Surge protector

@erik_squires  , forgive me if I am missing something really obvious, but I will preface my question with the excuse that I am, at this point in my life, more than half blind, and not only that, my reading comprehension is getting worse as I age; but from your blog:

Tripp Lite Isobar Ultra

 

This is what I use everywhere except the audio/home theater or where I have a UPS. 

 

Best for Audio and Home Theater

Furman makes dozens of models of power strips and surge suppressors but the feature mix that are must haves are LiFT and SMP.  LiFT will reduce noise on the line and SMP is a hybrid series mode surge suppression.   In addition they have models for everything with features like remote triggers, voltage regulation, balanced outputs, coaxial surge suppression, separate filter banks, the list goes on!

 

Furman with LiFT and SMP

 

Furman seems to have discontinued the more affordable LiFT/SMP strips so I can no longer recommend them for general use.  If you don't need any of the advanced features beyond surge and noise suppression you should get a Tripp Lite Isobar Ultra instead for the price. 

What is the "UPS" you mentioned?

And I did go to the Furman link you provided and I saw a PL8C that did say it had SMP and LiFT for $255.  Would that be what I'd be looking for as related to protection for an audio system?

Uninterruptable Power Source/Supply (U.P.S.).

I ALWAYS unplug everything as soon as I hear thunder.

@dweller  , I actually turn the dedicated circuit breaker off for my system because it is easier to access than my outlets, but something nasty could always sneak up when one was out of the house or asleep.

Hi OP: I meant to say that I use a Trip Lite everywhere except my PC because I have an Uninterruptable Power Supply.

Because Furman makes so many products it’s important to note whether they have SMP (Series Mode Protection) and LiFT (Linear Filtering). These are the two features to look out for surge protection but there are more expensive models with features like switched outlets, voltage regulation and power factor correction.

The PST-8 is around $200 and has both SMP and LiFT.

According to the latest Wirecutter testing they provide the lowest let-through voltage of any surge protector they tested, which included ZeroSurge.

@dweller ’s approach is good but here in SC I’m not always home when thunder rolls by. I absolutely turn the breaker off when the thunder gets close, but that’s probably only about 30% of the time there have been storms around my home.

@erik_squires  , so to clarify from this quote below:

Hi OP: I meant to say that I use a Trip Lite everywhere except my PC because I have an Uninterruptable Power Supply.

Because Furman makes so many products it’s important to note whether they have SMP (Series Mode Protection) and LiFT (Linear Filtering). These are the two features to look out for surge protection but there are more expensive models with features like switched outlets, voltage regulation and power factor correction.

The PST-8 is around $200 and has both SMP and LiFT.

you suggest the PST-8 for audio if one does NOT have UPS?  (Sorry if I am beating you over the head with this question, but I will just have to defer to my previous comment regarding my diminishing reading comprehension skills.)