Can expensive surge protectors provide better audio and video quality?--Ask the Editors

Can this $230 surge protector improve home theater performance?

CNET reader Chris writes:

My question is are expensive surge protectors even necessary? I see lots of other surge protectors in the $20-30 range that seem like they would be sufficient. Will an expensive surge protector really keep the "dirty power" out of my lines and give me better picture and sound?

That's a great question. If you listen to the companies selling the equipment, there's no doubt about it. Monster promises, "a more natural sound, increased dynamic range, and the most vivid video images possible," and includes a highly suspect comparison to back up its claims. Similarly, Panamax claims, "improved picture and sound quality from AV component sources" from its $500 surge protector. (We did notice that Belkin--another major manufacturer of surge protectors--makes no claims of improved AV quality.)

So is the marketing hype true? As far as we can tell, no. At CNET Labs, we have a large Monster surge protector, plus a variety of other, less expensive models from different manufacturers. In terms of video quality, we've never seen any difference from the Monster surge protector compared to other surge protectors, or even compared to plugging components directly into the wall--and we're constantly looking for even the slightest video artifacts. Maybe our lab just has good, "clean" power, but we haven't noticed any differences in our personal home theaters either.

For audio, it's largely the same experience. Unless you hear something obvious like a hum, hiss, or pop from your speakers, the increase in audio performance from a surge protector is going to range from about nothing to negligible. In fact, if you are hearing problems, your money might be better spent on an electrician to examine your home's electrical wiring rather than a surge protector. And if an electrician isn't feasible--say you're living in an apartment--you're probably better off with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

But before you go writing off surge protectors as overmarketed hype, don't forget about their main purpose--protecting your gear from electrical spikes. It makes much more sense to purchase a surge protector based on its clamping voltage (the lower the better) and maximum surge current (the higher the better), instead of suspicious performance claims. Also pay attention to how much insurance the company offers if your gear is damaged from an electrical surge. As long as it covers the value of your home theater, you should at least be able to replace your gear.

The bottom line is that when buying a surge protector, focus on its ability to protect your gear from getting fried, and pretty much ignore any claims about improved audio/video quality.

[plague88]

Yes, I completely agree with you that surge protectors are merely for protecting your stuff during storms or electrical surges etc...
See My post awhile back:
http://gee-zu.com/wordpress/?p=183
I did some testing with my dirty power or whatever when I experienced AM frequencies from a nearby tower. I swore up and down that it was them not me! After I spent and tried different surge protectors like: Monster, panamax, ACP, and after market products. The after market PS2 game surge protector did the best for $25... It didn't solve the problem but it the best job trying to quiet down the issue at hand.
http://gee-zu.com/wordpress/?p=185
Finally to solve my problem I ended up buying a higher end Onkyo reciever. My low-end pioneer had bad Video IN/Out.
http://gee-zu.com/wordpress/?p=186

When all said and done Spend the money on good quality components and save money by buying a decent surge protector to protect you from the elements.

[mantonx907]

I've also had the same problem (ground loop), albeit with my computer and speaker system. Instead of buying a $230 surge projector, I bought a $100 UPS. I haven't had any problems in my pre-war brooklyn apartment ever since.

[lk335]

I think a 'power conditioner' would be more akin to creating a difference in audio/video quality. I've never tried it...but I know for my old tube amps for home audio and guitar that running them with a conditioner helps clean up humm and 'motorboating' in some cases.

[yepperdepper]

I have not, and will not, purchase product from yahooz making ridiculous claimz.

[moink1234]

If you live in Manhattan, as I do, where there is very dirty power, larger surge protectors with isolation and conditioning features make an enourmous difference, especially with audio. I have the Monster Pro7000. Without it, I get 60 cycle hums, pops and clicks, and I get ground interference (almost vertical scrolling lightly colored bars) on my television.

So if you live somewhere with decent power, then there isnt much difference that these could make. But in an apartment building in NYC, it is deffinately worth it.

[blabtech.blogspot.com]

i think these expensive surge protectors can help in the long run and keep your equipment safe.

[chrkeller]

I bought a nice $300 power conditioner from Monster, if it did improve anything it was insigificant at best.

[opaquemiasma]

This article came just at the right time. I have been training to be an associate at "The City" for the past couple weeks and already knew that the monster cables were bogus and they keep trying to ingrain that your tv will look horrible if you don't have "clean power," something I strongly felt was bs, good thing to know I was right (and have officially lost trust in ANY monster product) but none of my coworkers read cnet or care so, no matter where you go, prepare to have it pitched at you.

[boopiejones]

the author mentions insurance coverage. i have only read the insurance policy on my most recently purchased surge protector, which was on sale for $25 but originally $60, and it basically looked like there was no way in hell they would ever replace your gear in the event it got fried. you need to send the original receipt, original packaging all your gear and the surge protector to the company on your own dime. then, they'd look at it and MAYBE reimburse you for some of it. while it is nice to know that i have a $25,000 insurance policy covering my $2,000 worth of gear, i am sceptical that i would ever see a single penny in the event my gear is damaged. anyone have any experience actually trying to cash in on a surge protector ins. policy???

