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ZeroSurge 2R15W Surge Protector Review

Rate this surge protector:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 49 37.4%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 33 25.2%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 29 22.1%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 20 15.3%

  • Total voters
    131

OctoEmu

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I wonder if square wave vs emulated sinewave vs pure sinewave UPS would make any difference in terms of audibility, although I doubt it would...
 

pablolie

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I have this "little", Stereophile-recommended power conditioner in the rack... It's "Power Wedge Ultra" from now defunct Audio Power Industries...
20230124_083341.jpg
...but it is not connected to anything, it's just for looks & cred... :-D Kidding - it's there because I have been too lazy to remove it and it's as good a storage place as any. Weights a ton. No one wanted it when I put it on Cragslist. :-D

It really never seemed to do anything, certainly no SQ improvements despite Stereophile's usual stuff about lifting veils and creating a blacker black and what not... :-D

PS: The magic crystal on top has zero to do with anything audio :-D My GF claims it's good energy for the room, that's the story.
 

suttondesign

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This is a review and detailed measurements of the ZeroSurge 2R15W AC filter & surge protector. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $239.
View attachment 259469
I like the descriptive model name: it has two (2) outlets and is rated for 15 amps. A hefty AC cord gives one confidence that it can carry that much current.

If you are not familiar with the company and this product, their products (and that of another competitor) use "series" non-destructive surge protection devices. Traditional surge protectors rely on components that are in parallel with the line and sacrifice themselves should a sufficiently powerful surge arrives. Some can fail this way with catastrophic results (think smoke and fire). They are cheap and have the advantage of having no impact (if well designed) on power delivery of the unit. Series protection devices like the one in this review, shunt the power instead and are able to do so repeatedly. But by putting a circuit (inductor) in series, they are said to impact power delivery. They also cost a lot more as you can tell here.

I can't test the surge protection of these devices but can see if a) they improve the fidelity of audio system and b) whether they have a negative impact on power delivery. Many audiophiles buy these for reason (a) and to sleep easy should a surge arrive.

ZeroSurge Filtering Measurements
For such a device in theory having a benefit, it needs to filter noise in the audio band so let's test that. I first measure the "raw" AC coming out of my equipment rack power strip using a 1/100 attenuator:

View attachment 259470

The level of distortion and noise remains more or less the same. Lots of harmonic distortion is responsible for creating 2.2% distortion added to the 60 Hz mains. Now let's do the same measurement but routing the AC through 2R15W:
View attachment 259471

Focusing on THD+N, we see the same 2.2% so nothing has been filtered there. The sine wave on the left looks distorted just as it did when we didn't use the device. The FFT spectrum also appears to be the same but let's run a dedicated test to be sure:
View attachment 259472

There doesn't seem to be any attenuation there. Based on this we can predict that performance of our audio gear won't be improved but let's test that theory.

ZeroSurge 2R15W Amplifier Measurement
I recently tested the new NCx500 high power class D from Hypex so I thought it would make a good target for measuring the fidelity and impact on power of the amplifier. Let's start with our standard 4 ohm power sweep (with buffer enabled in NCx500):

View attachment 259473

The raw AC (green) and run through ZeroSurge show identical noise and distortion. The two graphs are completely on top of each other indicating that no improvement to be had. You can take to the ban that the fidelity is the same.

But let's see if we lost some power starting with maximum power available into 4 ohm:
View attachment 259474

There is a tiny impact here which is not even worth noting. Let's test burst power:

View attachment 259475

Once again, the impact is tiny which could just be the extra wiring and outlet involved in the circuit. This is great news as it dispels the worry that you can't use these surge protectors for power amplifiers. Granted, we are talking almost 700 watts here and not 1,500 but still, you are unlikely to be pulling 600 watts continuously as I am doing here.

Conclusions
As with all the other power tweaks, filters and cables, no fidelity improvement is to be had with 2R15W. It doesn't "clean" the AC in any way that I can measure. And as a result, real-life testing with an amplifier shows the same performance with and without. On the other hand, it is a major sigh of relief that despite pulling some 700+ watts out of the box, it had essentially no impact on the amplifier performance.

Where this leaves us is that if you like its flavor of surge protection, you can proceed to use it for that purpose and not worry about power loss.

I can't recommend the ZeroSurge 2R15W as a fidelity improvement device. As a surge protector, going by what they say it does, it seems like a better bet than many cheap solutions.
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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
i bought one years ago to protect expensive compters. had no idea anyone thought it was something for audio quality.
 

Spkrdctr

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The people I've talked to would rather have a steady job with a building contractor, rather than the handyman thing. I guess it's just less headache.
That is true. Doing smaller custom fantastic quality jobs are not as much fun. So, if you ever find one that meets our criteria, keep that phone number for life!
 
