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Thread: Another one for home theater gurus: Power Conditioners

  1. #1
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    Another one for home theater gurus: Power Conditioners

    I recently replaced almost every part of my home theater system to accomodate my new HD TV. In the stores I'm seeing these Monster power conditioners that start around $150 and go way up from there. They make it sound like the picture will be horrible (mine isn't) and your equipment is in grave danger without them. Are they really any better than a 1/2 way decent surge protector? So far I only see them from Monster, so part of me wonders if its not a problem they invented.


  2. #2
    This is the category with laptop screen cleaners.
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  3. #3
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    And DVD rewinders?

  4. #4
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    the power conditioner is just a transformer and it isolates from house power. it does take a little "noise" out of the signal but if your picture is good allready I wouldnt bother... but I would get a good surge protector ( one with a guarantee that if your system burns up they will pay )
    Dave

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  5. #5
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    Take this with a grain of salt, since I'm a reformed audiophile. Two things going on here. First, protection against surges (read lightning). That is a reasonable precaution, but you don't need monster for that (frankly, even as an audiophile, I wouldn't buy anything from that company--overpriced and underengineered).

    Second, noisy lines. Power lines do have noise. You would think that decent equipment manufacturers would do things inside electronics to shield them and filter the AC lines, but that hasn't been my experience. Noisy lines can translate into noise in other parts of the system--blacks that aren't quite black, etc. I'm not a videophile, so I can't comment on their value for televisions.

    I can say that they do have value with some high end systems in audio. For example, at the height of my bachelor audiophile insanity, I had a pair of Martin Logan Prodigy electrostatic speakers and a stratospherically expensive stereo, complete with turntable and its own home insurance rider. The Martin Logans had a logo lit in blue under the electrostatic panel, which used to annoy the crap out of me, and it was always on. Well, I installed a PS Audio line conditioner in my system--oddly enough because I wanted remote control over the tube amplifiers. Well, the little blue lights went off. I ended up going back to the manual and learned, quite to my surprise, that the little blue logo light was an indication a signal was present on the speaker inputs, which caused the Martin Logans to then charge up the panels. In other words, AC line noise was sufficient to trigger the sensors, even though everything--including the power amplifiers--was powered off. Putting in a line filter and fixing the AC noise made that go away. And, yes, the difference was audible. Since then, I've put line conditioners in all my heavy audio rigs.

    Which all begs the question of whether you will hear (or see) the difference and whether the difference you hear (or see) is worth the price of admission. Buy it, try it, and if you don't feel like its worth it, just return it and go get a decent surge protector.

  6. #6
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    I did a lot of research on this...and since i needed a power strip anyway..i spent a few more bucks and bought this:
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000514OG

    i believe it was a bit less when i bought it...it gives me great satisfaction to know that when i get a power sag that it is adjusting the voltage to protect my stuff.

  7. #7
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    If it says Monster Cable on it, it is overpriced. Get a UPS backup. They do basically the same thing, plus keep the equipment running for those short power drops and surges.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

  8. #8
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    i was also going to say that power conditioners seem to be geared more towards the audio end of things. i have heard systems with and without....and there is a slight difference in quality of sound. (read-less noise)

    never buy monster......ever.

    if you decide to go with a battery backup/power conditioner (great idea in my opinion)....i really like APS (company name). Solid products...awesome customer service. you wouldn't be dissappointed.

    best of luck to you
    matt

  9. #9
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    Yup. If you truly want to protect your hardware, a UPS is the way to go. A true UPS will isolate your hardware from the power source. You can laugh at lightning storms. (Unless it actually hits your hardware directly.)

  10. #10
    Don't buy it, or even a UPS for that matter - just get a good surge protector.

    One important note: with digital signals, noise on the AC line doesn't matter. Your digital TV, DVD player, etc, won't notice.

    The worst possible case is that you may hear some very, very, very faint noise on your speakers (analog audio amplifiers may pick it up). But if there's that much noise on the AC line that you can hear it, you've got bigger problems...

