Power conditioning, protection, and triggering.

[1TUFSS]

Hi everyone. I'm interested in hearing people's opinions and recommendations on power conditioners, filters, and/or surge protectors. I live in the UK, where the mains quality is absolutely piss-poor - a problem worsened by my location in the North. It's bad enough that blown and flickering light globes are a regular occurrence in Northern households.

I'm not chasing sonic benefit, although anything which chokes the dynamic response of my amp or otherwise inflicts a penalty is absolutely out of the question. What I do need is something that doesn't break the bank - £500 max - and offers a bit of protection. My gear pulls a max of 5A current at 240V (not counting inrush at power up). By the way, of course, it must be 240V gear. I've considered Furman stuff, but I need a way to trigger it as none of their 240V units seem to offer this functionality - see below!

Also, I need a way to turn on an entire system with a 12v trigger. If a recommended conditioner offers this functionality, great - if not, I need a solution.

Cheers.

 

[Guest113]

I have a Monster HT 1600 (I think) on one of my systems. My system doesn't sound any different with it than it did without it. The voltage here is pretty stable. 120 Volts +/- 5%. Nothing has blown up so I guess it's doing it's job? Frankly, I wouldn't spend a lot of money on a line conditioner. Just enough to protect your equipment. I doubt you'll be able to hear a difference.

 

[1TUFSS]

Yep, not looking to spend big bucks here, just looking to make sure my equipment isn't subjected to the slow-burn death provided by UK mains. Don't forget the trigger.

 

[1TUFSS]

Just ordered a Russound ACT-1 (10A rated), so that's the trigger taken care of.

 

[jmchrislip]

I use a Furman. It works for me. I have all my equipment plugged into it.
You're going to get an awful lot of opinions on this subject.

 

[audiodon]

I look at them like a water filter. It's the filtering in the last few feet that matters.
We're prone to voltage fluctuations as well as having our mains go up and down up to 10%.
For that, I'll use a power conditioner.
I don't use big bucks ones . . . not in the thousands anyway. I have had one or two here that didn't cut it, but that's how I've learned.
On my main system, if we suffer a transient or have a power blip, it just trips off entirely and has to be reset.

 

[big2bird]

On my main system, if we suffer a transient or have a power blip, it just trips off entirely and has to be reset.

If that saves everything, no big deal.

 

[1TUFSS]

If that saves everything, no big deal.

Ditto.

I use a Furman. It works for me. I have all my equipment plugged into it.
You're going to get an awful lot of opinions on this subject.

Now that I have a 12v trigger box (it arrived today, even has its own 10A circuit breaker), I have a lot more options available to me. I will look at Furman's stuff.

 

[1TUFSS]

I'm also looking at isolation transformers. Feedback appreciated.

Eyeballing a Tripp Lite LR2000 at the moment.

 

[audiodon]

Be careful. My tripp lite experience has involved a lot of buzzing.

I agree about not running the amp on a power conditioner. You don't want to limit the available juice.
Well, I don't know about for amps running on a switching power supply like a Class D amp.

 

[1TUFSS]

I agree about not running the amp on a power conditioner. You don't want to limit the available juice.

I'd usually have assumed that, but I see so many pro audio setups running, say, Furman stuff that I seriously doubt it limits current under normal operating conditions.

 

[big2bird]

I'd usually have assumed that, but I see so many pro audio setups running, say, Furman stuff that I seriously doubt it limits current under normal operating conditions.

It won't unless the unit is too small. I hooked up a 125KVA iso yesterday for a venue in Long Beach. If those amps choke on 400amps 3 phase I'll eat a car.
If the peak need is less than supply, no issue.

Pro guys protect their investment. You just have to know how.

With virtually no exceptions, every receptacle on earth has a transformer upstream somewhere.

 

[1TUFSS]

Opinion: 10A unit on a 100 wpc Class A/B SS amp?

 

[Glen B]

Remember 10A at 240V is 2,400 watts. That is the same power as North American 20A at 120V.

 

[1TUFSS]

Yeah, should be more than enough. Furman's stuff is rated at RMS amperage so ten should do me fine. I'm contemplating their lower-end stuff like the AC-210E.

 

[1TUFSS]

Any opinions on using conditioners on sources only?

 

[Edriz]

I use a Monster Pro 3500 and plug all my gear into it. it has 14 outlets, 12 in the rear, 2 unswitched in the front. the 12 in the rear are on 3 separate cycles, I have 2 amps on one and the source stuff on another with the pre on another still, works great for me.