Do you know where the power surge originated from? Storm related?
Surge protection
My apartment recently had a serious power surge. To my horror, a few pieces of equipment were killed! Aurender was great for repairing my N100. Still waiting on the status of my Walker precision motor drive and Meridian Headphone amp.
It’s been my understanding that surge protectors degrade the sound of a high-end system. But going forward I feel I would be foolish not to put surge protectors in front of my expensive equipment.
I would appreciate any advice about what works without sound degradation,
Showing 5 responses by dpop
I too have been a crusader for Tripp Lite’s Isobar Ultra series for over 20 years now, and I’ll tell you why. Even though I incorporate them in my home audio system’s (mainly from my experience in the professional field); in my professional radio broadcast applications, where on-site broadcast towers can be struck by lightning sometimes 20 times a year (sending lightning strike discharge currents into the AC system), and two to three annual AC utility neighborhood outages are typical (requiring generator power switchovers) in our broadcast buildings, my broadcast studios required dependable surge protection. I found that in the Tripp Lite Isobar Ultra series. In all of the hundreds of these units that I’ve purchased over the years, never once did I have one fail on me, while at the same time protecting all of the equipment plugged into them. Compared to the hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment they hourly protect; I’ve determined that they’re fully capable of front-line combat duty. They are considered point of use protection, while the buildings themselves also utilize whole building surge supressors at the utility power entrance. From an audio standpoint, I feel they really do the job there too. Placing them at home on inductive sources like refrigerators, dehumidifiers, and my furnace; they have filtered out all of the pops and clicks I would normally hear on my audio system when those devices would turn ON and OFF. Current liming? Not from what my ears tell me. I even trust them on my power amps. Current limiting? I’ve seen thousands of amps of power discharge through small 24 AWG telephone wires from lightning strikes, and those wires still not vaporize. Because of that, I’m not sure any wire is current limiting. |
I do, and it’s a double-conversion 1500 VA UPS (always on battery power, with zero transfer time). SmartOnline 120V 1.5kVA 1.35kW Double-Conversion UPS, Tower Even though this UPS incorporates surge protection in its design, I have placed a Tripp Lite Isobar Ultra before it, along with a Furman PM-8 Series II Voltage/Current monitor (with Series Mode Protection - SMP) after that (to protect the electronics in the UPS). Those two devices in series then feed the UPS. I’m all about protecting my gear as much as possible. Post UPS; two balanced AC transformers then take that UPS power, and convert it to balanced AC.
If you’re referring to AC THD; when I owned a Fluke 43b Power Quality Analyzer, with nothing plugged into the UPS, the THD was 0.0%, with a perfect 60 Hz waveform. It just doesn’t get any better than that (as far as I know). As gear was plugged into the UPS, the THD did rise, but never exceeded 2%. If you were referring to physical audible UPS noise, well then yes, there is some of that, so in my case, it is located out of my listening area. |
You’re one of the smart ones.
Keep in mind, that TLU current rating is meant for continuous duty and short circuit protection. If your amp is pulling intermittent peaks of 30 amps or more, that stuff passes right through almost all electrical devices, as it’s considered in-rush current (why audiophiles spend hundreds and thousands of $$ on exotic wall outlets and power cables, I’ll never comprehend). Your refrigerator or washing machine might momentarily thirst for 30-40 amps of in-rush current when they switch on. Normal home circuit breakers ignore that, as does the TLU.
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...another trusted manufacturer when it comes to surge protection.
Glad to hear it did it's job, and probably paid for itself right then and there many times over. |