A Surge Suppressor Story


I was recently redoing my audio system and, when putting everthing back together, temporarily plugged my Bryston B60R Integrated Amp directly into the wall outlet instead of the Zero Surge suppressor. I checked everything out and let the system settle in over the next two days.

I then noticed that non-musical sounds would pop out of the speakers from time to time. In particular, a loud thump occurred when the ceiling fan in the room was turned off. It suddenly dawned on me that the Bryston was not plugged into the suppressor. Motors are known for generating back EMF and I was surprised that the internal power supply in the Bryston was not rejecting it. With the Zero Surge unit in place, the internal reactor took care of the problem very nicely. Cheap surge suppressors using "sacrificial" metal-oxide varistors (MOVs), however, would not have done the job.

Reportedly, 80% of all surges/transients in a home's electrical system are generated by appliances in the home. Anything with a motor is suspect. I believe that continuous "hits" with surges and transients will shorten the life of the equipment. If you value your equipment, consider the protection offered by a good series-mode suppressor. Reasonably-priced units are available from Zero Surge, SurgeX and Brickwall with audiophile versions (Audioquest Niagra, etc.) costing considerably more.

Those with large, power-hungry amps have complained that dynamics are affected by suppressors compared to plugging directly into a wall outlet. That may well be the case in some installations but protecting expensive equipment may be a worthwhile trade-off.     
turnbowm
First rule, safety first 
Second rule, surge protection
Third rule, maintain constant voltages for the gear
(some older only 117 Vac MAX), All new gear 120 Vac.

The purpose is not to sound better, BUT if conditioning VAC results in better sound, GOOD.

GREAT gear normally has less problem with VAC.  They normally have better designed power supplies.  You get what you pay for, when it comes to most of that stuff..

Regards
Thanks for sharing your experience.  I don't have a surge protector on my amp, but leaving a piece of gear costing thousands of dollars to the mercies of the local utility does worry me.
If you own you own home, I suggest installing a whole house surge protector.
Bob
gdnrbob3,374 posts08-21-2020 1:40pm"If you own you own home, I suggest installing a whole house surge protector."

Service entrance (whole house) protection is quite valuable in lightning-prone areas (Florida, in particular). However, most manufacturers recommend addition point-of-use protection. Also, the whole house protectors (large MOVs) typically have a clamp voltage of 330-400 volts and simply don't provide the in-home, localized protection of good series-mode suppressors.

In my particular case, a whole home protector would NOT have eliminated the speaker thump when the ceiling fan was turned off. 
Nice share. I've been using a Brick Wall unit for the past 15 years or so. Best "peace of mind" purchase I've made.