Surge Protectors and Clean Power

[thehalo8]

I am currently running my system off a high end Belkin power strip. I am looking to get a new strip that offers the protection of surges but also provides clean power to my equipment. I have my eye on a Monster HTS 2000 MKII Power Center. If anyone has any comments on that unit or perhaps one you use I would greatly appreciate it. I just want to get a good strip to protect and power all my stuff. Thanks for the help guys.

Mike

[Frank Z]

Halo,
I'm using a Monster HTS1000. The only reason that I bought it was for surge protection, and it had enough oulets for all my stuff. As for "Clean Power," the 1000 made zero difference in the audio or video quality in my HT.

[goingganzo]

the panamax stuff is so much beter than the monster stuff you are just paying for the monster cable name.

[dorokusai]

That is entirely subjective Ganzo, sorry. That is why a individual should shop around, and not be led by the Best Buy nose.

EZC, Polk Forum member, is a MC dealer, if you want a deal on a MC product, he may be able to help you out.

I am with Frank on that one, as I picked a HTS-5100 up simply for protection/capacity.....if it "cleaned" up anything, I am unaware of the benefit at this time.

[Zero]

Halo,

Let me start off by being straight foward - I am most likely one of the biggest Monster "haters" on the board. However, the power strip unit's they carry are quite good provided you can find them at a decent price.

I took advantage of an opportunity and brought home with me a Monster HTS 5100 SS unit. Unlike my well respected peers, I did notice an immediate improvement with video.

The "improvements" will largely depend on the amount of junk running through your lines. As the years go on, the house Im in just seems to have more electrical problems. This unit has assisted me quite well, and I wont give her up at all.

There are many other conditioners out there, most notably:

Panamax, PS Audio, and Richard Grey.

As usual, its best to get a vibe for what you would enjoy best. The Monsters are well built units and will do their job, and give you a great piece of mind as well.

[ezc]

The HTS 2000 MKII is a great power conditioner / surge protector. It even has a 3-30 volt remote trigger. The clean power circuits does a great job removing the noise & protecting from surges, it also has a input voltage led meter & amp usage led meter. If your looking for a strip type the 2000 is great. If you want better you should look at the HTS 2600 which has application specific filters or what we spec into systems we sell is the HTS 3600 which are component type. Unless you have plans to upgrade equipment that draws lots of power the 2000 should be ok. If you do go to high current equipment you would need to have a conditioner/surge that has dedicated hi cruuent outlets w/ application specific filters. Hope this helps. If you got more questions or want more info let me know. ace@ezconnection.org

[I-SIG]

What about that unit that Adcom makes? I've always heard good things about it but could never quite pull the trigger on it the purchase. Thanks

Wes

[thehalo8]

Well I do plan on upgrading to the HDTV and adding mono blocks to my speakers. So perhaps I should look into the HTS 2600. I was originally looking at the HTS 2000 MKII but what is the difference between that one and POWERBAR 2100 ? The specs look almost identical; only the style looks different to me.

Oh I was also mistaken when I said I am using a Belkin power surge, I am actually using a Panamax 8 outlet surge protector. I definitely want to have 12 outlets available on the strip. From what I saw at Panamax I did not see any units with that many outlets on their website. I am not hardcore on Monster, but the strips looked like just what I wanted and it sounds like other members use them too.

[gmorris]

http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=monmphts2500&store=&catid=4100

Here is the best deal I've yet found on the HTS 2500. That site is an authorized retailer, so warranty is valid.

I will be ordering this from this site it two weeks. I'll let everyone know when I get it.

[mantis]

Alot of good debatable comments made already.....

Here is my 2 cents.

Power center offer alot of benefits.The ability to plug in all your gear safley,surge protection and the possible ability to give you better video and audio performance.

In my experience,I have found I'll go as far as calling them "them"to make a noticable difference in my personal system as well as in others as well.Every house and system is difference to some degree.Your benefits will be your own.

I don't want to sound one way or the other.I for one support power centers.Some claim no difference and I'm not going to debate that.

For me I enjoy a nice power center.Again I have found differences in using even different levels of protection and line conditioning levels.I will willingly spend the money if it makes a difference.It it didn't then I would return it.