[dannygled]

Our house in Vermont got struck by lightning about two weeks ago (it was the 2nd or 3rd page in the Vermont Standard) and it was amazing how all surge protectors sucked. Of all the surge protectors only four - cheap 10 dollar metal bars, probably from 1980, survived or protected anything. The expensive 250+ dollar surge protectors didn't do anything to save our electronics and even the industrial rated strips didn't work. Also their insurance policies were completely worthless. It was always an excuse as to why our situation wasn't covered. After this I question what use surge protectors serve. I recognize they protect from unwanted power surges, but when does that particular situation arise? Our neighbors house was completely unaffected (without surge protectors) when our house was struck. That means if the lightning hits not far away from you, the surge protectors are unnecessary, but if it hits your house directly they are worthless.

[turoa76]

I have a Belkin PureAV Isolator. I hooked everything up to it and forgot about it. On listening to my favourite track at medium-high volume I found it was fatiguing (i.e. overly bright). Thinking it was my HiFi in general I started considering $$$ upgrades. Someone on a forum I'm in suggested plugging my amps directly to the wall - bypassing the Belkin. Wow! Problem gone! His experience (and now mine) was that power conditioners/surge protectors ruin the dynamics for amplifiers. CD Players and video equipment did benefit however. It turns out other people on the forum found the same thing with their systems.

So now I rely on my insurance policy to 'protect' my amps during a power surge.

[Composer_1777]

I buy monster cables, when i feel like it's worth the money. Definitiely for HDTV and Y cables or Stereo cables.

[GlennW007]

For $2K of equipment, the best insurance may be your own bank account. Chances are, it a few years your model will be obsolete anyway. A UPS will be good to prevent interrruptions from storms & etc.

[dalundin]

With Very High End Separates and Speakers these components do make a difference. I currently run B&W 802D speakers with McIntosh Separates 400W/Channel Amps. With huge amounts of power running, even with clean power in my home, plugging the Amp directly into wall power, unconditioned, will give slight hum with volumes at high level. Using Monster Pro conditioners this hum is significantly reduced. For standard or even high end AV receivers however, the difference is negligible due to the internal noise seen when amplifiers and processors are combined in a single unit. The conditioner cannot condition this noise since it comes from the receiver itself, therefore standard surge protection is sufficient.

[juansayago]

I bought a Furman protector to protect my system. But, to mi surprise, it improved audio and video performance. Before that, I had a Panamax protector that didn' t improve anything.

[bobc47]

If I need a surge protector, I usually buy a metal cased outlet strip and add a few dollars worth of MOV's to it. If I am concerned about noise I'll wind up a balun and add a couple of UL rated caps for a dollar or two more.

For noise it's best to run a dedicated line to the fusebox.

[make_or_break]

As others have already alluded to: it depends. I live in an area where we generally get clean power most of the time, but much of the wiring in our early 1940s home is so decrepit that those pricey line conditioners actually do seem to work as advertised. In the areas of the house where the wiring has been replaced, the difference is indeed negligible given the quality of power that's coming into the place. So where my old listening room was, I used a power conditioner. Where the main A-V setup was, it was just a hi-cap surge protector (which I've had to replace about a year ago because of coming back online after a blackout that happened during the day; strange that in the "dirty" parts of the house, like where our desktop computers and file servers are, those surge protectors--same brand, only slightly different joule rating--kept right on working).

[djlechevalier]

We use the more expensive in recording studios, not because there is better sound, but because it causes less wear on the equipment. The really cheap power strips fluxate in V you have coming out of the wall. In the studio on the gear, mostly the tube pieces, you will notice a longer LIFE SPAN on the gear. Not so much better sound or video quality.

[menachem1953]

Hi folks, a couple of comments on TVSS's 1st. they protect power company spikes and under voltage spikes. 2nd. they don't clean the power up (isolation transformers do this). 3rd. and last when a lighting strike takes place it backfeeds through the grounding system and there is no protecting from this. All in all surge protecters work for what they were intended for.

[usbusi2]

If you have the ground loop 60 mhz hum from your cable TV coax connection, using a high end surge protector (like the $30 GE one which is the same as the more expensive Monster one,) will solve the hum problem, but then if you have high definition TV in your cable service, the bandwidth needs of the HD will be cut off by the coax surge protection. So then you just buy a ground loop filter from Radio Shack for $18, which is just two audio cables for left and right, with a filter in the middle of the cables, and that will cut out the hum.

If my TV was $1,500, and my disk players and stereo equipment is worth another $500, that is a total of $2,000 -- why would I need $300,000 in coverage? I've never had a problem using low end surge protectors with no insurance, although I've never had my residence struck by lightning either. So I don't know if the $30 and up surge protectors are just a gimmick or not either. I have heard that Monster has driven the price of high end surge protectors way up, along with everything else they sell, so unless you like to burn your cash, you might be well served by looking for General Electric or some other brand.

[usbusi2]

p.s. the part number of the Radio Shack "Audio System Ground Loop Isolator" is 270-054 . You can google it, but they will probably have it in stock in your local store. It works for car stereo systems with the same kind of problem also, apparently. And you could use one for each audio connection from all your components if they all cause a problem. For me the only problem was incoming from the Cable TV service -- a poorly grounded cable TV service perhaps.