Tbg-
Consider yourself fortunate. I wonder if any high quality mixing/mastering studios abjure such protection. The few I've visited sure don't.
Kal |
No such consensus. I live in such a place and my computer went at the same time as the surge protector. Later when I had no surge protector but had a Sound Application unit with the stereo on, lightening hit six feet from the stereo and did no harm. It played hell with nearly everything else in the house, however.
All surge protectors sound like hell and afford little if any protection. If you want protection in thunderstorms, disconnect your equipment. I do. |
Actually, there is a consensus that, if you live with frequent surges and likely lightening strikes in the neighborhood, a surge protector at the power entry point is prudent for your own safety as well as for your system.
Kal |
This question has been beat to death. There is absolutely no consensus on whether you need one, whether surge protection is needed or screws up everything, which is the best buy, or even whether there is a best unit. Try listening for yourself. |
thinking about purchasing a demo shunyata hydra 4 from a local dealer. Contacted shunyata a nd they recomended hooking up an integrated amp to it. admittedly im new to this so i think i am going to try it out. i have a musical fidelity x-150 along with a naim cd5x cd player
im going to start off with. the turntable and phono stage
ill add in later cause i dont use them as much |
If you want relatively cheap surge protection and EMI RFI filtering that "does no harm" to the audio signal, try the Brick Wall Filters at www.brickwall.com. $250 for an 8 outlet unit with surge protection that does not "wear out" over time like most MOV based surge protectors do.
If you are creative, there are plenty of mods (aftermarket outlets, ERS, Bybees, upgrade the attached power cord) that can be performed on this unit that will improve it further. But to be honest, straight out of the box its pretty good. |
Be aware of the total amps that your componants need to draw and than find out what the amp output is for the conditioner that you buy.If you have the funds,the PS Audio units are good,but thier amp output is limited(depending on the different units they make)Of course I found this out the hard way.Because my budget is limited I have been using Powervar units for the past year.I understand that they are possibly limiting my gear in some small ways but overall I heard a very nice and noticeable improvement in the overall sound by using them.They are available used, here & at ebay for $80-300 depending on amp output.Imagine they are easily resold if they don't work for you. |
I have always had some form of line condition/surge protection for over 15 years. If you equipment does not come with its own internal protection circuitry that will protect it from power surges, most insurance policies will not pay for damages. I have an insurance background. My Mark Levinson 27.5 had its own internal protection. That being said, even the mighty Mark Levinson benefited from Adcom ACE-515 line conditioner 12 years ago. My current tube amp Music Reference RM-9 100 wpc. Built by The Roger Modjeski, he does not recommend line conditioners as his amps are " line voltage" tolerant and do not need surge protection. When I unplugged my RM-9 tube amp from the Shunyata Hydra 4 it sounded way better, or should I say more dynamic with better soundstaging. My Wadia sounds better plugged into the Shunyata. So I would agree with the earlier post suggestion that you should borrow one and see for yourself in your system. Then consider if you can afford to be without protecting your gear if there is a lightning/then power surge like the one that destroyed my Proceed Unit. That just happened not to be plugged into the Adcom ACE unit. |
Panu21,
I found power conditioning to be benifical for my system. I am using the Monster Power HTPS 7000.
Most conditioners use inline filtering for the electrical some use a parallel configuration others use ballanced power. The HTPS uses dual turoidal transfomers in a ballanced power configuration as well as in line filtering for the analogue and digital outputs. The high current outputs for the amps use minimal filtering to increase the available current for the amps.
You are entering a very complex arena dedicated lines, conditioning, voltage stabilazation etc. Conditioners can restrict amplifiers from achieving their full dynamic range. I have found that conditioning vs. non conditioning improves the sound from my integrated.
Some poeple run seperate conditioners for there analog front end and there digital front end and pre. They run there amps directly from the wall or in your case integrated.
If you are worried about just surge protection you might look into furman power strips.
Feel free to shoot me an email. Or look up Sean very knowledgable on power.
Michael |
I had PS Audio and for me the fan was always an issue, I listen to classical and at low volume. My solution was a sound applications power conditioner, check them out, they appear on A'gon fairly regularly. |
My experience with PS Audio products - starting with the P300 - has convinced me of their benefit. As others above have stated, you may or may not need it, but I definitely feel that my system has been improved. As Avguygeorge suggested - try adn get a demo. I think PS Audio still offers a 30 day in-home trial for their products if you don't have a dealer nearby. |
I don't agree in whole with the responces. See if you can borrow a good one from a local dealer.--AS an example if I loaned you my Adept response you might want one.-- |
Unless your sure you need it,invest in some other area of your system. Its too complex an issue unless your prepared for frustration. You may hit it on the spot righ away or just keep changing them until you have to sell your house!
I would certainly make sure I had dedicated lines and good quality wall plugs ( Porter ports are a good start ) first before I invested in Conditioning...good luck |
If you need surge protection (and our needs for it vary from slight to significant), you are best served by getting a whole-house device connected right at the service entry near the breaker box. This will let it take advantage of a very low ground resistance.
Improve your sound? I think it's unlikely but you can experiment once you have surge protection off your mind.
Kal |
i dont think i have one but a few salesmen ive talked to recomended one for surge protectionand have also stated that it would improve the overall sound of my components.they especially recomended the shunyata but i had looked into the monster cable conditioner mainly because of price. i cant actually quite understand what they do. |
Why do you think you need one? What are your AC problems? |
