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I'm looking to get a surge protector to protect my Denon receiver and Ascend/Hsu speakers. Can someone tell me if there's a difference between the no name protectors vs something that Monster puts out. I know they have different joule ratings. Is it necessary to get the high end expensive ones or will a standard one do? Thanks in advance.
If you are staying within the realm of just surge protection, cheap ones generally do the same thing as more expensive ones (the use MOVs), but there are some like Brickwall that use different techniques. If you go beyond surge protection into power conditioning (using things like capacitors and inductors to smooth out the power, or using isolation transformers), then there is a real reason for the higher cost (although the cost/benefit ratio is up for debate). Another step beyond that (and more expensive again) is something like either balanced power or power 'regeneration' which can theoretically provide 'cleaner' power, but usually at a high cost.
Hope that helps.
I second the recommendation for Brick Wall and other products using series mode surge protection (SMP). Metal oxide veristors used in the vast majority of surge protectors/power conditioners including Monster and Panamax products have a limited lifespan and capacity (joule rating). SMP surge protectors have an unlimited joule rating because rather than dissipating the excess current, they open the circuit thereby stopping the electrical flow.
Companies that make SMP surge protectors include Zero Surge, Brick Wall, Furman Sound, and Adcom. Price ranges for SMP based surge protectors start around $100 (Furman PST power strips), and go up from there.
I'm confused. Following is the specs for the Furman PST power strip. Furman speaks of the SMP protection for their power strips but in the specs they list MOV protection. Which is it??
AC Current Capacity:
Input - 15 Amp capacity required
Output - 15 Amps RMS (maximum, all outlets combined - continuous)
AC Noise Attenuation:
Transverse (Diff erential) Mode:
>40 dB from 10Khz. - 100 MHz >80 dB from 100Khz. - 1GHz
Outlets:
8 (linearly filtered outlets)
Transient Voltage Surge Suppression:
120 VAC - fused MOV shunt protection L-N
Extreme Voltage Shutdown (>134 VAC)
Telco
Cable / Satellite (less than .1dB insertion loss)
Dimensions:
2.75” H x 3.375” W x 17.75” D
Power Consumption:
6 Watts for display and control circuits independent of actual load.
Safety Agency Listing:
C-UL (UL standard #1449) Pending
Warranty:
The Furman Power Station Series is protected by a three year limited warranty covering defects in materials and workmanship. (see manual for details)
The Furman PST 2+6 and PST 6 are MOV based, while the PST-8, PST-8 Digital, and PST-10 Digital use SMP protection. Here's a PDF file that explains the high points of each model in the PST line:
http://www.furmansound.com/consumer/...0Datasheet.pdf
Furman has some rack mount power conditioners and power sequencers that are reasonably priced, provide SMP and good power filtering.