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Should I skip my power conditioner?

I have a Monster Powerbar 1100 power conditioner/surge protector. The main reason I bought it is to protect my equipment from any lightning strikes/electrical spikes and for convenience for all of my plugs (I have it mounted to the underside of my stand). I'm no Monster fan or hater but for about $125 shipped, it seemed like a lot of useful features plus surge protection. I've been doing some reading that it may actually be better soundwise to not use one though, especially with the amp (Arcam AVR300 in my case). I'm looking for any opinions on the subject of if I should continue to use it, or use it for everything but the receiver. If I don't use it, will just a good surge protector yield any negative results? The details of my system is in my system link.

Thanks for any input,

Scott
asahitoro
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,693 posts
 
Bigtee wrote: "Some of the manufactures have indicated to me that MOV based power protectors and others limit dynamics in their amps. Wether this is audible, you'll have to decide."

Ok but how can the MOV affect the signal when it does nothing until the voltage approaches its threshhold. Now, depending on the unit, this is usually around 330V. So, if it's affecting the sound, that might be better than letting your equipment get slammed with 330V or higher.

Kal
hbarrel's avatar
hbarrel
342 posts
 
Isn't homeowners/renters insurance the same as having surge protection?
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
I have found best restults by plugging Amps directly into the wall and using line CONDITIONERS for steady state gear such as CD players, dacs etc...

Amps in the wall = better dynamics and punch

Using conditioner = smoother, black background w/more detail
robm321
932 posts
 
I also plug my amp into the wall and everything else into surge protector for the same reason Steuspeed mentioned.

Rob
distortion
571 posts
 
I'm with Steu and Rob.
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