Best affordable Surge protector home stereo and my TV?

I have a high-end 2-channel system I have in my basement, but in my more modest HT system I have in our family room I use an APC H15 and it has served us very well through many power outages and variations (we are in northern Jersey so we went through hurricane Sandy and many other nasty storms over the past 10 years).  It has indicator lights that show when incoming power is low or high, which is nice.  But what I really like is that it provides power regulation (this is not common in most power conditioning devices) so if power is too high or low it can steady (or regulate) the power so your components see less power fluctuation -- and it also has indicator lights to show when it's boosting or attenuating the incoming power to the house.  I think this significantly reduces stress on all components' power supplies, which can help reduce product failure and increase their life span.  Where I live we have constant power fluctuations as observed through the H15, and I haven't had one component fail since I've had the H15 in my system -- about 10 years.  Also, if there is a power outage, which also happens a lot here, the APC eases the power shutdown on the components so it's not so severe or damaging.  The H10 and H15 are built like tanks, and you can get an H10 for $209.  If you're concerned about total protection for your components -- not just surge but power fluctuations in general, I think at least an H10 at 209 bucks would be well worth consideration, especially if your equipment is not uber expensive and probably have mediocre-at-best power supplies.  I recommended one to a friend who lives near me and is an electrical engineer, and he's thrilled with it because it lets him know what's going on with his power, what his H10 is doing to correct it, and that none of his components have failed with it in his system.  If you're looking for protection, these APC models are hard to beat for the price.  Here's a listing for the H10...

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/9590472611253397856?lsf=seller:1172711,store:412825012447819...

Yep, the BrickWall was the first series mode surge suppressor I knew of.

This Furman uses exactly the same series mode power filter at the front end, but adds:

• LiFT - Additional active filtration
  
• Cable TV protection
  
• Telco protection

but is $130 cheaper and easier to hide. :)

https://amzn.to/2YC7NqD

A number of members here use the BrickWall PW8R15AUD ($279) and have reported excellent results in terms of sonics.  And the writeups and specs for it you'll see at their site on that and other pages (such as this one) seem technically sound and are confidence-inspiring with respect to protection.

I too used one for many years a while back, with fine results.  Eventually I changed to something more expensive while I was making other changes to my system, but that change was not due to any dissatisfaction with the BrickWall.

Good luck.  Regards,

-- Al
   

millercarbon

You don't need a surge protector. What you need- what is missing from your list that will make a big improvement- well it depends on what you have. If your receiver has a detachable power cord then a better one will make a big difference ...

A better power cord will make no difference at all if his components get fried from a power surge. Your other suggestions - better interconnects, speaker wire, upgraded fuses and refined speaker placement - will also be of no consequence if his equipment gets fried by a power surge.

Surge protection is worth the cost.

Is your primary concern equipment protection or improved sound? 

You don't need a surge protector. What you need- what is missing from your list that will make a big improvement- well it depends on what you have. If your receiver has a detachable power cord then a better one will make a big difference. If not then next would be interconnects. Then I see speaker wire, which if that's what it is then better speaker cables. None of these needs too be very expensive. Budget whatever seems reasonable. But they are not the same, performance is not determined by price, there are some great bargains and some real dogs but if you just take the time to search and find the good ones you will be amazed.

After wire next I would upgrade to Blue Quantum fuses and add ECT and some HFT. Only after doing all that would I bother with a conditioner. Actually no not even then. Upgrading from receiver to integrated amp is a lot more value.

But first just to get some idea what is possible do a little search on speaker placement. Almost everyone starting out is able to get really big improvement just by moving the speakers, with sometimes even very small adjustments yielding a surprisingly large improvement. Measure distances and angles, get them perfectly symmetrical, see if your imaging doesn't get dramatically better.

The Furman PST-8 is solid for A/V purpose and pricing is very reasonable.

Hey, here's my thinking on the subject, at length, but the short answer is $180. :)


https://inatinear.blogspot.com/2019/04/power-management-for-frugal-audiophiles.html