  11. #11
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    I would presume with today's design standards, that some noise filtering would be designed into the device.

    For the average person, I think that the line noise you would notice on the speakers or on the picture would be barely noticeable .

    I purchased a UPS Line conditioner at Costco that is a line conditioner, surge arrestor, and UPS for less than $100, mainly for the lightning protection and brief power interruptions we have around here from March-October.

    I think most could do without for every day use and typical home theatres.

  12. #12
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    I use 2 Smart UPS 1000 units in my living room and 1 at each TV throughout the house. Reason being, it's protection for my AV equipment. There are a lot of spinning disks floating around in DVR's, AppleTVs and the such. Most of this equipment does not appreciate power bumps, brown outs and power outages period. We occasionally will have the power bumps or 30 second outages and all my equipment could be running and this can be dangerous for your equipment.

    If you have any investment in an expensive flat panel and AV equipment, it's spending the $100 or $200 to protect. Personally, a surge protector doesn't cut it.
    chris

  13. #13
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    Matt,

    Check out the Furman PL PLUS II Power Conditioner / Voltmeter.

    Brief description:

    A front-panel meter provides precise monitoring of incoming AC line voltage from 90 to 128V. Unit has 8 rear-panel outlets and one front-panel outlet, a 15-amp rating with circuit breaker, retractable LED rack lights with on/off/dimmer control, BNC back-panel connector for gooseneck lamp with front-panel switch, and a front-panel circuit breaker.

    These are pretty cool devices and have been around for a long time. Used mainly for musicians gear, which often times don't see the cleanest power. I'm thinking with a residential setting it's probably over engineered. Plus it has these really cool pop out lights that shine down or up.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Meiser View Post
    I recently replaced almost every part of my home theater system to accommodate my new HDTV. In the stores I'm seeing these Monster power conditioners that start around $150 and go way up from there. They make it sound like the picture will be horrible (mine isn't) and your equipment is in grave danger without them. Are they really any better than a 1/2 way decent surge protector? So far I only see them from Monster, so part of me wonders if it's not a problem they invented.
    I'll second the notion that Monster has a questionable reputation. The "bad picture" scare tactics - as you've already seen - are not credible. An interesting (and somewhat long) story about other Monster shenanigans - http://www.audioholics.com/news/indu...s-strikes-back)
    Plus some (possibly useful) information about HDMI cables - http://www.bluejeanscable.com/index.htm

    Quote Originally Posted by Eric DeSilva View Post
    I had a pair of Martin Logan Prodigy electrostatic speakers...

    In other words, AC line noise was sufficient to trigger the sensors, even though everything--including the power amplifiers--was powered off. Putting in a line filter and fixing the AC noise made that go away. And, yes, the difference was audible.
    Since electrostatic speakers require a unique, high-voltage power supply, this example is probably not applicable to other, more conventional stereo equipment. Your experience is probably more of an indication that the power supplies in those expensive Martin Logans was just not filtered well enough.

    AC line noise rejection is also important for audio amplifiers, but you shouldn't have to add a line filter to get good audio equipment to work to spec.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Friedrichs View Post
    Don't buy it, or even a UPS for that matter - just get a good surge protector.

    One important note: with digital signals, noise on the AC line doesn't matter. Your digital TV, DVD player, etc, won't notice.
    I agree that a UPS is not needed - unless you really need to keep watching or listening when the power goes out. How much you ought to spend on a surge protector depends (IMHO) on where you live. Here in SoCal, I might see a thunderstorm once every 5 years. However, during summertimes in Texas, thunderstorms and power surges are often a daily occurrence. And power surges can indeed destroy your expensive electronic equipment. Look at the insurance that comes with a surge protector - how much $$s and under what conditions are they paid - are valid considerations in choosing this kind of protection device. Just remember that if a lightning strike is really, really close, then nothing is going to save your electronics from damage.

  15. #15
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    A UPS isn't needed? You put one on the computer for the same reason you would want one on your home theater equipment.
    Never, under any circumstances, consume a laxative and sleeping pill, on the same night

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