Surge suppressor and A/V quality (1 Viewer)

[sam37]

I don't know if it is just me being very very overly picky, but is it possible that a surge suppressor can have an effect the audio/video quality of your entertainment system?

For example, I have an RCA surge suppressor, not sure if it has filtering in it. The other day, I went and bought a Monster Power surge suppressor that has the signal filtering in it. When I plugged it in and turned everything on, I noticed something. It seemed that my picture quality had gone down a little, the picture didnt seem as clear and wasn't quite as bright, the bass from my sub didnt seem as loud or vibrant. I took it back and bought a Dynex strip, with the same type of filtering, and it "seemed" to have the same effect.

Has anyone heard of anything like this. Is it possible that the power strip you use can have such an effect on your equipment, or is it more than likely it was all just in my head?

 

[chuckg]

In my own limited opinion, the power strip couldn't have an effect on picture and sound unless there was something very very wrong with either the power strip, or the equipment connected to it.

The surge suppressors, voltage control, and all that other stuff is there to protect your equipment from serious power problems.

The equipment itself should have a good enough power supply to handle any little glitches in the power line.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Short answer: It is all in your head.

Longer answer: To be sure there is a type of filtering that occurs in surge suppressors and voltage regulators—the electric current from the wall socket (not exactly, but I don’t have the patience to be too technical) goes through some circuitry that keeps a sudden surge (such as from a lightening strike) from reaching your electronic equipment and the case of a voltage regulator raises or lowers fluctuating power to expected specifications. Actually these devices provide power that is more nearly what your electronic equipment expects than raw power.

Additionally the power supplies in your TV, AVR and sub amplifier will all further convert the power to a type suitable for the equipment’s circuitry.

Think of the power being conditioned rather than filtered/i]. Not at all the same thing as audio or video bandwidth being reduced due to filtering.

Your brain is playing tricks—although if it were I, I’d not invest in any high-priced surge suppressor. Buy something from a company like APC or Belkin (and there are others) who have been making sound products at a fair price for many years.