The Taboo (oooo!) of surge protection
Posted by: onlythat on 18 February 2003
Since moving to my apartment in Little Rock, Arkansas from New York, I have come to understand the meaning of THUNDER STORMS. Also, there are more plain old power outages here than in NY (and rapid ons!).
Question--
I bought the Wiremold strip to use direct into the wall and did so happily in NY. But here, I am just too frightened with all the electrical craziness. Especially now with my new CDS2 (which I would legally marry if I could-- perhaps in Florida?).
Someone told me that the surge protector that does the LEAST damage to the signal by current limiting is the Panamax 8. I bought it and use it with peace of mind, however-- in plugging my system straight in to the wall recently with the Wiremold, damned if I didnt notice a little clearer sound with improved dynamics and tighter bass.
Also, I am away from home for a night or two on end during the week at work.
So is the Panamax the least damaging thing to do for peace of mind or is there another protecion device I am not aware of that I might plug the Wiremold into?
Also, when using a surge suppressor, does one need to use the Wiremold strip as well, or can you just plug everything into the surge strip-- seems like eliminating a connector might give a more direct sound, no?
Please noone suggest special mains things or rewiring my apartment complex-- Even a man as powerful as myself has no authority to do so!
Thanks to all who reply.
Yours in the dharma,
David
Posted on: 18 February 2003 by Wolf
Mid west and southern give new meaning to thunder storms. I'd put up with a little less detail just to be secure from surges. I envy you the CDS2, never heard one before.
Posted on: 18 February 2003 by onlythat
So I guess I'll count you in support for the Panamax because you truly understand the nature of electricity, as I do.
As for the CDS2, I was not impressed when I first hooked it up. It took about one hour of warm up for me to forget about how much the upgrade cost me. 3 hours give or take to forget about all other cd players.
This is it. Dear lord is this it.
You know, I was gonna buy an XPS for my CDX, but I decided that if I sell my CDX and put the money towards a used CDS2, it works out to about the same out of pocket. So i went for it.
David.
Posted on: 18 February 2003 by onlythat
What about the PS Audio stuff? Ultimate Outlet etc. Anyone with any experience there?
Posted on: 18 February 2003 by kentonious
Hi..I use a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet with
my Wiremold plugged into it and don't notice
ill effects, the PS perhaps offers even more clarity. I also use a couple of Audioprism Quietlines on empty wall sockets which help get rid of noise on the line with no ill effects. (Hey, I'm practically your neighbor here in Dallas, TX).
Posted on: 18 February 2003 by Manu
And if you use the Panamax for your peace of mind and remove it when listening. If you keep the kit powered off for 10 seconds, the time you switch, it will not have time to discharge and will sound like warm. For this you should use the Wiremold, simply switch the Wiremold plug from the Panamax to the wall socket.
All power conditionners i have tried (even an industrial 15KVA, $10,000) have a bad effect on music. Your CDS2 will sound like a CDX, a CDX like a CD5 and a CD5 like ... nothing.
Emmanuel
All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.
Posted on: 19 February 2003 by Simon Crosland
David,
I hear from several American friends working in the (pro) audio industry that
SurgeX do the best protection devices. I understand that one advantage of the SurgeX design is that they do not use sacrificial protection devices, so they keep on working at full performance even after a series of surges.
I don't know anything about pricing or their applicability to domestic situations.
Simon
Posted on: 19 February 2003 by John Sheridan
quote:
To summarize: I would turn off your most sensitive gear when not using it
rtfm or try doing a search on warmup times. Great tip for avoiding lightning strikes (except that it won't help if your equipment is still plugged in), pity about the (relatively) crap sound you must have.
Posted on: 19 February 2003 by onlythat
Boys, turning off the equipment during lightning storms would be great--
except that they occur so frequently during the season (every few days) that my stuff would NEVER be fully warmed up that way
AND I am a surgical resident which means I am rarely home some weeks and only know there was a lightning storm because the ground is wet when I leave the hospital and some peoples' power is out.
Soooo... we are back to some kind of surge protection. I also hear some of the suppressors, like the one I am using, protect against line faults-- like when voltage is too low or high for a time. Is this so critical?
Also, does NAIM have any built in protection at all-- like a fuse blowing or something to protect my hideously pricey CDS2 from sudden death? One guy recently told me that surges are the LEAST of my worries-- it is the transient low voltages and high voltages that occur during the day that can incrementally degrade and wear on the performance of our gear.
Any truth to this or just a sales pitch??
