A/V power conditioner under $200

My limited understanding is that surge protection (AC suppression)is measured in Joules - the more the better. The best spike protection is auto shutdown - the faster the better. This is measured by suppression response time; e.g., < 1 nanosecond. EMI/RFI filtering effectiveness is measured in dB: 40dB being okay and 80dB being excellent.

On my 7.1 home theater system I have the incoming coax cable, the power chord for the cable box, 3 disc players and the LCD TV plugged into a Monster HTS 3600 surge/spike/line conditioner. The 130w x 7 receiver is plugged into a PSA Ultimate Outlet (line conditioner)which, in turn, is plugged into a Monster 6 outlet surge protector. The subwoofer is plugged into a Tripp Lite plug-in-wall surge/spike/conditioner.

On my PC 2.1 audio system I have the PC,the monitor, an external soundcard/DAC, pre-amp and amp plugged into a PSA Quintet surge/spike/conditioner. The subwoofer is plugged into another Tripp Lite.

I live in Tallahassee, FL, where in the Summer we have about 1 brownout a week. All of these units shut down eveything whenevr a resultant spike hits. We also have thunderstorms w/ lighening at least twice a week and I've had no dmagae done to my equipment.

The line conditioners have made no improvement to video, as far as I can see. However, the PSA products moderately improve the sound level and clarity on audio. The Monster 3600 does not.

Except for the Tripp Lites, these products are not inexpensive, but they are far from top of the line. If my budget were $200 I'd put it all into surge/protection. As far as line conditioning goes, I'd save my money for better speakers.

Mike19

What are the advantages of a Brickwall or SurgeX over the surge protection offered by the APC H10 or H15? If there's a big protection advantage maybe I could get the best of all worlds by plugging an H10 (since it does most of the things I'm looking for) into a Brickwall or SurgeX product -- would that work or would it put too much of a load on one SurgeX/Brickwall outlet? Of course going this route would increase the overall cost and maybe opens the door to something else that truly does it all, but at least this way I could do it in stages. What do you think?

Thanks again for all the good recommendations.

Very happy with my Monster HDP2400. 8 outlets,2 coax,1 phone jack. Very low profile(<2.25 inches). Take a look at this:http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=87619

Bill

I use both an APC H15 and a Brickwall PWR2AUD. The APC is in my HT system and the Brickwall is in my analog system. Both work effectively in their applications. Tvad is correct regarding the Brickwall, although I notice a slightly clearer sound through it, it is minimal. The APC does improve video quality and allows connection of the amp and sub without current limiting and also has phone, coax etc. I live in the Midwest and this summer we've had horrendous thunderstorms and power outages. All four of my systems stayed protected.

PS Audio Soloist made a difference on my plasma rig.
Larry

Thanks for the helpful responses so far. I should add I'm also looking for coax inputs for my cable box and modem, a phone input, and since I'm in an area with a lot of brown outs, power regulation would also be a big plus. So far I've found the APC H10 does all these things, but I would imagine there are others -- maybe not in my price range though.

Not a conditioner but a real surge protector. I'm running two and have some audio buds that run them too.Click here

The APC H series is around that price. I have one and it so far it seems to be a good value and work well.

I just don't have room for it in my rack so it sits off to the left of my system.