QuestionMr. East,
I'll begin with the fact that parts of this question may beyond your scope; but, I value your opinion nevertheless.
I have, in my living room: A 53" RPTV, VCR, DVD player, digital cable box, and Tivo.
I have, in my home office: a Macintosh computer, PC computer, cable modem, Laserjet printer, scanner, and miscellaneous other peripherals.
I have recently become obsessed with the subject of surge suppression. I have done some independent research, some of my remaining questions and concerns are as follows:
(1) Do I pick something up at Wal-Mart or do I go to Esoteric Audio, Inc.? Or even something in between, Monster Cable or Radioshack.
(2) Do I go MOV or series-mode (does it really last forever?)? For example, Adcom, BrickWall, or SurgEx.
(3) Do I need a UPS? If so, is this compatible with a surge suppressor?
(4) Do any of the answers for all of the above questions differ in regard to my computer equipment vs. my home theater equipment?
(5) Does a whole-house surge protector play a part in any of this?
(6) What sort of "surge protection" do I need for my phone line and cable coaxial line?
(7) How does a "line conditioner" play into this maddness? Do I really need one?
(8) Who shot JFK?
As you can see, my own homework has revealed more questions than answers. (Of course we all know that a jealous Jackie shot him). Any help, whatsoever, will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you, in advance, for your help.
Sincerely yours,
Ajay Handa
AnswerDear Ajay,
Thank you for numbering your questions. Answers, or at least heartfelt attempts, do likewise...
1. Neither. The best surge suppressors are made for PCs. Go to CompUSA, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.
2. I can't answer this. Go to www.pcworld.com for their opinions.
3. Again UPS is for PCs. I think they're folly for audio.
4. I generally recommend that home audio installations (a) be on a dedicated circuit and (b) use very clean surge suppression. I'm a PC user not a PC expert, so I can't answer the balance of your question. IMHO, however, as a non-expert PC user, surge suppression is required for PC and peripheral installations. You should use a UPS only if you have critical business applications such that a power outage would destroy the business.
5. I don't know anything about this. Pass.
6. Again, www.pcworld.com. FYI, both my phone and coax lines are routed through a surge protector.
7. Line conditioners are mostly audio voodoo. I do not recommend them except in extreme instances, usually at the remote end of a rural spur line, where the cycles per second A/C power is unreliable. In 99.44% of the United States, the power is extremely reliable. On a lark a few years ago, I got an Adcom line conditioner for my main audio rig--have never been able to tell any difference in the before and after sound.
8. Warren Commission said Lee Harvey Oswald. But let's not go there.
You should also go to the PC section of allexperts.com and ask the same set of questions (with perhaps the exception of number 8) since the technology has largely been developed around home and business computer use. However, I'm flattered that you would think an audio geek might know something about all that.
Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
