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Surge protectors--how many $ make sense?

My power went out during the LA fires. A power spike blew my preamp's fuse even though it was plugged into an ancient Monster transformer surge protector. So, I need to buy something to plug my gear into. The prices, however, range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. Surge protectors have never been at the top of my list of equipment to buy, but I think it's time.

I have a fairly expensive system, about $75K, consisting of VPI Prime Signature turntable, ARC PH-7 phono preamp, McCormack CD (universal disc), Pass XP 30 preamp, Moon streamer, and Hovland Radia amp. New equipment mixed in with old, but all very good stuff. I've never compared surge protectors. So, how little can I spend on a surge protector without disrespecting my previous investment? 

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erik_squires
16,473 posts
 

@rfagon

You bring up a lot of items, and that's why I initially recommended the Furman with SMP and AVR.  SMP is best in class surge protection, while AVR will ensure your amps and other gear get fed consistently better voltage than your wall outlet might have. 

I've even had contractors using circular saws on the same circuit as my amp and other gear.  The voltage never ever wavered.

Your point about the difference in clamping (let through) voltages is also correct.  Whole house units are not intended to protect your most delicate electronics, and the NEC as well as manufacturers recommend they be supported by point of use protection.   I wrote about this in detail here, but series mode protection (Furman with SMP, ZeroSurge, Brickwall) is faster and clamps lower, plus usually cut off during brown outs and white outs.

erik_squires
16,473 posts
 

@mikhailark 

Probably not.  That's why I recommend Furman.  ZeroSurge also has a big presense in the pro market.

 

PS - Furman and Panamax are owned by the same parent company and some equivalent features are available through Panamax as well but be careful as Furman and Panamax have a lot of models with different feature sets.  The minimum I recommend is the Furman with SMP & LiFT. 

erik_squires
16,473 posts
 

@panzrwagn

I would also check out Ting - www.tingfire.com - an electrical arc fault detector.

Oh, that’s pretty cool, honestly. :) The NEC has been steadily going towards more arc fault detection in the home. They went from 1 per bedroom to 1 in every 120V circuit in the home pretty much. You can upgrade most breakers to AFCI, but none of them have the cool reporting in this unit.

I had a Furman unit with voltage readout.  That's why I ended up getting a unit with AVR.  I could see how much my voltage wavered through the day, up to 130V peaks when I was in a high rise.

Now that I'm in a home I get long term, seasonal and daily voltage swings which my PC doesn't care about, but the AVR keeps me +_ a few volts, or it shuts down. Nothing in between.

incorrigable
65 posts
 

My 2015 house in the American Southwest has a breaker board that trips if you burp too loudly. So I just run two entry level Furman power strips, which occasionally trip. I had an electrician inspect my $30K system. It's all class D.  He said the amp draw was nowhere near overload.  

erik_squires
16,473 posts
 

My 2015 house in the American Southwest has a breaker board that trips if you burp too loudly.

@incorrigable 

That's actually not a good thing.  Since you had an electrician inspect your audio system I imagine you also had the panel inspected?

I've been in this 2006 home for 4 years and the only time I've had a breaker trip was entirely my fault or during GFCI testing.

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