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

I once plugged a power amp directly into the wall.  Did not sound good.  In fact, it made no sound at all.  The resulting hole(s) in the wall had a very low WAF.

I also read where devices like surgex, etc...slow down the current to give the protection circuit time to react to any abnormal activity, thus effecting sound quality.

This is all a mish mash to me.

All talk of power surges is misleading. This whole subject is full of so much misinformation and misunderstanding all I can do is try and hit one tiny bit at a time. 

so Lowrider, there is really no point in plugging amps into surge  protection powerstipes, etc since sonics are effected. Best bet is probably make sure equipment is well insured

How can Erik’s comments be misleading? When I had a power failure due to loss of a transformer outside, the fuses on my DVD and amp blew since they were not protected by surge protectors. Breakers on the service panel tripped, but did not save the component's fuses.

Agree with @erik_squires .
Let's say we're talking about surge protection power strips and conditioners. PS Audio and the like are power regenerators and are a different animal.

Good advice from Erik, you want the breaker on a power strip/ conditioner to trip and save the components. Surge protection will work during line voltage spikes, black outs, brown outs. But no surge protector will save you from a lightning strike.

A basic quality conditioner with surge protection would be one of the Furmans or a Brickwall.
And to answer your other question, you would not plug an amp into one of these devices. They have filters or capacitors which will affect or restrict sonics (even though they say non-current limiting).
IME, the cleanest signal for an amp is thru the wall receptacle or with a high quality power strip with no filtering such as a Wiremold.

aberyclark asks:

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

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. 

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.

two things seem key here:
1 SQ
2 device protection

RE SQ

my EXP to date shows some changes will occur to sQ when amps are integrated into a PLC. I’ve only used passive units so far as these seem the least negatively influential on what ever amps sonic qualities.

I’ve used Shunyata, PSA and running Springs passive conds and all with similar but quite varying results. from this small sub section of the arena it does seem the more $$$$ spent on them the less they directly impact the sonics of the system’s components.

often the first noticeable item in how the sound will change revolves around leading edge definition. sometimes its a bit more blunted or eased off. this is not to say these results are unacceptable. they are merely different demonstrations of the musical content.

usually this is a very slight incursion and may well have more to do with the cord supplying the PLC itself as changes here will surely alter how much dynamics are softened or reduced.

albeit, I’ve yet to find a PLC supply PC which totally negates the sonic influence of a PLC.

one should take notice here too, everything plugged into the brand X PLC, active or passive, is being likewise affected. though until one inserts their amps into that fold, does the noticed alterations to the sound become abundantly visible.

on the more ‘plus’ side, the darkening of the back drop may be more desired and a compromise then made.

I can and do go either way on this tact for pre or amps. often choosing to plug only the lower voltage stuff and the pre into a ?? PLC, and not the amps.

that said, all low voltage items do get hooked up! DACs, Disc pllayers, CATV boxes. confusers. streaming units.

screw the phones I’ve got a cell. lol


2 RE protection
at least twice now I’ve had the displeasure of encountering energy surges from lightening. this was true even when the nearby weather was not in full on downpours and quite active.

in fact two of these events saw lightening strike power lines well down the block and it was ONLY the PS Audio passive cond which saved what ever had been occupying its outlets.

the first time ever was a near direct strike on a telephone/power pole near the road's edge and along my property line.

everything went out that time! thankfully, all of the major appliances managed to survive.

PS Audio once apprised of the situation promptly sent along (free of charge) new inserts for the Duets which had been killed.

a big screen tV, a very expensive pre amp line stage, a DAC, ?? were all saved undue near death experiences.

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

all low voltage electronics died. alarm clocks. phones. a Personal Confuser as well bit the bullet and went toes up.

lightening arrives in advance of any rain or douw pours, so when does one unplug everything?

as said in one case, waiting for the sound of thunder was just a tad to late.

yes. unplug it/them all! leaving it plugged in puts all your hopes on one set of contacts or relays to prevent immense electrical surges from crossing over them and sorely afflicting your gear..

what then will one do if they leave the house knowing or ignorant of possible bad weather encroaching the area?

always yank the PC from the wall or device?

what about those bits which their maker says to keep energized all the time?

life abounds with choices… make those which best suit your needs, and saves you aggravation, lost time, and money, when and where ever feasable..

Good luck!

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

No. Listen to tablejockey and elizabeth
Try as many different things within your budget as you can, buy the one that you find to work the best in your system.

As elizabeth says,

That is 100% the right answer.

Please note: you cannot do better than 100%.

Thanks for the responses. Maybe my real question: Is surge protection really needed if your components have a fuse? A "direct hit" would wipe out many surge protectors and zap your equipment anyway. So do you really need one if electrical noise is not an issue?

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

@tlong1958,

You may look into Nordost QB8. One of the best power distribution I’ve experienced in my setup. If you like to tweak, you would appreciate their modular approach. 

I got my entire system plugged into QB8, including my mono amps. 

I’m looking for something also. I’ve been using an PS Audio Dectet and it’s ok but I’d like to get something better without spending more than $1500 or so. Good surge/spike protection is important 

Buy something,try it. If you don't  like it,send it back.

You have  been doing what you've been doing for years, so why worry.
Let your ears decide. 

I plug everything into a PS Audio Power Plant and it sounds fine.