Power Conditioner vs. Service Entrance Surge Protection (1 Viewer)

[AmusingistheDawn]

I'm new to the forum and glad to have found it. I have a few bucks invested in HT and just moved into a new home. I was busy running wires through walls and getting the HT room alltogether when I started browsing for a nice powerstrip for surge protection. I recently upgraded to 200A service and also installed levitron surge protected receptacles in any rooms with delicate electronics. Well...I fell into the whole power conditioning thing now. I have read a lot of threads on panamax and I like the m5100, but then I also started reading up on surgeX. I am going to install a surgeX at the service entrance for surge protection, but my question is...is the 5100 worth the money after doing such a thing? I mean...the thing looks cool, and being able to run DishNetwork through it could help the picture, but is it that good of a "power conditioner", or is it just a 50/50 conditioner/surge protection? If I have a surgeX at the box...I'm not really worried about surges anymore, but is the 5100 still worth it for the other features?

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Hi Chris.

Well...every power supply in every piece of electronics does a bit of 'conditioning' so in some respects an outboard conditioner is redundant.

What some of the more honest reviewers have found: it depends.

One reviewer had a high-end conditioner and found it hardly made a difference to his music or movies. The unit went to a second reviewer who found an amazing change.

Why did the same unit have different effects on different people? One guy lived in a inner-city apartment. His power was 'dirty' so the conditioner really helped. The other guy lived in the suburbs and in the evening the AC power grid for him was fairly stable/clean.

My advice: Find a place with a good return policy and try to buy the demo unit to try in your own system. Take care to test on the days and times when you would normally use your system for movies or music. This is the only way to tell if the cost is justified.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Welcome to the forum Chris.

Everyone’s power supply is probably a bit different. The surge protection you mention is no doubt very good. Basically the ‘power conditioner’ you mention is really nothing other than a voltage regulator under a fancy marketing name.

Not (as Jerry and friends would say) that there is anything wrong with this, but unless you have very dirty power (some place with frequent fluctuations in voltage), you should not have a problem that a fairly inexpensive voltage regulator cannot handle. For example the area were I live has (I expect) more unreliable power than yours, but I find that an inexpensive, combination voltage regulator/UPS works very well. Most of these in the sub $100 to $150 range also includes ports for both RG6 (antenna//satellite/cable) and phone lines.

OTOH, if you are subject to occasional brownouts, an inexpensive voltage regulator will not help past the battery assist. Most areas in the States are not subject to brownouts. Of course no voltage regulator will handle (by itself) extended brownouts.

 

[AmusingistheDawn]

Thank you for the responses and warm welcome to the forum. I have many more questions that I will be posting in various sections and look forward to learning more. I actually ended up purchasing the PSaudio Quintet. I don't have room for another rack mounted unit, so it made sense to me. I also watched the video on why it is superior and it sold me.