Surge Protection and Power Regeneration Qs

What Kal said. I've just put in whole-house surge protection as well as Hubbell MOV-based outlets for each place where I've got expensive gear. Yeah, MOVs aren't the best; the Hubbells do, however, have a light on them telling you if the surge protection is still any good.

I've also put a surge protector as close as possible to all my coax, ethernet, and telephone line-connected gear. For example, my satellite receiver has a surge protector for it's phone line that has a six-inch piece of telephone line between them.

Next, I have on order a Tripp Lite online, double conversion UPS - model number SU2200XL (http://www.tripplite.com/products/product.cfm?productID=2665). This UPS has three components in series: an inverter that converts AC power to DC power, a battery that stores the DC, and a second inverter that converts the battery's DC back to AC power. Basically, it feeds a battery from an AC outlet and then feeds electronic gear from the battery. Ergo, massive surge equals one dead AC-to-DC inverter but the surge will not be able to get past the battery. Not bad, huh? They're not cheap. But then you're assured of your gear getting perfect sine wave AC coming in from the battery at 120V AC (+/-2%).

Finally, the UPS (once I get it, that is) feeds a Balanced Power Technologies BP-3.5 Signature PLUS (http://www.b-p-t.com/news2.shtml). This power conditioner feeds balanced power to all of my gear.

To sum it up: surge protection at the panel, more surge protection at the wall, a UPS that provides surge protection with finality, and a balanced-power line conditioner to which all my gear is connected. The line conditioner is overkill as the UPS is feeding it a pure sine wave; however, I already had it and still want the balanced power so I'll be keeping it.

Celt16-
One reason they say this is thay they do not test their equipment with hi-end audio, but with regular appliances. However, there's a definite advantage to putting your surge protection device as close to house ground as possible and, generally, that means at the power entry or breaker box. Any power shunting is only as effective with a low impedance path to ground. So, definitely get a whole-house device but, because of the need for protection on all lines (coax, telephone, etc.) and the potential for induced surges in the house wiring, that should not be your only device.

Kal

I understand I can put surge protection in a plug-in unit (Brickwall, SurgeX, Zerosurge), but don't I defeat the purpose when I bring a coax (cable) or RJ-232 (Internet) connection inside that loop, between the surge protection and the component? In that instance, isn't my protection from surge only as good as the surge protection for the coax or Internet connections?

I looked at whole house surge protection - the folks that sell them say they are not intended to protect hi-end audio.

Why not a simple whole house surge protector -- divide to conqueor, and eliminate that part of the gear-requirements. After that, you could get something for all of your source and display gear, with no compromises due to budget, and then when funds allow again, address the amps?

I would suggest the latest offering from PS Audio, as they not only provide protection, but improve sound and video at the same time.

Forget about all their older models. The latest product lines are way better.

Get one Duet on the dedicated lines for each amp. Then get the Quintet/Quintecense/PPP for all your other components depend on your budget. They do protect cable box as well, but not internet. If you really need it, just connect one after the PS Audio stuff.

Let me know if you need a source.

APC has a range of relevant models in the J-, H- and S- series.