Surge protectors--how many $ make sense?

Shunyata Venom 16 Power Conditioner:  

Electromagnetic Breaker

Over-current protection is a requirement for today’s high current audio power distributors. The vast majority of manufacturers use an inexpensive thermal fuse or breaker. Both are specifically designed to heat up as the current level rises. This causes voltage drops, increased contact impedance, thermal noise, excessive heat generation and current limiting effects. There is a better solution — the hydraulic electromagnetic breaker that utilizes low-impedance relays and a sensing coil that reads the current level without heating up or limiting current. They can operate right up the to the maximum current level without heating up or limiting instantaneous current. They are rarely used in competitive products since they cost 10-20 times that of a common fuse or thermal breaker.

Eric_squires thanks for recommending devices that meet UL 1449 which is the UL standard for surge protection.

i notice that UL voltage protection rating may be “listed” or “component recognized”. Can you please comment on the difference? Thx

@audio-b-dog, with the level of investment in your listening chain I’d seriously think about getting something like an AudioQuest Niagara 7000 power conditioner with an AQ Dragon power cable or at least try the pair in your home and see if they do anything beyond giving you peace of mind. I think it comes down to how stable and clean the electricity is running into your home. 

i notice that UL voltage protection rating may be “listed” or “component recognized”. Can you please comment on the difference? Thx

@rfagon

I cannot.   I suggest going by the actual third party testing conducted by Wirecutter.  Series mode protectors (Furman with SMP, Zerosurge, Brickwall) generally have much lower let through voltages than those which are primarily MOV based.   I wrote about it here. 

OP:

Over-current protection is a requirement for today’s high current audio power distributors.

True, but almost any power strip has one.

There is a better solution — the hydraulic electromagnetic breaker that utilizes low-impedance relays and a sensing coil that reads the current level without heating up or limiting current.

That’s cool, still won’t help you in case of an incoming voltage surge. Breakers protect against shorts downstream. They are all (including this one) too slow and may never react to a voltage surge which can blow through nanometer scale insulation in silicon because a damaging surge voltage may not ever cross the current x time envelope needed to trip the breaker.

In this sense the series mode vendors (Furman with SMP, ZeroSurge, Brickwall) are all correct.  You need the upstream filter to slow a surge down long enough to have time to respond.  A breaker isn't it.