Current: Tripplite ISOBAR6ULTRAHG --- Upgrade to SurgeX XR315?

[Peking Man]

Hi everyone,

I'm probably trying to scratch an itch that's not there but my goal is to minimize chances of damage to my A/V equipment which was fairly expensive for me. I currently have two floorstanders, two subs, and an AVR to protect. Everything is plugged into one Tripplite "Hospital Grade" Isobar Ultra Diagnostic Surge Suppressor:

I am lost with regards to MOV and SMP stuff but I do know that Tripplite employs MOVs and SurgeX uses SMPs. I'm seeing a bunch of great deals on used SurgeX and Zero Surge (Brickwall) items on Fleabay and was wondering if it would be beneficial to upgrade to one of these units. All that COUVS, ICE, Advanced SMP stuff sounds amazing so I'm just verifying that this isn't marketing hype but legitimate technology for safeguarding equipment. We rarely get lightning strikes around here but they do happen miles away. This SurgeX XR315 is a purdy lil' thang, however it costs $900+ new (can't find any used). Any thought are greatly appreciated!

SurgeX XR315 Home Theater:
Protect Your Home Theater Like the Pros
Home theater and residential applications require clean, safe power to perform at their peak. Utilizing the proper home surge protector and power conditioner products is a small price to pay to safeguard this valuable equipment from the unforeseen consequences of power surges and electrical line noise.

• Non-sacrificial components
• Magnetic shielding steel enclosure<
• Thermal circuit breaker overload protection
• Self-test circuit with visual indicator
• 9’ grounded 3-wire cord

 

[Peking Man]

Yeah, I am only looking at Zero Surge (Brickwall) and SurgeX. The XR315 is the prettiest one and can sit on my AVR. There are cheaper ones I can get used and new from SurgeX but they are rack mount.

 

[Doodski]

There are lighting protection devices that connect to the mains at the breaker panel. Protecting the entire building. I've never used one although @amirm says they are the best.

 

[Peking Man]

From what I gather one at the mains and point-of-use protection is the best. However, nothing in a residential setting will stop a direct hit from lightning from what I've read.

Do the Tripp-lite Isobars take care of under-voltage situations or are they strictly for surge/OV and emi/rfi suppression?

 

[JeffS7444]

FWIW, that is not a lightning arrestor: If direct lightning strikes are a concern, you'll need something else entirely, because nothing inside that little 1U box is going to block lightning, which will easily arc over the high voltage cutoff relay.

ISO-Bar is a very good grade of power strip, but unless life-support equipment is involved (wouldn't want those power plugs accidentally knocked loose!), I wouldn't pay the Hospital-Grade premium.

 

[Peking Man]

These devices are not voltage regulators, just surge suppressors, so no, they will not help with undervoltage.

I'm not an engineer or anything close to an electrician, but can you explain this to me? This is all the "tech" that the high end SurgeX devices have. I think there is a reason why top end SurgeX devices are so costly and used by many notable institutions and industries:

In the XR series, SurgeX has added two new features, COUVS (Catastrophic Over/Under Voltage Shutdown), and ICE (Inrush Current Elimination) which provide additional protection from brown outs and other power problems that aren’t the result of a lightning strike or surge.

 

[Peking Man]

FWIW, that is not a lightning arrestor: If direct lightning strikes are a concern, you'll need something else entirely, because nothing inside that little 1U box is going to block lightning, which will easily arc over the high voltage cutoff relay.

ISO-Bar is a very good grade of power strip, but unless life-support equipment is involved (wouldn't want those power plugs accidentally knocked loose!), I wouldn't pay the Hospital-Grade premium.

Thanks for the info. I already have the hospital grade Isobar and got it when Amazon had it for a great price. I'm looking to further protect my stereo equipment and was simply wondering if I have room for improvement in that respect.

 

[JeffS7444]

I'm not an engineer or anything close to an electrician, but can you explain this to me?

Yes, that graphic is designed to impress, but not really invite critical analysis of the product.

MOVs are common and cheap overvoltage protection, and when they take a sufficiently large hit, they're supposed to blow out, and hopefully trip a circuit breaker when they do. No big deal - if you are the handy sort, you can clear away the charred remains of the old MOVs and install new parts for a few bucks.

Low / high-voltage cutoff is an unusual feature for a good reason: You shouldn't normally encounter sustained high- or low-voltage beyond some negligible level, and if you do, you've got bigger electrical issues.

APC is a brand I would trust, and while $230 for their most deluxe 15 amp model (still not a lightning arrestor) may seem too cheap compared to a unit selling for $900+, it's really not: Datacenters rely on APC products. They also offer a 20 amp model, but that requires a slightly different style of power outlet.
https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/cate...ns/av-power-filters/av-power-filters/N-rnvwz7

You want to get really serious about it, here are purpose-built uninterruptable power supplies (also not lightning arrestors):
https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/cate...-power-conditioners-battery-backups/N-1isxu9g

 

[Peking Man]

I am well aware of APC (more or less Tripp-lite prosumer level) but I think SurgeX is on a different level. Since you mentioened data centers:

"SurgeX has been the leader in the professional surge protection market. Venues like Carnegie Hall, Dallas Cowboy's Stadium, NASA and many others trust only SurgeX to protect their sensitive gear because of our patented surge elimination system."

