monster voltage stabalizer really worth the $$?

[I Bleed Blu]

I was looking at one of the monster avs 2000 voltage stabalizer on ebay for a couple hundred dollars, retail is like $1,700, for a future addition to my ht setup... I dont really know much about these things but have always seen people use them. I have an onkyo 805 receiver with klipsch reference speakers... I know they are not top of the line but pretty pricey for me. Do you guys think one of these things will really make a noticable difference? And if any of you actually have any personal experience with this type of product please give me your thoughts. Thanks!

[Rustmonsteru]

I'm not a fan of Monster; they're always overpriced and, frankly, FOS. I'd buy a Panamax 5500 instead. It's got 11 outlets instead of 6, regenerates the AC instead of just filtering it, it costs $500-700 less and the total maximum payout if your equipment gets fried is the highest on the market: 5 million dollars.

If you're looking to go cheaper all their lesser models do essentially the same except they filter instead of regenerate the current.

[I Bleed Blu]

thanks.. And yes I totally agree monster is overpriced and thats why I was lookin on ebay, I would never buy anything monster for retail.

[GreenMotion]

Why not just buying a regular monster powerstrip that comes with 25,000 insurance on it?

[I Bleed Blu]

the reason I was looking at the avs 2000 was because it kept a 120 volt continuous power source to your receiver/ amp. The surge protection was a second plus. Thats why I was asking if something like that will really improve sound quality as well as picture quality with the power conditioning... I personally have no idea but I can say that I wasnt looking at it for stricly surge protection purposes

[SKRUhddvd]

i doubt monster has ever paid a dime out to customers whose equipment was damaged while using their equipment. have you seen the "book" or as they call it the disclaimer you get with those things. they have an out for everything. if possible stick with panamax , its all they do.

[I Bleed Blu]

well it seems the majority favors Panamax .... But is it really worth the $500-1k???

[SKRUhddvd]

look on ebay, a few weeks ago i bought a panamax 5300 (retail 350+) for $130.00 on a best offer for a brand new unit!

[Rustmonsteru]

Originally Posted by SKRUhddvd

look on ebay, a few weeks ago i bought a panamax 5300 (retail 350+) for $130.00 on a best offer for a brand new unit!

Buying from anyone other than a Panamax authorized seller voids all warranties
so I'd be wary about ebay. The Panamax website has a list of authorized places to purchase from.

[JaysDomain]

I use an APC battery backup solution on all electronics (PC's and A/V equipment), I went this route on my A/V too since I already had them.
Anyway, it allows me to control/adjust the voltage levels coming in along with other power settings to keep the power constant and clean, and lets me shut down everything manually if the power stays off (avoiding damage from a forced shutdown) (can also have my PC send IR to auto shut down equipment, though I never felt the need to explore it).
Plus I can monitor the wattage in use, battery level & life, and how many minutes are available in a power outage (from the living room PC).
And of course, when my power goes out, I am the only person in my neighborhood with lights on in my house (60w fluorescents only use around 6w of power and can run forever on any size battery backup ).

If you are interested check out www.apc.com (can purchase ok size units from some retail stores, sams, best buy, etc.)
I'm not sure if there is something a dedicated A/V filter/conditioner does that a battery backup does not, but probably (I am not familiar with them).

[takezo]

Originally Posted by ti_27

the reason I was looking at the avs 2000 was because it kept a 120 volt continuous power source to your receiver/ amp. The surge protection was a second plus. Thats why I was asking if something like that will really improve sound quality as well as picture quality with the power conditioning... I personally have no idea but I can say that I wasnt looking at it for stricly surge protection purposes

Sure there is noise in AC power coming from your home outlets, however having cleaner power is not really going to improve sound quality. For one thing all electronic components are DC and operate at much lower voltages than your outlet. The built-in power supply, changes AC to DC while stepping down the voltage. All that AC noise is pretty much dissapated in the DC conversion.

power cleaners were handy in improving video quality of old school Tube TVs as these TVs have a unit that increases the voltage to tube which consists of electron guns which draws the image on the phosphor screen. Cleaner power = cleaner pictuer (which by the way would be so negliable that most people can't tell), but in to day's digital flat panel display this is no loner an issue (actualy it's was never an issue for most consumers).

what realy effects sound quality is the source. Basicaly if your audio source such as a DVD/Blu-ray or CD, is not good, all the good equipment in the world will not matter.

Oh yes, power conditioners are sill being used in business with large computer networks, or centralized in Server rooms. While AC noise is no consern for personal use, Business networks need to be up and running 24/7, clean power helps keep components running smoothly for longer lifespan.

UPS are good solutions for Surge/brownout/black out prone areas, however they don't improve your device performance.

[JaysDomain]

I agree, and UPS may not improve device performance (which is not why I use it anyway), but it will certainly extend the life and quality of the device by correcting almost all power issues, avoiding damage to your devices.

[supersix4]

i need to buy one lol

[JaysDomain]

Here you go, this one is only $25,000.00

http://www.cepro.com/article/ultimat...ckup_machine1/

For this money you may as well just put battery backup & generator switching on your main box, maybe even throw in some solar panels!