Portecting your gear in my opnion is a big deal.I have alot of money (in my eyes anyway and I'm sure all of you feel that way about your system)into my system and would like and feel more confortable just knowing it's better protected with then without.Your call here fellas.

As far as one company making better then others???Sure I have seen many different brands go but og different systems and seem different results.Monster power centers are built well as so is the others like Panamax and RG's.

You just need to decide if the investment is the correct one for you.

Dan

There are however some who claim that power centers robe your system of it's performance.Audio this comes from not video.I haven't heard anyone claim there picture got worse with a power center over plugging it into the wall directly.
Have you tested a power amp into a correct level surge/center over directly into the wall????I have.

[danger boy]

which Panamax would be equivalent to say a monster power HTS 3500?

[polkatese]

DB,
A Panamax 5100 would be roughly in the same ballpark as a Monster HTS3500.

[reeltrouble1]

My video was better after I started using the Monster 5000 power conditioner.

I think being able to turn your equipment on and off in a certain order is a nice feature for the conditioner, the monster power strip I use in the bedroom does not offer this feature.

The conditioner helped my rack with wire management.

The conditioner has plugs in the front my kids use to plug their x-box into.

I like my conditioner!!:D

[Shizelbs]

Originally posted by reeltrouble1
I think being able to turn your equipment on and off in a certain order is a nice feature for the conditioner, the monster power strip I use in the bedroom does not offer this feature.


I am pretty in the dark about power conditioners. Could you please explain a little bit more about the ability to turn equipment on and off in a certain order? Do you mean that by the touch of a button there is a pre-arranged sequence that boots your gear on and off?

[nemos2]

Just My $0.02,

While you are looking, take a look at brickwall.com. They make (IMHO) rock solid surge protectors, and the customer support is great. They will talk you through the entire process, and explain the concepts behind the surge protection and filtering. Take a look at the website, make sure that you get to the "audio" portion of the website.

[gmorris]

Originally posted by Shizelbs
I am pretty in the dark about power conditioners. Could you please explain a little bit more about the ability to turn equipment on and off in a certain order? Do you mean that by the touch of a button there is a pre-arranged sequence that boots your gear on and off?

In a word, yes. BUT, this will only work if the connected epuipment has an ON/OFF toggle type switch. Most equipment has the notorious ON/OFF combo button, therefore it cannot be left on when the power is removed.

[dorokusai]

Originally posted by nemos2

While you are looking, take a look at brickwall.com. They make (IMHO) rock solid surge protectors, and the customer support is great. They will talk you through the entire process, and explain the concepts behind the surge protection and filtering. Take a look at the website, make sure that you get to the "audio" portion of the website.

I think this would be a good choice also. I am a fan of just protection period, regardless of who makes it.

I think it would be a shame to have your gear spoiled, when it could have been prevented. This is not to say that the protection is 100% infallible, but at least it is something.

[PolkThug]

Originally posted by gmorris
http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=monmphts2500&store=&catid=4100

Here is the best deal I've yet found on the HTS 2500. That site is an authorized retailer, so warranty is valid.


I don't think e-tronics is an authorized Monster dealer. I think they also used to claim they were a Denon authorized dealer, but they are not.

You have been warned.

[PolkThug]

As I've mentioned before...


"I have a Monster power conditioner. I think if anything, it keeps electrical components from interfering with each other. For instance, if I'm watching a movie and my girlfriend turns the vacuum on, I don't see any static or notice anything except for the level meter going down on the Monster."

Regards,
PolkThug

[gmorris]

Originally posted by PolkThug
I don't think e-tronics is an authorized Monster dealer. I think they also used to claim they were a Denon authorized dealer, but they are not.

You have been warned.

I called them and asked if they are authorized. The operator said they are. I then asked if the warranty is valid (just to make sure he wasn't pulling my leg) and he said it was also.

I made this call maybe 3 months ago, so unless things have changed since then, I'm saying they are authorized.

[dorokusai]

EZC, a forum member, has already offered his Authorized Monster Cable Retailer services...if Etronics does not sit well with anyone.

[gmorris]

Will EZC match Etronics super low prices?

(Come on EZC, waiting for you to chime in here)

[reeltrouble1]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Shizelbs
I am pretty in the dark about power conditioners. Could you please explain a little bit more about the ability to turn equipment on and off in a certain order? Do you mean that by the touch of a button there is a pre-arranged sequence that boots your gear on and off?


