the batteries will also add a lot of weight.

My other question is the cost of the H15. The cost is very impressive and I believe in one of the previous mails you mentioned that there is no "snake oil" at work here. Additioanally the units are UL approved. There is a huge price gap between the H15 and other products on the market:

1. Monster Cable AVS2000
2. PS Audio P-500
3. Exact Audio

There is a whole list with the cheapest being the AVS2000. So I look at the H15 which is about $400 and then look at another list these other products run $1500+. Why the big price gap? All these products offer voltage stabilization.

Chris