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.