2. amps-preamps
  3. 148648-10803

Power amps into surge protector/Conditioner or DIRECT to wall? Final verdict?

Just curious. I've heard for years not to plug amp into a surge protection evice. Does this apply to a preamp as well? Are the component fuses enough? Do affordable surge protection/conditioners exist that do not effect sound quality? 
Some of the mid line Furman studio units look nice. Plus you have the SurgeX/Brick devices that look like real winners. However, I'm not wanting any sound quality issues. BUT, I don't want my equipment destroyed as well. 

Thoughts please
aberyclark
gudebrodaudio's avatar
gudebrodaudio
19 posts
 
It doesn’t take a lot to address the noise on the Household AC lines. Anything that uses a transformer will simply deteriorate the sound quality. We’ve simplified what goes in the box so you get more out of your sound system. 
pwhinson
158 posts
 
I tried running my Pass 150.8 into a Bryston BIT 20 power conditioner and got a continuous slight constant hum out of the Bryston so I moved it to a regular Isotek surge supressor and the hum disappeared.  The Bryston is essentially (I believe) just a big isolation transformer and Bryston encourages you to plug your power amps and sources both into one.  I still power my sources through the Bryston isolation transformer but the Pass goes direct via a surge supressor.

paullyrockets's avatar
paullyrockets
31 posts
 
I'm currently running my 2 PS Audio M700 mono blocks into a Furman E15i with Power Factor technology.
The Schiit Freya Preamp is is plugged into the wall..
Both are on separate dedicated circuits with Oyaide AC Recepticle's (all flavors)..

Works great !!

twoch
429 posts
 
Stanley  ,  I've read a few 
a big deal is   no piggie 
back surge protection Stay clear of it .   witch means first plug is the Best then get worse down the line.    Stay away from that style    The people in here mostly have that  one     PS Audio   most likely thay do mid fi.  jump back  1   
turnbowm
353 posts
 

I recently had an Integrated Amp fail and it occurred to me that it was the only component in my 2.1 audio system that didn’t have any surge suppression. I've always kept it plugged directly into the wall outlet since I experienced slight sound degradation (bass & dynamics) when plugged into various line filters/surge suppressors. Wanting better equipment protection, I looked into available protection methods and decided that a good series-mode surge suppressor was more than up to the task. After reading numerous reviews, I decided to give the Zero Surge 8R15W a try. Very nice people to deal with and their discount for military personnel and veterans made for an easy decision.

I received the unit and installed it in my system. Am happy to report that there was no degradation in sound quality when the Integrated Amp was plugged into the Zero Surge suppressor versus plugging directly into the wall outlet. I then decided to also plug the subwoofer into the Zero Surge and found no measurable (SPL) difference in sub performance. At that point, I sat down and listened to various recordings and noticed that the sound seemed to be smoother and better integrated. Perhaps having a common ground point and power feed for all the components is responsible for the improvement. Also knowing that everything is well protected is comforting.

 
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