Questions About Power Conditioner or Backup

[Prox]

It's that time again - I haven't purchased any new HT gear in too long and my itch is acting up. I was thinking that the next worthwhile addition would be a power conditioner or backup.

Right now I'm using some mid-grade surge protectors, but I feel I could do better. This brings me to my line of questioning for those older and/or wiser than I:

• Is it worth it to buy a power conditioner over simply better surge protection? Why?
• What type of quality improvements will I notice after I employing the use of a power conditioner?
• Do I / Why would I want a power conditioner + backup over just a power conditioner (assuming I'm okay with everything turning off if/when a loss of power occurs)?
• What are some good sub-$300 products to suit the determined need? Sub-$200? Sub-$100?

Any help would be much appreciated. This is an area I'm unfamiliar with, and I don't want to listen to salesmen before I listen to those without $$ in their eyes.

[WilliaBe]

Originally Posted by Prox

It's that time again - I haven't purchased any new HT gear in too long and my itch is acting up. I was thinking that the next worthwhile addition would be a power conditioner or backup.

Right now I'm using some mid-grade surge protectors, but I feel I could do better. This brings me to my line of questioning for those older and/or wiser than I:

• Is it worth it to buy a power conditioner over simply better surge protection? Why?
• What type of quality improvements will I notice after I employing the use of a power conditioner?
• Do I / Why would I want a power conditioner + backup over just a power conditioner (assuming I'm okay with everything turning off if/when a loss of power occurs)?
• What are some good sub-$300 products to suit the determined need? Sub-$200? Sub-$100?

Any help would be much appreciated. This is an area I'm unfamiliar with, and I don't want to listen to salesmen before I listen to those without $$ in their eyes.

Prox -

I do not know any of my friends who have battery backup in their HT.

Why do you want a power conditioner? Refer to illustration 1 of this article:
http://www.contractorsav.com/article...11/07/ac-power .

AS the previous owner of a Monster 2500 (malfunction) and Belking Pf60(still in use upstairs for 32 inch TV and second PVR), I can say these two units offered modest improvements in my HT. For $220(4 outlets)-$255(6 outlets) a Blue Circle Audio PLC thingee offers superior power conditioning than a comparible $200-$1000 Monster/APC/Belkin offering.

This seems like a lofty claim. But the reviewer in this article http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/b...eed_al_sea.htm compares the PLC Thingee to a $1900 Torus Power RM 10 power isolator. The reviewer also did not plug gear directly into the PLC Thingee, but rather fed his Zero Surge powerbar with it.

The transformation of adding Blue Circle Power Conditioning in my system was like going from SD to HD. Full disclosure: I actually have the FX2 version of the PLC Thingee which has twice the filtering of the unit mentioned in the article above. If you can live with the thingees "unique look", you will end up with performance improvement that far outweighs its cost....

There are a couple guys on this forum that have plc thingee's. Maybe they will chime up when they read this....

[Hammie]

I have a Tripp Lite SMART1000UPS that I use with my DVR, Mac Mini, and PS3. This allows my devices with a hard drive to be powered off without the worry of a ruined hard drive.

The Tripp lite also offers power conditioning. My home network also uses the same thing for my servers, network switches, and cable modem.

[Prox]

Originally Posted by WilliaBe

Prox -

I do not know any of my friends who have battery backup in their HT.

Why do you want a power conditioner? Refer to illustration 1 of this article:
http://www.contractorsav.com/article...11/07/ac-power .

AS the previous owner of a Monster 2500 (malfunction) and Belking Pf60(still in use upstairs for 32 inch TV and second PVR), I can say these two units offered modest improvements in my HT. For $220(4 outlets)-$255(6 outlets) a Blue Circle Audio PLC thingee offers superior power conditioning than a comparible $200-$1000 Monster/APC/Belkin offering.

This seems like a lofty claim. But the reviewer in this article http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/b...eed_al_sea.htm compares the PLC Thingee to a $1900 Torus Power RM 10 power isolator. The reviewer also did not plug gear directly into the PLC Thingee, but rather fed his Zero Surge powerbar with it.

The transformation of adding Blue Circle Power Conditioning in my system was like going from SD to HD. Full disclosure: I actually have the FX2 version of the PLC Thingee which has twice the filtering of the unit mentioned in the article above. If you can live with the thingees "unique look", you will end up with performance improvement that far outweighs its cost....

There are a couple guys on this forum that have plc thingee's. Maybe they will chime up when they read this....

First of all, thank you for the information. I'm quite new to this level of HT gear and very interested in advice, personal experiences, and background/technical articles.

The article at the Contractor's A/V site is a very interesting read. I'll probably have to go through it again later to fully absorb all the info.

The PLC Thingee definitely seems to be well-received by everyone who has reviewed one. The look doesn't bother me, as anything I pick up will sit behind my other equipment.

