Dirty power...myth or truth?
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New member Username: MarvelCANADA Post Number: 9 Registered: Jun-05 | I recently bought a Sony 50in LCD RP. The sales guy was telling me about dirty power and how it could effect performance and life. He was trying to sell me a powerbar for about 200 bucks. If dirty power is out there how can I tell if it might be a problem in my house? Also is it a general rule of thumb to have one powerbar for audio and one for video? Thanks for any help. |
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Gold Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 2276 Registered: Jan-05 | Mike, All you need is a single surge protector, and the power conditioner is unnecessary. |
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New member Username: SwitchedonPost Number: 10 Registered: Aug-05 | Have you ever had the power go out at your house (blackouts). Just before and after an outage you have power spikes (bad for EQ for obvious reasons). Also, much more subtle (and in some areas more common that others) are brownouts, also called a sag, it's a "dip" in the voltage level of the electrical line. When a brownout occurs, the voltage drops from its normal level to a lower voltage and then returns; it's like the opposite of a surge. Most power supplies can handle a reduction in the nominal voltage that it is expecting, but over time and repetition your Equipment can be damaged. Line conditioners will take this constantly varying voltage signal (peaks and valleys), and condition it to a smooth constant output (see pic).
Good, clean power will help performance, increase longevity and protect your investment. My HT and computer EQ are protected and conditioned in my house. Check out Panamax. Everything really depends on how much you have invested in your HT...remember, warranties do not cover power surges and spikes. |
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Gold Member Username: Paul_ohstbucksPost Number: 2282 Registered: Jan-05 | A good surge protector is all you need to protect your investment. Power conditioners have no value, and only rip people off for the sake of 'snake oil' profits. | |
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Bronze Member Username: SkasolPost Number: 27 Registered: Mar-05 | I never understood why people will invest 5k in a tv, but will get cheap on the other things they need, yes you do need a conditioner, what is the worst that could happen? you never have to use it. buy one, buy your best cables you can afford and make your new investment shine. enough said. | |
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New member Username: StereojoeyFt Worth, Texas USA Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-05 | im with paul on this one just cause the "level" of your system. now if you were talking about classe mono blocks on on BW 800 series yeah maybe concider something but you dont have anything to worry about | |
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Bronze Member Username: RsxmanPost Number: 92 Registered: Jul-05 | a good panamax or monster power center will do fine for around $100 or so. I have seen the effects of systems that have blown from power spikes and surges with a cheapo surge center. | |
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New member Username: LcrutcherPlano, Texas USA Post Number: 2 Registered: Oct-05 | A good surge supressor is all you need on the AC side. Large surges from lightning and large equipment going on and off can potentially hurt your equipment. The AC to DC power supplies have regulation capability of at least +/- 15 %. Variations on the AC line inside those ranges never make it thru to the signal electronics. Don't fall for the snake oil sales in the A/V business. | |
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Mr. V Unregistered guest | I use line conditioners for my two stereo systems: a Tice, and a Chang Lightspeed. It really makes a positive difference in a well sorted out high end stereo system. For my home theater, I use Panamax to good effect. |
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Gold Member Username: Jan_b_vigneDallas, TX Post Number: 6153 Registered: May-04 | I sold line conditioners with the return policy that if the client didn't notice an improvement; they could bring the product back. I never got a return. If you have other appliances (refrigerator, washer/dryer, air conditioner, dishwasher, computers, etc.) in your home that share a common ground with the audio/video system, you have noise that is very capable of entering your system. If you share the electrical feed from the transformer in the alley with any of your neighbors and they have appliances with a common ground you will also see and hear their noise. Depending on the age of your electrical service installation, you are very likely to suffer from over and undervoltage situations in most metropolitan areas. Not all, but some, line conditioners will account for this potentially dangerous situation. Take my word for it, Paul doesn't know what he's talking about on this one. |
