Home Theatre Power solutions (2 Viewers)

[upsidedownjim]

I'm looking to clean up my home theatre power bar / surge protector mess and wondering if there are any recommendations on products or best practices?

I currently have 16 devices in the home theatre area plugged into two Belkin BP112230-08 12-Outlet Surge Protector. I wall mounted the surge protectors to a Wall Control metal pegboard using zip ties. This has worked ok but the power adapter cables and the home theatre a/v cables bunch up causing me to have the home theatre stand (Ikea Fjallbo TV Stand) about 10" from the wall. I'm considering wall mounting my LG CX 65" tv, so I'd like to get the tv stand closer to the wall.

Amazon has a 16 outlet power strip (link) which I could wall mount behind the TV stand. Since it is 35" in length it would spread out the power adapters so this might work. However, I'm also wondering if something like a Panamax MR4300 is worth investing in? Downside to that is the cost and I'd need two and I'd probably have to put it within the TV stand, taking up space. Also, I'll probably lose some outlets due to larger power bricks.

The main components are: TV, Receiver, PS5, Xbox Series X, the rest or lower power (ie, Apple TV, Google Home Mini, Philips Hue Bridge, etc). I don't have a separate amp or components like that. Subwoofer is plugged into a separate wall outlet.

Are there other solutions I'm not thinking of? Thanks for any help!

 

[John Dirk]

Welcome.

Respectfully, I don't think your problem is power distribution as much as it is organization. The only items I would expect you needing in close proximity to your TV are devices that output audio/video to it and I can't imagine there being 16 of those. Without seeing some pics and your room layout I can't be more specific but my quick advice would be to pare that list of 16 down to something more manageable based on actual device function.

The Panamax is designed to clean up the power being delivered to your devices. I use one and highly recommend it for it's intended purpose.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I agree w/ John about your likely issue(s).

Really doesn't sound like you should need that many (seriously) protected power outlets for your HT since you don't use any external amps nor other (A/V?) "components" -- and you apparently don't even use those for your subwoofer(!) anyway. I do both (and have 2 separate disc players plus an ATV4K) and still don't really need remotely close to that many in my HT space. In fact, I find this "moderately" priced, 8-outlet conditioner/protector to offer just enough for my HT... though I too do not use it for my subwoofer (at least partly because my subwoofer is placed too far from it), but do actually use it for a color laser AIO I keep (mostly powered off) near most of my HT components instead.

Furman PST-8 Sound Power Station Series Line Conditioner

I do have other things that need some power in the same room, but none of those really need to be on the same conditioner/protector, if any significant protection at all (since I do live in a reasonably cleanly powered small building in NYC metro w/ no significant, oft-recurring issues like brownouts and such).

For the longest time, I didn't even bother w/ any power conditioners at all, but mostly just pretty modest, reputable brand name, surge protection similar to what you use instead. But went w/ that Furman unit for my most recent move and HT upgrades a few years ago.

For my tiny "home office" space where I do use a more modest (mainly) music/audio setup (to go w/ my PC, etc), I'm still just using the old, modest surge protection instead.

Anyway, since it doesn't sound like you have the kinda HT setup that could really benefit from (rather) expensive power conditioning, if one even believes in that at all, I'd think the more modestly priced Furman unit I use should be more than plenty for that (at least just for the more expensive, more critical and/or hard-to-replace parts of your HT anyway). I mean... do you even ever notice any potentially power-related issues in your HT (or living space in general)?

IF you do experience brownouts and such often enough, I guess it might pay to spend the $$$ on a Panamax at least just for certain more critical components, but there should be no need to do so for so many devices -- they shouldn't all be quite that critical (and hard-to-replace, if they do die prematurely from intermittent power issues) me thinks.

_Man_

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Seems to me the 16-outlet power bar would be a good solution for you. The Fjallbo TV stand is open-back, so you could mount the bar on the wall so that it’s up between the lower and mid shelves. This will allow you to move the TV stand practically up against the wall, as the plug ends and USB bricks would be functionally inside the cabinet’s back end. You could further reduce clutter at the strip by bundling power cord excess and stashing it out of sight behind the components. Clutter could be further reduced for components using USB power bricks by swapping out to shorter cables.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[upsidedownjim]

Hi John and _Man_,

Thanks for taking the time to reply - really appreciated! I kept details short in the first post but will expand here, which may help (or not).

John - I see where you are coming from but there are reasons why I have 16 things needing power and I am not looking to reduce that number. I agree not all need to be plugged into a power conditioning unit - which I wasn't sure I needed in my first post. I was asking about one to see if that's a standard piece of equipment for actual home theatres or just an expensive power bar. What components are needed to justify or require a power conditioner? I have about $7000 CDN of electronics with the TV and receiver being about $5000 CDN of that total.

