Surge protector vs wall debate for amps

You are right, there are a ton of posts that will advocate for either option. I say go with your ears.
One option to keep in mind - you can always add an insurance rider for electronics if you end up going directly to the wall and a surge happens. Just be prepared to prove your purchase price and the market value of the equipment if you have to make a claim.  

I don't want to risk a surge with my amp into the wall receptacle. We have a lot of blackouts here during the summer so I have my amp  plugged into a Wiremold strip (No power strip or conditioner will save your components from a direct lighting strike).
The Wiremold uses no filters or extra circuitry so it's perfect for an amp. And very well built.

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/00220426

@lowrider57

The Wiremold strip shown in the Link you provided does not offer surge protection. It is strictly a plug strip.

Jim


.

Oops, my bad. In any event, Wiremold makes a quality strip with and without surge protection.

I have a Bryston 4B3, about the same power demand as your Pass Labs amplifier. The one I found that works for me, with no deleterious effects other than cost and weight, is the Torus RM-20.

@mike_in_nc …. you beat me to it. I have a Bryston 4Bsst2 with the Bryston BIT-15 and the combination seems to work well. As far as I know Torus manufactures power conditioners for Bryston. Bryton just individualizes the product by using their own face plate. 

@jwh2 - I'm not sure what your definition of affordable is, but the BIT-15 set me back about $2100. Definitely an investment but for me it is worth it since I also have quite a few power outages in the summer thunderstorm season. 

If you can find a power conditioner that doesn't restrict current flow, then go for it. I've found the purest sound from a power amp is running it thru the wall receptacle, provided you have a dedicated line. That's why I suggested a power strip without filtering.

The conditioners that do not limit current or colour the sound are often very pricey.

Torus claims that their units not only don't limit current, they provide a short-term reserve due to energy storage in the large toroidal transformer. The RM-20 weighs considerably more than the Bryston 4B3 it's feeding. But as @masi61 said, they are not cheap. Sometimes Torus has a demo unit available.

Brick Wall, I use their 20amp 2 outlet for large current amps and the 15amp 8 outlet for electronics.  Simple and not that expensive, 289 for the 8 outlet.

I have a Pass XP-22 pre and X-250.8 power amp and currently live in a rental house. Rewiring was not an option and the landlord did not want a whole house surge installed. I also have a bit of $$ in a TT setup so I was very concerned about both crapy electricity as well as surges. 
I confirmed with my insurance that I have protection from lightning AND power surges. The wording in the policy says.

 “Increase or decrease of artificially generated electrical current to electrical appliances, devices, fixtures and wiring.” 

Once I got that confirmation IN WRITING I bought the Torus RM-15. I would have bought the RM-20 but this is a temporary living situation and I wanted to save the $1k between the two models.

I feel much better as to surges and still know I am covered if the RM-15 fails to protect. We must have some dirty power here because I have noticed a little deeper soundstage as well as more detail. I AM THRILLED.
The X250.8 is a great amp with good power. However, it is not nearly as high current as Nelson's class A amps and the Torus does not seem to be limiting any dynamics. So, I am confident that you will be fine with the RM-20. If you own your home I would suggest a dedicated 240V line and buy a balanced RM-20.

Bye the way, make sure your insurance covers replacement cost and not just replacement value. Good luck!

Bruce

Just got the new Audioquest Niagara 1200 with a couple of high current outlets for amps. Not enough time with it to be 100% sure, but I would say it was an improvement SQ wise, and a piece of mind with the protection.  

I have a whole house surge protection unit at the meter which is rented from the local utility for $6 a month. It protects everything inside the house and comes with a protection plan that will fix or replace anything damaged from any surge. I have friends that have gone thru a few oven electronics and refrigerators due to surges. My amp sounds best plugged directly into a dedicated 20amp circuit compared to a decent external surge suppressor 

+1 @p05129. That's an ideal setup.

I must add my 2 cents regarding the Brickwall. I own one and although it claims to be non-current limiting, it reduces the dynamics and soundstaging on my amps. It's great for source components.

I recently had an Integrated Amp fail and it was the only equipment not running through a surge suppressor. Didn't feel comfortable leaving it unprotected so I purchased a Zero Surge 8R15W protector/filter and everything, including a small sub, is now plugged into it.

I was also concerned about sound degradation caused by running the Int. Amp through the surge protector but the SQ has actually improved. This improvement may be the result of having a central ground and common power feed point for all the equipment in my 2-channel system. Those with large power-hungry amps, however,  may have different results.   

Definitely check out PS Audio's P5 or a used P10.  Many people claim these are the best tweak they've made to their system.  I can't think of a better system than to totally regenerate high quality power.  Many claim that conditioners "bleach" the sound.  Might be "cleaner" but also more meh.. 

I've never heard, but from what I gather from many others opinions (dangerous i know), it SHOULD be a big improvement over my Furman Elite 15 power conditioner.

I'm thinking about picking one up myself when things calm down.  

@jwh2
There are many threads on What's Best Forum about Torus vs Equi=Tech conditioners and also balanced vs unbalanced power.

Bruce

lowrider57 which Brick Wall?  Mine are about 15 years old.  I went with the 20amp for high current amps.  Haven't noticed any negative effects.  The 2 outlet 20amp is not a current product.  

I found a cheap solution for home theatre and so far have not seen any negative effect on my little SET rig (I am in "make-do" mode). I would love to hear feedback as long as it does not hijack the OP's thread. I have bought hospital grade OneAC units off eBay. You can occasionally find great deals; the are very expensive new. They are essentially a rather gargantuan 1:1 transformer and some enormous caps. Nothing gets through them. They also convert 0 -120 RMS AC to balanced -60 to +60. My best deal was $50 for a 20 amp unit. I have several and the combined transformers lierally have stopped almost all ripple in the whole house (acting as "sumps"). I bought them initially because Houston AC is spiky as hell and always runs a bit hot. Just a thought.

I have a pair of Furmann SS-6B surge protectors that cost me about $60. I don't want or need conditioning, but I do want to protect my equipment from surges, spikes, and voltage dropouts. The SS-6B offers a slight degree of RFI and EMI filtering but, according to Furmann,  not enough to be considered a "conditioner". This is fine for me since I only am looking for protection and dont want to add components that alter the sound. They do make a fine line of conditioners that are much more expensive if that's what you want.

J.Chip

@dwmaggie  I own a Brickwall 8 outlet, audio version. Probably 15A.
Most likely your 20A makes a difference.

I would be really curious to know what you hear.

Personally, in apartment living, I always prefer and notice when the Furman isn't in the chain.

I have a fancy 8-input line filter plugged into a 20amp dedicated circuit but it doesn't have surge/spike protection. I'm about to add the whole house surge protector this weekend... wondering if I need any further protection at the outlet?