Power amps into surge protector/Conditioner or DIRECT to wall? Final verdict?

hi @Donzi

Yes, it’s called power factor correction. It’s widely available. Furman is one of the few conditioner vendors I know of who include it in some models since it helps with current delivery a tad.

The idea (my memory is rusty) with PF correction is that motors may draw current out of phase with voltage, which may make your meter read more power than you are actually drawing. Install a corrector, and your meter reading will get more accurate, and the bills will drop. You can read more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor



There are industrial series mode surge protectors available, but I don’t know of anyone installing them in their homes. All the other tech I know of is shunt/parallel and are inactive until the surge arrives.

BTW, for this reason having an excessively good power conduction from your meter to your amp is a bad idea. You are going to be closer to the surge when it hits. A little reactance in the way will blunt it and give the whole house devices time to work. OTOH, that same reactance makes typical MOV based suppressor strips a bad idea, as the voltage during the surge will be greater when they short. For this reason I recommend:

• Whole house suppressors at the panel
• Normal wiring
• Series mode suppressors at the delicate electronics.
  

Best,
E

Hi @donzi !


I think one thing you should consider is hot good your system will sound after a lightning strike.

As for the utility service, it’s a shame it isn’t free, especially in Florida, but since it is at your meter and is a shunt, it won’t affect your sound quality.  I encourage you to consider having a whole house suppressor installed in your panel. At least that way you won't be buying a subscription. :)


In Florida, of all places, I strongly recommend you get a high quality series mode surge suppressor near any gear you want to keep.


Best,
Erik

Thank you for the kind words, @brskie

Always happy to help others enjoy more music. :)

Oh, almost forgot. Of course, look for UL 1449 for a device tested as a surge suppressor.


If it doesn’t have that, especially at these astronomical prices, pretty much write it off.


Here is the spec for Furman's cheapest SMP strip:

https://www.furmanpower.com/product/15a-8-outlet-surge-suppressor-strip-wsmp-lift-and-evs-PST-8

I am a bit confused as how to compare devices for their surge protection.

The Furman PST-8, using series mode surge protection, rates their product at 135VAC for the "over voltage shutoff."

Right. So the SMP is always on, there’s no activation lag. It also provides relatively low over-voltage protection. These may not be surges, but long lasting events. This can happen if your electric provider doesn’t balance the loads right.

Shunyata, using a hydraulic electromagnetic breaker, rates their Venom
Amp-1 for 40,000A @ 8/50 microseconds for the "transient protection."

Yep, and it’s just not as good.

• It will short surges to ground, and then you are at the mercy of the house wiring, as well as stress the house wiring. Any issues there will increase the voltage at your gear.
  
• It takes time to activate.
  
• During the surge, it is high current (40,000A), potentially stressing the home wiring, not to mention lighting on fire (see thermally protected MOV videos for examples)
  

The SMP approach is no lag, and low current during a surge hit. The parallel approach always has lag, and is a high current at surge. A high speed surge (and any noise over 3 kHz) on the hot or neutral line MUST appear at the surge protector, instead of the protected gear.

The Emotiva is not a surge protector at all, and doesn't seem to offer over voltage protection either.

For the money, the Furman $180 strip is better.


https://amzn.to/2WtmefW


Best,
E

So just did some reading. Apparently not all "whole house surge protectors" are UL 1449 compliant. Some are listed as "secondary surge protectors." Meaning the manufacturer expects you to have other devices for your electronics, but at least your big electrical devices won't fry. Might be worth checking which you have.


In any event, I suggest using a surge protector near your gear if you are in lightning prone areas.

Whole house surge protectors that are installed in the panel and made by the panel’s manufacturer are a great idea.


However, since the EMP from lightning can be induced directly into wiring, it’s a good idea to put a series mode protector near the devices you most care about. Also, home surge protectors still have activation time. Series mode protection does not.


Last time I had control over it, I had both. A D-Square whole house protector in the panel, and Furman Elite at my stereo.  I have repeatedly found that my system sounds better with the Elite than without it.

You know gang, I was just thinking about how our location can really affect our perception. Ages ago I heard that the Florida power grid gets hit by 1 lightning striker per minute during the rainy season.


Living out in LA, and San Francisco, I don't think I've ever suffered a surge like I lived through in the south with the real thunderstorms Georgia got.


I still keep everything plugged in through a surge protector which I care about.

No. And eriks comment is misleading. Its nothing to do with line surges. The current fuses protect against is current draw resulting from a fault in the component itself.

So my comment was misleading, but you here assert nothing which contradicts it. I think it was very clear that fuses had nothing to do with surge protection.

a Krell 250wpc stereo amp survived in spite of not being connected to any passive line cond oddly enough.

They have those big transformers protecting everything after that, kind of how series mode protection works, unless they have enough capacitance coupling the inner to outer coils.

So the component’s fuse itself is enough general protection from electrical surges.

Um, aberyclark no. Fuses disconnect on high current, low speed events. A surge from lightning is high voltage, high speed, and relatively very low current, until it finds a path through silicone. Once the fuse trips, it means the surge has already shorted something. Also, see differences between fast and slow blowing fuses.

Surge protectors activate on high speed, high voltage events. A fuse could take 0.1 second to activate. A lightning surge can occur in microseconds.

Which is why series mode surge suppression is the way to go. Zero activation time to the leading surge edge, and non-sacrificial components.

McIntosh uses Series Mode Protection in their top of the line $10,500 conditioner, but Furman has it in their $180 strips.

Also, cross contamination is real. Use an Elite or use multiple Furman strips to keep your digital/streaming devices from contaminating your clean zone.

Use a Furman with SMP and LiFT at a minimum. They start around $180. That's where the best noise reduction and surge protection is. They're also very low impedance, and with power factor correction added (Elite series) they can actually be better than the wall.


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