Yes, on my MC 5000 you can set pairs of switches to either switched, unswitched, switched with delay's of 6 or 20 seconds.
This way you can power on your gear in a certain order and power off in a certain order.

In my case I have the Conditioner turn on the pre/pro and CD then the amp and turn off in reverse order. I use the 12v trigger on my pre/pro to send the signal to the conditioner, I have the push button on/off switches on my equipment and all of this works just fine.

I got a deal on the monster piece I use, check out panamax and the others pick the one with the features you need. Make sure you get enough plugs.

[PolkThug]

Originally posted by gmorris
I called them and asked if they are authorized. The operator said they are. I then asked if the warranty is valid (just to make sure he wasn't pulling my leg) and he said it was also.

I made this call maybe 3 months ago, so unless things have changed since then, I'm saying they are authorized.

You're approching this from the wrong angle. You need to ask the manufacturer, NOT the seller.

Here is the list from Monster for authorized on-line dealers:

6th Avenue Electronics
Amazon
American Satellite
Best Buy
BestBuyPlasma.com
B&H Photo/Video
buy.com
Circuit City
Crutchfield Good Guys
Harveyonline
HiFi.com
J&R Electronics
OneCall
Tweeter
Vanns
Wild West Electronics
Wirecloset
Audio Advisor
Electroshops
Parts Express PC Connection
Power Systems Direct
Smartermall.com
Toshiba

[gmorris]

O.K.

I just sent an email to Monster customer support. I'll report back when I get a response.

[ezc]

gmorris

In regard to matching the etronics.com price, I cant do it that low. Thier price is lower than what we pay monster as a authorized delaer. If you feel comfortable buying from etronics that is a great deal. Id check if ther are an authorized dealer, if not you will have no warranty. If your ac surged & damages your surge & equipment there is no warranty! Your equipment connected also has no connected equipmwent warranty either. Your system must have cost you alot of money, isnt is worth spending more & getting a warranty on the conditioner & your gear you connect to it? The surge/conditioner is a protection & ac line cleaner for your whole system, Its like insurance that you buy to protect & clean the AC. Its a chance you take but if your comfortable with that go for it. My 2 Cents is that electronics fail & sometimes come bad from the manufacture, I always look at the warranty for electronics as a must, although I dont buy additional extended warranty. I want to know if somthing goes wrong the manufacture will be willing to help me correct the problem, rather than tell me sorry go see the store that sold it to you, we cant help you.

[dorokusai]

I received a fantastic deal from Ace(EZC) and his crew. I wouldn't trade that positive experience to save a couple dollars. If it is nominal, go with who you know you can trust....or just buy something else. Good luck in whatever you choose.

[gmorris]

I just got an email from Timothy Pride, head of customer service at Monster Cable.

Etronics.com IS AN AUTHORIZED RESELLER.

Sorry PolkThug, but your list is out of date.

This is great news for me, as I am going to get the HTS 2500.

[PolkThug]

Don't apologize, its Monster's own list, pulled it today. LOL

[gmorris]

ezc,

How much would you be willing to sell me an HTS-2500 for, with shipping to Ohio.

Etronics.com will ship one to me for $181. If you can come reasonably close to $181, I'll buy it from you instead.

[ezc]

gmorris

Thats great news that etronics is an authorized dealer. They offer great prices. The best price I could do deliverd would be between 200 & 220 the price would depend on exact zip. Etronics should beable to give you a better delivered price since they are closer to you!

[kureboy99]

Originally posted by thehalo8
I am currently running my system off a high end Belkin power strip. I am looking to get a new strip that offers the protection of surges but also provides clean power to my equipment. I have my eye on a Monster HTS 2000 MKII Power Center. If anyone has any comments on that unit or perhaps one you use I would greatly appreciate it. I just want to get a good strip to protect and power all my stuff. Thanks for the help guys.