Posted on: 19 February 2003 by Derek Wright
What we really need is a battery back up system to keep the kit warm when we are out of the house - a combination of batteries, charger and convertor and a switch
Derek
Posted on: 19 February 2003 by Manu
Faust and others
It is useless to power down your equipment during lightning storm, YOU MUST UNPLUG THEM FROM THE WALL OUTLET.
Or leave them on and pray.
An amplifier is much faster to warm up than your CD5.
Emmanuel
All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.
Posted on: 19 February 2003 by onlythat
Well I may have sort of solved this by ordering a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet high current version to try.
It supposedly does almost nothing to the signal except decrease mains noise and claims are that it in no way limits current (and for 399.00 US it better not so much as TOUCH the friggin' signal).
There is a 30 day money back guarantee on it, so I'll report on it shortly, if any are interested.
Incidentally, an electrical sort told me today that you can have a power surge when the power goes OFF as well as ON. Now I'm REALLY scared. This CDS2 is making life difficult. I need more therapy.
Posted on: 20 February 2003 by Bob Shedlock
I read somewhere of a fellow who coiled his AC cords and tied them up in a bundle. (individualy for each unit.) He suffered a lightening strike and the powercords burned off w/out affecting the components themselves. Something to do with the coiling of them. The coils were closest to the wall socket. Could be one of those urban legends, but you never know
Posted on: 21 February 2003 by Rob Doorack
quote:
What we really need is a battery back up system to keep the kit warm when we are out of the house - a combination of batteries, charger and convertor and a switch
I found this in a pro audio catalog, it might be the solution you're looking for:
Galaxy Audio Far Outlet. Markertek.com sells it for $450.
I've got a PS Audio 15 amp Ultimate Outlet on my system. I can't say that I've heard any negative effects from it. The previous owners of my home were nuts for dimmers, the house has at least ten of them. Unfortunately my wife likes them too and won't let me remove more than 1 or 2. An Audioprism AC Noise Sniffer plugged into the outlet my hi fi uses showed that the raw AC was incredibly polluted; it sounded like a swarm of angry hornets. The Ultimate Outlet's filtering is very effective; the Noise Sniffer shows that the UO's output is dead quiet.
Posted on: 21 February 2003 by Olly
Interested to hear any more feedback on the Ultimate Outlet that's out there.
Posted on: 21 February 2003 by ET
Posted on: 21 February 2003 by Manu
Yes, it is a problem, we have to protect not only one sistem. Every single Naim unit in the shop is always power on, i have all the line and some used...many boxes (plus the other brands). And we spend less time in the store than at home, so we are not here when the storm can strike.
What i do to protect the equipment:
All the dedicated line breakers (20) are in a dedicated panel. I use an industrial computer-room surge supressor/protector. This device is of a shunt type, so it can be switched on and off circuit on the fly. It is specified to have less than 1 foot of wires (AWG 4) between the unit and the panel to protect. So i activate the protector when the store is closed.
It makes a big difference, when the unit is on, i know it just by listening even a cd5/nait5, and it is a shunt type not a serial/shunt as many consumer units.
Emmanuel
All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.
[This message was edited by Manu on SATURDAY 22 February 2003 at 05:29.]
Posted on: 14 March 2003 by onlythat
OK-- I have discovered the solution to my surge suppressor woes----
I have just done the comparison between my Wiremold into the Panamax and my Wiremold into The Ultimate Outlet from PS Audio.
The verdict-- I Am A Believer in...
The Ultimate Outlet. This thing DOES NOT LIMIT Current! (I have the High current version, 15 amp). The system sounds MUCH better than when plugged into a plain old surge suppressor, and it too protects from surges etc.
I realize going into the wall direct may be even better, but last night I was away and we had a FURIOUS thunder-storm. I wouldnt have had the chance to disconnect my stuff-- but thanks to the Ult. Outlet I wasnt worried.
The sound with the Ultimate in Place is much fuller and more present than with the Panamax plain-old suppressor.
I am NOT saying the Ultimate Outlet is something to be used on the end of every NAIM sistem, merely that it offers a significantly closer approach (maybe even a better sound, due to its noise filtering) to straight-from-the-wall current while offering surge protection (peace of mind at last) as well.
If you have the T-storm dilemma I do, Give it a try-- 30 day money back from PS Audio if not satisfied.
That guy who said my surge protector was making my new CDS2 sound like a CDX was about right. Now I am hearing crazy things on my sistem detail-wise etc. that I never heard before and the dynamics are astounding! I gotta lower the friggin' volume cause I dont wanna piss of my neighbors when the music swells.
In short, I am now one happy, surge-protected bastard
signed,
A happy surge-protected bastard
