Surge protectors--how many $ make sense?

I use a whole house type II (at the main service panel) from Siemens plus on the main system, a surge board in the iso transformer that protects the outputs- 4 gauge to a sub panel that feeds 10 gauge dedicated lines. For most appliances, computers and my vintage system, I use point of use surge protectors. I keep the antique Quad Loudspeakers in the vintage system on constant charge using a Zero Surge.

"Whole house" may not be sufficient (some surges are within the household system and the "whole house" will not address these); in the realm of "point of use," a lot of the conditioner/surge protectors have a sound. That’s where you have to experiment through try before you buy or buy with the right to return with minimal penalty. The Siemens FS 140 is overbuilt, but still uses MOVs and has gone up in price; I used an Eaton before that. There is an "audiophile" whole house by Environmental Potentials that is now about twice the price of the Siemens, have not tried that unit. There are also more industrial/commercial units that can be even more spendy.

My go-to on electrical systems is @Jea48. Others here are also knowledgeable.

@whart , @cleeds

+1 on the addition of a SIEMENS surge protection. on the electrical panel.

i did it when I Reno”ed the house two years ago. I moved my “A” system to a new room and ran two new 20A dedicated lines into the new room

unless I go away on vacation, the high-end integrated amp and the high-end streamer-dac both remain powered up full-time according to their manual specs .

The panel solution works like a charm.Highly recommended.

Sorry to hear about your loss. Living in San Francisco and Los Angeles I had to pay a lot for real power conditioning.

The absolute safest, and most affordable solution is this Furman with voltage regulation, series protection, and automatic over/under voltage shutoff.

This comes up so often I wrote a blog post with more detail here.

I also wrote specifically about hos a whole house unit and high quality surge protector work here and why you need both.

Basically a whole house unit has a much higher let through voltage than the best surge "strips."  Good for your range, not so much for your laptop or audio/video gear. The manufacturers recommend the use of both.

I forgot to mention that on new construction and work done on existing systems, a whole house surge protector is now required as I understand it. 

I forgot to mention that on new construction and work done on existing systems, a whole house surge protector is now required as I understand it. 

As of 2020 the NEC requires it, local codes will vary.  Among the things they protect is the house wiring itself, as well as anything else you can't or wouldn't normally put on a surge strip, like fire alarms, GFCI outlets, smart switches...