With the Thingee, how do you handle surge protection? Do you have a device plugged in between the wall and the Thingee, or do you plug the Thingee directly into the wall outlet and connect a protector after (as the reviewer in the article you linked does)? The first article provided makes me feel the former would be better.

I believe I am in need of a 6-outlet form of protection. In the interest of full disclosure, here is a top-of-the-head overview of the equipment I have plugged in:
Devices I think I would like to protect:
- LCD TV
- 630W receiver
- 260W subwoofer
- Xbox 360
- Blu-ray player
- Home theater PC
Other devices in the area:
- Cable modem
- Wireless router

I invite anyone visiting this thread to feel free to advise on whether or not any of the above need to have this level of protection. For example, will the Xbox and HTPC be much better off on the other end of a power conditioner? That is, will I see any performance improvements?

Originally Posted by Hammie

I have a Tripp Lite SMART1000UPS that I use with my DVR, Mac Mini, and PS3. This allows my devices with a hard drive to be powered off without the worry of a ruined hard drive.

The Tripp lite also offers power conditioning. My home network also uses the same thing for my servers, network switches, and cable modem.

I hadn't thought much of the hard drive aspect. I only have an HTPC and Xbox 360, but it would still be comforting to know they're taken care of. How great is the risk of hard drive failure due to a sudden loss of power (on a surge-protected line)?

I'll definitely give Tripp Lite a look, as well.

[My_Two_Cents]

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=73512

All you want to know about power conditioning and protection.

[JamesN]

Originally Posted by WilliaBe

...I do not know any of my friends who have battery backup in their HT...

For those who have a projector in their HT, a battery backup is a wise investment. If power is interrupted, a projector will not go through its necessary cool-down cycle. At best this could shorten the life of an expensive lamp. At worst it could blow the bulb instantly and, in extreme cases, even burn the panels on an LCD projector. One such "save" could literally pay for the cost of the battery backup unit.

I have often wondered why pj manufacturers don't include a simple onboard battery backup component just for the fan unit. The fan doesn't have to run all that long (a few minutes) for sufficient cool-down. I would think a simple 9v bypass circuit would be sufficient.

[WilliaBe]

Originally Posted by Prox

With the Thingee, how do you handle surge protection? Do you have a device plugged in between the wall and the Thingee, or do you plug the Thingee directly into the wall outlet and connect a protector after (as the reviewer in the article you linked does)? The first article provided makes me feel the former would be better.

I believe I am in need of a 6-outlet form of protection. In the interest of full disclosure, here is a top-of-the-head overview of the equipment I have plugged in:
Devices I think I would like to protect:
- LCD TV
- 630W receiver
- 260W subwoofer
- Xbox 360
- Blu-ray player
- Home theater PC
Other devices in the area:
- Cable modem
- Wireless router

I'll definitely give Tripp Lite a look, as well.

Blue Circle Audio offer plug in type MOV based surge protection which are disposable once they do their job. The device is called a Yalu Balula which employs MOV and TVS avalanche diodes for surge protection. They are designed to trip the breaker to protect gear from electrical surges, and/or when the MOV finally gives out.

A Yalu Balula plugged into the outlet where you feed your PLC Thingee, and/or into the Thingee itself, would protect all gear plugged into the PLC Thingee. Yalu Balula: http://bluecircle.com/page95.html

There is a thread on this forum that discusses various surge protection approaches (i.e. MOV, Series Mode etc.). The contributors have experience and/or degrees in the respective field of discussion. The thread is useful as surge protection is an important factor when deciding your next move. However, aspects of power conditioning are not discussed in depth...

[Hammie]

Originally Posted by Prox

I hadn't thought much of the hard drive aspect. I only have an HTPC and Xbox 360, but it would still be comforting to know they're taken care of. How great is the risk of hard drive failure due to a sudden loss of power (on a surge-protected line)?

I'll definitely give Tripp Lite a look, as well.

I have read that a hard drive can be damaged when power is suddenly turned off because the arm could gouge the platter, or the arm can lock and not move once power is restored. I have not really researched the validity of this, but I still think it is a good idea to use a UPS on them.

[saprano]

Originally Posted by Hammie

I have read that a hard drive can be damaged when power is suddenly turned off because the arm could gouge the platter, or the arm can lock and not move once power is restored. I have not really researched the validity of this, but I still think it is a good idea to use a UPS on them.

This is exactly what happened to me. My computer was loading a website and took too long so i power it off without shutting it down. When i turned it back on i got a blue screen error. Called dell and they told me my hard drive was damaged from turning it off while the hard drive was loading. Sort of like it scratched disk' because it shut down so suddenly. And this wasn't the first time i've done this. So all those times of wear and tear added up.

This is why on the PS3 when your installing something they give you a warning to not turn it off.