amplifier power consumption

Strangely, a very good service technician whom i know suggested using even the CHEAPEST one by a company called APC (the unit that puts out 200w).

That is probably this model, at $49.99.

I believe that when ac power is present all it does is to pass the incoming ac to the devices that are plugged into it, with some degree of surge suppression applied to the ac. One of the documents indicates a total current capability for all of its outlets of 8 amps, when ac is present.

When ac power drops out, or drops to too low a level, the battery backup kicks in after a delay of a few milliseconds. That provides a stepped approximation to a sine wave, which will keep a 200W load powered for about a minute.

So for several reasons (lack of true sine wave in backup mode; lack of power regeneration; completely inadequate power rating in backup mode; and noise filtering which is probably either ineffective or not provided at all) you don't want to let that get anywhere near your audio system. :)

APC's much more expensive products that are intended for audio and video systems, which I understand to be generally highly regarded, are linked to here. And here (on the lower half of the page) are some comments by Kal Rubinson on their model S15.

Regards,
-- Al

thanks a ton, guys! i really appreciate this help.

Perhaps i was confused with what my techie suggested (although i doubt it).

I may just try one of the cheaper units from APC for now (since i can always return it) and report back here as to how it worked out for me.

One point to note is that i'm getting a bit of a buzzing coming out of my woofers, which the technician says is non-existent in his tests... apparently, my amp runs cleanly and well above spec. This is part of what led me to believe i need a UPS.

Further, I used to own two Blue Circle Power Line Pillows and every time i plugged one into an outlet, the breaker would trip. I'm not certain what that means about the power here, but i'm sure it's not good.

Any thoughts from anyone on that?

I may just try one of the cheaper units from APC for now (since i can always return it) and report back here as to how it worked out for me.

You may just damage your audio equipment......

Before you hook the cheapo UPS battery back up unit to your audio equipment I suggest you take it to your technician and have him do a bench test with a scope hooked up to the load side of it. Use a 150 watt light bulb for the load.

After everything is set up and the light is lit unplug the UPS from the wall AC power..... More than likely you will see the light flicker and get brighter for a split second. Then take a look at the sine wave on the scope..... That square wave could damage the power supply/s in your audio equipment.

I don't see the justification for needing a UPS. Do you experience frequent power outages or brownouts? For buzzing woofers, maybe you should look into line conditioning instead.

Face: Well, the situation is this: I used to own a pretty good setup (unison unico, rotel transport w/ msb link dac III with half nelson upgrade, variety of speakers including Neat mystiques, StudioLab Ref 1, NHT 2.5i). This setup sounded great w/ all speakers mentioned at my former residence.

Upon setting up in my new condo, the sound collapsed. Flat, undynamic, lacking in clarity, no real depth, thin/hard, lacking air. Further, every time i plugged in my Blue Circle Power Line Pillows, the breaker would trip, which raised a red flag right off the bat. However, since the condo was brand new, i simply assumed it CAN"T be a problem with the power.

I was told that, unfortunately, the wiring in newly built condos is done SOOO cheaply and in a shoddy way that i'm likely picking up all kinds of interference, not to mention experiencing power fluctuations. Further, I never had any buzzing coming out of my woofers at my former residence, then suddenly, out of the blue - buzzing out of the woofer cones at the new residence.

My tech said that these issues w/ my system could be the direct result of the power in my building, which is why he suggested essentially stabilizing the power flow by using a UPS. This was also suggested to me by a high level electrical engineer at my office building.

Regarding line conditioning, from what i've read, for the most part, line conditioning deadens the musical experience - and i'm trying to go in the other direction! What was suggested by both techies is that a UPS would be more effective...

At this point, i'm almost ready to bail on the system entirely and take up basket weaving, so i wouldn't have to worry about power, acoustics and setup.