_Man_ - thanks for the Furman suggestion, that unit might do the trick. Agreed not all of the electronics need to be plugged into a Panamax. An 8 outlet Furman or other unit may be enough. I've lived in the same building (different units) for about 10 years and only on rare occasions does that power cut out - not always due to bad weather. So, buying a Panamax or something like it would be precautionary in the event the power randomly shuts off. A video about the Panamax MR4300 from Crutchfield said that to claim a damage warranty with Panamax all devices would need to plugged into the MR4300. So, that's why I thought if I went that route I would need two MR4300s (or similar).

Would a UPS battery backup be of any use for HT equipment? I guess it may depend on the power draw?

I'm curious what the issue is with the subwoofer being plugged directly into a wall outlet? I could see ground loop being a concern but I haven't heard any interference. But there may be issues I'm unaware of. I have a BIC F12 subwoofer that seems to have an uncommon power plug type (link goes to amazon power cable). I haven't been able to find a longer power cable than what came with it. You can see in the layout below where my sub and "home theatre" are. The wall distance is about 15':

So, I'm tight for space and limited in power outlets. The walls are concrete so I can't hide wires behind the wall. Here's a photo of the mass of cables:

View attachment HT-Cables.jpg

Looks worse when the tv stand is pushed back, as it is in the photo, but there is logic to cable management but always room for improvement. Wall mounting the power bars I thought would help get power bricks and cables off of the floor, which it did but doesn't resolve having a mass of cables in a small space butted up against the A/V cables connected to my receiver. I put them on the left side so they were accessible for making changes. The clutter didn't bother me too much until I started thinking of wall mounting the TV. That clutter would be really visible without the TV on the stand blocking the view of it.

I might go with a horizontal wall-mount power strip (not 16 outlets) for the non-essential items and a Furman unit for more critical components (TV, AVR, game consoles). The TV stand doesn't need to be right against the wall, and can't because of HDMI and speaker cables sticking out of the receiver. The wall mounted TV would also stick out about 2.5"-3".

Thanks again for the help and hopefully this post wasn't too long winded. Cheers!

 

[upsidedownjim]

Seems to me the 16-outlet power bar would be a good solution for you. The Fjallbo TV stand is open-back, so you could mount the bar on the wall so that it’s up between the lower and mid shelves. This will allow you to move the TV stand practically up against the wall, as the plug ends and USB bricks would be functionally inside the cabinet’s back end. You could further reduce clutter at the strip by bundling power cord excess and stashing it out of sight behind the components. Clutter could be further reduced for components using USB power bricks by swapping out to shorter cables.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Thanks, Wayne! That's along the lines of what I was thinking. May add in a Furman surge protector for the TV, Receiver and a few other components. I wasn't sure if a 16-outlet power strip for less than $50 would introduce potential power issues. I'm suing 2 12-outlet Belkin's so one 16-outlet can't be much worse, I would think. Power bars are something I'm either over thinking or not thinking enough about. Cheers!

 

[DaveF]

I think you have three major sets of power needs:
* Home Office
* Home Theater
* Misc low cost electornics

I’d suggest looking at solutions like:
* UPS for the home office computer and external hard drives
* High quality (like the Furman) power strip for the expensive home theater gear
* Affordable power strip for the misc gadgets

I personally wouldn’t put a budget priced generic 16-outlet in front of all my $7000 worth of HT gear if I’m taking the time to think through my needs and buy new hardware.

 

[JohnRice]

There is nothing at all unusual about the sub’s power cord. It is an extremely common IEC power cord. In fact, most better equipment uses that cord, though sometimes three conductor.

 

[upsidedownjim]

There is nothing at all unusual about the sub’s power cord. It is an extremely common IEC power cord. In fact, most better equipment uses that cord, though sometimes three conductor.

Good to know that it is common. I thought it wasn't common as I haven't been able to find one with a longer cable length. Thanks!

 

[upsidedownjim]

I think you have three major sets of power needs:
* Home Office
* Home Theater
* Misc low cost electornics

I’d suggest looking at solutions like:
* UPS for the home office computer and external hard drives
* High quality (like the Furman) power strip for the expensive home theater gear
* Affordable power strip for the misc gadgets

I personally wouldn’t put a budget priced generic 16-outlet in front of all my $7000 worth of HT gear if I’m taking the time to think through my needs and buy new hardware.

Thanks for taking the time to reply! That seems like a reasonable approach to my power supply needs. Would a UPS not be suitable for home theatre components (or for my scenario where I currently have just a TV and receiver as high value items). A UPS would be half the price of a Furman.

Also, asking anyone, where do most people plug their subwoofers into? Earlier in the thread I thought it was indicated that plugging directly into a wall outlet is a bad idea. Should the sub also go into a power strip like a Furman? Thanks!

 

[DaveF]

UPS is mainly to prevent data loss on a computer. And to help prevent hard drive failure if you’re using spinning drives.

Not needed specifically for home theater gear. Some enthusiasts don’t like UPS on AV gear because they think the square output wave affects audio or video quality. I can’t speak to that.

Otherwise I have no reason to use a good surge protector vs a good UPS.