Mike

Mike,

Take it from an ex-Monster owner...Monster Power (even the reference series) KILLS the soundstage of your expensive equipment and speakers. Getting something right the first time such as a Panamax MAXX5500 would be a bit more expensive but well worth it for your system for years to come. It has a torroidal power supply and gives unhindered power (no cheapy RF/EMI filters to get in the way) and clean power at the same time. It's basically almost like plugging your equipment into the wall of a dedicated AC line with no interference etc. TRust me...a purchase well worth the extra money. Just trying to help you out...

[dorokusai]

As an alternate experience to Kureboy's, I experienced zero shift in soundstage or performance with the MC HTS-5100. I will say that I have read here and there, people that were unsatisfied with the Power Conditioner/Surge Arrestor setup....but not just Monster Cable. That was across the board, to include PS Audio.

I have read many more postive things than I have negative....but that's with everything in the history of audio. As with everything said here in the forum, it's just personal opinion and experience.

One man's holy audio epiphany is another man's pissed off customer service complaint.

[ezc]

I agree with doro. I myself use a Monster AVS 2000 SS & a HTPS 7000 SS. Yes it did make my video better & audio cleaner W/ a wider sound stage. My thaughts! AC Voltage is your base of foundation. If your AC is dirty or bad your whole system will be off. Like building a house if you build the foundation & it is off the whole house will be off. My friend in out HT club won the wide screen review contest & won a Monster HTPS 7000 SS. He was using multipul Richard Grey 400 MKII in his system. He replaced all the RG 400's with the one 7000 SS & Video & Audio was much improved. He tried adding the RG's back in & it made it worse. He replaced the 7000 again with the RG to test & the audio & video got went back to how it was. Replace the RG's again with the 7000 & noticible improvement! There are so many levels of power conditioning & the better the product the better the preformance & improvment! Use your Dig Vid Ess or other set up discs, do a calibration than switch out the surge/conditioner & see what change it made, run the set up again & see where the difference is. Everyones AC is no the same. You may live in an area where your ac is perfect & dont need any conditioning. Where I live its a must, & the better conditoner I can buy just makes my system preform at its fullest potential. Thats always my goal, have my system preform the best it can & always try to obtain a better picture & sound!

[bikezappa]

About 20 years ago I took a isolation transformer from work at Raytheon. They were going to toss it. The sucker weights about 20 pounds and is mounted in a metal box with two outlets and with a large handle for lifting. The line cord that plugs into the 120v is very large and serious looking.

I run all the electronics from it in my HT. It cleaned up the video very nicely. I wonder if that's all you really need, because NO RF will pass throught a isolation transformer.

[TrappedUnder Ice]

I just picked up the Monster HTS2600 at a local shop. The demo they gave was impressive- took a small signal generator and plugged it into a wall aoutlet- it had all sorts of noise...ven an ugly FM signal- He then unplugged it and plugged into the 2600 and it was extremely clean. went from 24- .02 on digital reading.
Had me sold.

[aba4430]

Guys,
Read a lot about surge protectors and conditioners here and so I ordered a Panamax 5300 today from Panamax itself. Wonderful folks in CS there. I read about their upgrade program and contacted them. I am turning in an 10 year old COAXMAX 4 to them and will upgrade to a factory fresh MAX 5300 at 50% off retail - worked out to a total of ~$270 with S&H. Not a bad deal at all. If you have a damaged Panamax surge unit, you can make avail of their upgrade program. For information on this program, visit:
http://www.panamax.com/RMA/default.aspx
Any folks using the 5300? How do you like the unit? I am partial to Panamax because of my previous experience with their products (COAXMAX 4 & COAXMAX 6).
Regards,
aba

[dorokusai]

Nice choice ABA, let us know what you think about it when it lands.

[aba4430]

Folks,
I recd. the Panamax 5300 last Friday. First of all the unit was packed very well by Panamax. They double boxed it and it arrived in perfect condition. I set it up on Saturday and have to say that I am extremely pleased with it. The unit is ~16 lbs. net and the build quality is top grade. I have my 47TX Elite and the 505 hooked up to the pair of high current outlets and the other components to the other outlets. I have noticed a dramatic difference in the sound of my system. Previously both units were connected to a Curtis Command Center computer surge suppressor, other components in this set-up were connected to the COAXMAX 6. I believe the Curtis was choking my Elite receiver. This is based on how the thing sounds now, wide open and with plenty of impact. Cannot explain the difference on paper, but it is a positive difference.
Regards,
aba

[thehalo8]

I put in an order yesterday for the Monster HTS 3600 power center. I am looking forward to receiving it!!!! I am going to reorganize my components in my entertainment center to find room for it, and then plug everything into it. I will let you know my thoughts as to whether it enhanced anything after I get it.