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Spkrdctr

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I have this "little", Stereophile-recommended power conditioner in the rack... It's "Power Wedge Ultra" from now defunct Audio Power Industries...
View attachment 259575
...but it is not connected to anything, it's just for looks & cred... :-D Kidding - it's there because I have been too lazy to remove it and it's as good a storage place as any. Weights a ton. No one wanted it when I put it on Cragslist. :-D

It really never seemed to do anything, certainly no SQ improvements despite Stereophile's usual stuff about lifting veils and creating a blacker black and what not... :-D

PS: The magic crystal on top has zero to do with anything audio :-D My GF claims it's good energy for the room, that's the story.
I understand! I am trying to give away a free nearly brand new Martin Logan subwoofer and no one in central Florida wants one. I am surprised. It is in fantastic condition, used for about a year. All they have to do is pick it up. No one interested. Maybe if I put it at $100 someone would be more apt to buy it. If it is free most people think there is something wrong. They can't believe I would give away brand new equipment for free. I have done it for years. So, I sit here with a new sub just sitting and not being used. Oh well!
 

supercargo

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But that's just it: it doesn't offer filtering.
Of course they should offer filtering. From company marketing material (emphasis added by me):

Our products not only filter worse case surges from the power line, they also remove EMI/RFI noise disturbances for improved performance. Left unfiltered, noise can interfere with video and audio signals and cause noticeable distortion.

My purpose is filtering catastrophic surges. There are also claims that the device is capable filtering other less significant issues. Both for improvement of performance as well as a way to extend the life of the protected devices.

I guess what I’m missing from the review is the presence of any power issues that might need filtering. A good power supply in your equipment should be perfectly capable of offering rated performance on nominally “dirty” power. But what about exceptionally dirty? This is what I’m wondering about.

If I put clean water through a water filter and it comes out clean, do I conclude that the water filter does nothing?
 

Jbrunwa

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OK, corrected, but isn't a filter meant to... filter? This is what the buying layman will expect, at this price level anyway.

BTW, "power quality filters" is stated on the box... :)
What box did you see this? The product uses a "series mode filter" vs MOVs to protect against surges. It makes no claim to do otherwise from what I can tell.

Here is their explanation of how their technology suppresses surges

 

Jbrunwa

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I think whole house protection is a good idea.But take a look at their comparison of whole house MOVs vs Zero Surge. Is whole house MOV good enough? Maybe, but we get a lot of surges where I live, so I am also using the zero surge on my expensive equipment.

 

DonR

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I use this surge suppressor and it is very effective at removing inductive motor noise and inrush current switching noise. I believe it works similar to the Zero surge under test here. Definitely filters transients which on occasion have tripped my amp.
 

respice finem

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What box did you see this? The product uses a "series mode filter" vs MOVs to protect against surges. It makes no claim to do otherwise from what I can tell.

Here is their explanation of how their technology suppresses surges

The buyer is usually not an expert, so he will assume what it says.
 

Jbrunwa

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fpitas

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fpitas

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That is true. Doing smaller custom fantastic quality jobs are not as much fun. So, if you ever find one that meets our criteria, keep that phone number for life!
I have a guy, actually. Does great work, and we enjoy each other's company. Better yet, I know I can let him in the house when I'm gone and nothing will disappear lol.
 

pablolie

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I understand! I am trying to give away a free nearly brand new Martin Logan subwoofer and no one in central Florida wants one. I am surprised. It is in fantastic condition, used for about a year. All they have to do is pick it up. No one interested. Maybe if I put it at $100 someone would be more apt to buy it. If it is free most people think there is something wrong. They can't believe I would give away brand new equipment for free. I have done it for years. So, I sit here with a new sub just sitting and not being used. Oh well!

Indeed - so much for audio gear as an "investment" :-D

I also have speakers and 2 amps I'd gladly give away... yet no one bothers. And they are great quality and in great condition.
 

jomo

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I think whole house protection is a good idea.But take a look at their comparison of whole house MOVs vs Zero Surge. Is whole house MOV good enough? Maybe, but we get a lot of surges where I live, so I am also using the zero surge on my expensive equipment.

This is what Amir should have tested. Not the rediculous test of filtering the AC, which is not claimed at all. ZeroSurge claims shielding and EMI/RFI filtering which does nothing to audio frequencies.

Amir's "test" proved that this series surge protector design can provide the power without significant loss, which is good.

Now, can it handle voltage spikes and supress the voltage to the equipment at a lower voltage than MOVs? If it can, this is a distinct advantage over MOVs of all types.

Can it voltage supress over and over? because MOVs are sacrificial. This may be super important for electronics you need to keep running after a strike (not just protect from damage).

How many voltage surges can this thing take before it no longer works? How does this compare to a conventional MOV surge protector....compared to a whole house surge protector?

This is what I would call useful SCIENCE.
 

fpitas

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This is what Amir should have tested. Not the rediculous test of filtering the AC, which is not claimed at all. ZeroSurge claims shielding and EMI/RFI filtering which does nothing to audio frequencies.

Amir's "test" proved that this series surge protector design can provide the power without significant loss, which is good.

Now, can it handle voltage spikes and supress the voltage to the equipment at a lower voltage than MOVs? If it can, this is a distinct advantage over MOVs of all types.

Can it voltage supress over and over? because MOVs are sacrificial. This may be super important for electronics you need to keep running after a strike (not just protect from damage).

How many voltage surges can this thing take before it no longer works? How does this compare to a conventional MOV surge protector....compared to a whole house surge protector?

This is what I would call useful SCIENCE.
They brought this on themselves with their Dynamic Filtering market-speak. I agree, it does not filter. Even dynamically (?).
 

jomo

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They brought this on themselves with their Dynamic Filtering market-speak. I agree, it does not filter. Even dynamically (?).
You missed the point. This thing may surge protect much better than a typical MOV based surge protector. But that was not tested.
 
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