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New member Username: CuylarMN USA Post Number: 6 Registered: Nov-05 | Would you knowingly put dirty gas in your car? Would you drink water that had dirt in it? Why not? Here's the bottom line. Your eqipment is a machine. It's electrical so that makes it a little different..... BUT. Clean power does a LOT for you. You will increase the life of your equipment. You will be protecting the equipment from possible damage from spikes. You will see improved picture quality. You won't hear as much bad noise in the speakers. Its your equipment and your choice. So make up your own mind but i know for a fact that if you looked close at the power coming out of your outlet with the right electrical equipment you would see what we are talking about. |
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Bronze Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 65 Registered: Nov-05 | Power conditioners have their value as your power feed from your utility company can and will be subject to fluctuations from time to time that can cause problems with performance and even longevity. It's a good precaution and an extra bit of insurance compared to paying a lot of money for extensive repairs or replacement of your equipment from power damage, but it's not necessary to have a power conditioner to use your equipment. As for surge suppressors, be advised that these devices have their limits in how much surges they can supress depending on the model and how many joules it's rated at, does nothing to allieviate problems with brownouts, CAN and WILL WEAR OUT over time to the point where they will no longer provide sufficient protection, and WILL NOT under ANY circumstances protect your equipment from a lightning strike. - Reinhart |
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New member Username: CuylarMN USA Post Number: 10 Registered: Nov-05 | Along those lines keep in mind that many of these surge suppressors DO HAVE amazing "connected componet" warranty. Look at their website or read what comes in the box. Most will offer to pay for repair or replacement for failure to protect from a large spike (and lightning). I have used these warranty's before. It's very easy to do. | |
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New member Username: FrequencyPost Number: 1 Registered: Nov-05 | Plus not only can you reak benfits from surge protectors, certain companys like Belkins Pure av line for instance offer 200,000-500,000$ of coverage if there were to be a problem in the electrical line or a spike where to occur. Whatever the case maybe that alone to me says something to me at least. | |
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Bronze Member Username: ReinhartPost Number: 80 Registered: Nov-05 | There is always the fine print in regards to the warranty. I'm glad that you were able to get it to work for you when you needed it, but there likely are a lot of people who will not get coverage for whatever reasons. Besides, the warranty coverage should never be the final say in a choice for a surge suppressor. And, it's still better to take precautions to prevent damage whenever you can rather than allow them to happen. Secondly, if you had to make a claim, what if the equipment that was damaged was brought to that condition beyond repair and was also irreplaceable except from used sources? - Reinhart |
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Bronze Member Username: CuylarMN USA Post Number: 54 Registered: Nov-05 | Take a look here: http://www.ustpower.com/Powr_Quality_Problems.htm | |
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pigwiggle Unregistered guest | Here's my dirty power story. I once lived in a very old dilapidated house. It wasn't uncommon for the lights to dim when the refrigerator compressor kicked on. I traced an intermittent sudden rebooting problem I was having with a computer I built back to the power-supply. I had the PSU bench-top and the computer running when the fridge compressor kicked, the lights dimmed, and the intermittent reboot happened. Within a couple of seconds the PSU sparked and caught fire, toasted my IDE controller and all my IDE devices. So, I bought a UPS with a power conditioner. It gives a short beep whenever it is correcting an under-voltage, and it beeped often in that house. I now live in a much nicer house where it beeps infrequently; like when I power on my 20" CRT or the AC kicks on. Dirty power is a reality and it will ruin your equipment. |
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leonski Unregistered guest | A power conditioner was the BEST single investment I ever made. Better sound and imaging. Better, clearer picture on the TV. NO static in picture. It doesn't cost a lot to improve whatever equipment you currently run. I went 'all out' and purchased one with an isolation transformer which removes what is called DC offset....the fact that your AC is probably (almost certainly) NOT +-60volts, but different in each leg....producing a constant DC voltage. Lower current devices and especially LOW NOISE stuff.....DVD/CD players and anything that records are effected. Get one to try, from a store with a return policy. You won't be sorry. In my case, just the sound improvement ALONE was so dramatic, I didn't watch TV for a week. It was like buying a new stereo! |
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idiots Unregistered guest | I think people like Paul need to read a little more and educate themselves why power conditioners are so important. Go ahead, don't protect your equipment, go put dirty gas in your car, the rest of us will be enjoying our systems and cars without a bit of pity for you. |
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