Mike

[jdavy]

ezc,

What do you think about the HTS5000?

What is your website?

[ezc]

jdavy,

The HTS5000 is a good Surge/AC line conditioner. I prefer the HTS5100 over the 5000 beacuse the 5100 offers 3145 joule rating compared tothe 5000 at 2775. Also the 5100 offers a $500000 connected equipment guaranty compared to the 5000 at $100000. The 5100 has a powerline 300 cable compared to a 200 powerline.The 5100 also has a dig volt & amp meter compared to an analog volt meter only. I like the fact that I can monitor how much amps my system is actually using. The price is $100 more for the 5100 which to me is a worth the extra dollars just for the added features & upgraded powerline. My site is
http://www.ezconnection.org/monstercable.htm. Depending on your system & if you want to keep the cost down you could concider the HTS3600. Its a great unit! We sell just as man 3600 as the 5100. Hope this helps. If you want more info e-mail me.
Ace

[aba4430]

Guys,
Panamax is running a special promo for $99.95 plus S&H for their Max 5100 unit. The web site has the promo, but no details. Excellent price vs. a retail of $350. I had to call Mary Anne at Panamax to close the deal. I am getting this unit for my second system. Any folks interested, call Mary Anne at Panamax (800-472-5555, ext. 3922) for details. You can also order the special promo on-line, but hold off on your CC number until you call and verify it is indeed the Max 5100. Great deal, just thought I would pass along the information.
Regards,
aba

[PolkWannabie]

Have you got a link to the promo ?

[aba4430]

Here you go:
http://www.panamax.com/products/productpage_comp.asp?sName=Promo
Does not have any details and this is strange, but they allow you to call in your cc number in the order process, so you can confirm.
Regards,
aba

[PolkWannabie]

How did you know what this promo was for prior to calling them up ?

[aba4430]

Remember, I just ordered a 5300 from them as well. Per my upgrade deal, I could buy upto 3 Panamax's at 50% off within a 30 day period. I wanted to see what the 5300 was like before ordering a second one. While browsing their web site after I had ordered the 5300, I came upon the promo ad. Since there was no information, I called and found out that it was the 5100. However, that was ~1.5 weeks ago. So when I made up my mind on the 5100, instead of calling them first and paying $175 (50% of $350 list), I just ordered the special promo this past week-end without giving my cc number. I just wanted to be sure that it was still the 5100 on special. I closed the deal yesterday after calling them. So that is how I knew etc.
aba

[KarlJShields]

<sorry, double-post>

[KarlJShields]

I've read quite a bit about Monster and Panamax equipment here; has anyone had any experience with Furman gear?

Furman is very well known for their pro sound equipment, but they also seem to have a line aimed at HT. On the other hand, I wonder if using their pro equipment for HT would work well?

[dorokusai]

If it performs the same basic function, I wouldn't see any reason why you could not use it.

Do they have a OJ edition of their gear? :)

[PolkThug]

Originally posted by dorokusai
Do they have a OJ edition of their gear? :)

:eek: :D :D

[Awais yaqub]

in PAKISTAN wire better then monster costs 10Rs/METER
10Rs= 0.16$ and surge protector 300 RS = 5$

[POLKOHOLIC]

Awais--you crazy? Where the hell do they have GOOD cable in Pakistan--Especially cable better then Monster....plus I havent seen GOOD wire going for 10Rs/Meter and one more thing---what surge protector is this for Rs300--you sure your not talking about a power stabilizer which costs around 1000 for a high wattage one.

[Awais yaqub]

I have tested the wires and compared them with bose and monster wires no diff in quality these brands takes only mony of brand name..oh i thouhgt surge pro is same as stabilizes surge pro i asked the shop keeper was 1000 Rs
BOSE loseing grip after arival of sony sacd and home theater which r far better then bose in quality and price

[aba4430]

I recd. my 5100 yesterday and am very pleased with it also. Now I can relax on line conditioners etc. for a few years :)
aba