The conventional wisdom is that it will affect sound. I don't notice any degredation myself; however, I haven't done any critical comparisons. If it does affect the sound slightly, it doesn't seem to take away from my enjoyment of the music. And I don't want to take the risk of not using one. One time during an electrical storm, there was a power surge which took out the protector. That was enough to convince me that it was a good investment. Now when I hear thunder, I don't even take the risk that the protector will be sufficient. Everything valuable gets unplugged from the wall, which is what most manufacturers of electronic equipment will suggest anyway.
where do surge protectors come into the equation
I live in an area of much lightening and power surges and have everything connected to one Panamax surge protector. with all the talk about outlets power cables etc, I havent seen any talk about surge protection. Do you folks use protection :)? what does it do to the sound?