Many sound studios also use SurgeX. So there's that. Seems like I just parted with $950. It's just printed dead presidents after all. Let's get a legit Electrical/Sound/Audio engineer (with a PE or Masters designation) to chime in you feel me?

 

[Katji]

FWIW, that is not a lightning arrestor: If direct lightning strikes are a concern, you'll need something else entirely, because nothing inside that little 1U box is going to block lightning, which will easily arc over the high voltage cutoff relay.

ISO-Bar is a very good grade of power strip, but unless life-support equipment is involved (wouldn't want those power plugs accidentally knocked loose!), I wouldn't pay the Hospital-Grade premium.

Right here, let's emphasize it... it invariably gets confused in such threads...

Lightning strikes and surges/spikes are not quite the same thing.

Or, the spike caused by a lightning strike is way higher than spikes/surges that happen when power is switched on after a fault is repaired or after scheduled load-shedding.

 

[Peking Man]

Thanks for clarifying Katji.

Is it also prudent to shut off the main breaker during an outage and letting your neighbors take the spike once power is restored?

 

[Katji]

That's why I switch off the router and the speakers[+DAC+amps] whenever I go out.

Give it 5 or so minutes to stabilise before switching on after the power's back on.

Not the main breaker switch, just the wall switches....but whatever's most convenient.

Evaluate the risk level...accordingly... Lightning strikes are rare.../ some power outage, if it only happens like once in a year or so, I can imagine not bothering to switch things off.

(We've been having scheduled load-shedding over periods of a few days to several weeks, since about 2016, I think. So there's a lot of discussion on the local A/V forum. Wide range of under-voltage and over-voltage when it comes back on. )

( Add to that, much experience of lightning damage, AVRs especially. Because a major part of the country has some of the highest incidence / highest voltage/power lightning in the world - like in the top 3. )

 

[ReevaluateAdNauseam]

I am well aware of APC (more or less Tripp-lite prosumer level) but I think SurgeX is on a different level. Since you mentioened data centers:

"SurgeX has been the leader in the professional surge protection market. Venues like Carnegie Hall, Dallas Cowboy's Stadium, NASA and many others trust only SurgeX to protect their sensitive gear because of our patented surge elimination system."

Many sound studios also use SurgeX. So there's that. Seems like I just parted with $950. It's just printed dead presidents after all. Let's get a legit Electrical/Sound/Audio engineer (with a PE or Masters designation) to chime in you feel me?

Hi Peking Man,

I have been very interested in the SurgeX XR315 for a long time as I want to replace my Furman Elite-15 PFi.
However, I was not able to find out from anybody if the SurgeX includes coaxial protection. There is a single picture on hometheaterforum.com, showing the back of the SurgeX XR315 with coaxial input and output, but other pictures show just a Phoenix terminal block cutout.
Can you please confirm if the XR315 comes with coaxial protection?
I would be so grateful!

Thanks

 

[Peking Man]

I can confirm that the current crop of XR315 does *NOT* come with coaxial protection.

The old ones apparently did so you're going to have to look/wait for a used one to pop up.

 

[ReevaluateAdNauseam]

I can confirm that the current crop of XR315 does *NOT* come with coaxial protection.

The old ones apparently did so you're going to have to look/wait for a used one to pop up.

Thank you very much, well this is unfortunate, but I guess I will have to stick with the Furman for now.
Anyway, much appreciated : )

 

[Peking Man]

A used one (listed as new but does not appear so) just popped up on Ebay for $499 starting bid:

SurgeX XR 315 Surge Protector (Black) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SurgeX XR 315 Surge Protector (Black) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[preload]

Pretty good marketing.

 

[ReevaluateAdNauseam]

A used one (listed as new but does not appear so) just popped up on Ebay for $499 starting bid:

SurgeX XR 315 Surge Protector (Black) | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SurgeX XR 315 Surge Protector (Black) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Hi there, I am about to buy a new SurgeX XR-315, (I would never buy used, let alone from eBay), coaxial protection be damned!
Still, I was wondering how do you like the unit so far, what are your impressions?
And, if you need a coaxial protection (perhaps you don't) how are you handling it?
Just curious.
Thanks.

 

[Peking Man]

I'm not using anything that requires coax so it hasn't been an issue for me. I haven't had any electrical issues or lightning strikes to really put the unit to the test so it's been more a "peace of mind" thing for me.

 

[Neddy]

FYI, I've been using SurgeX SA-20, SEQ, and PCS for AV & computers for the last 5 years or more.
I've suffered a number of outages (2-3 per year), including lighting strikes (not nearby) several pole xformer failures (including one in front of my house), one electrocution (tree service a block away) and one or two substation explosions (several blocks away).
All have allowed my PCs to shut down (and reboot) more or less normally (PCS in particular seems good at this), and none have caused any damage, including the complete audio rack.
OTOH, none of the non-computerized stuff has been damaged either (not protected), nor have any of the 'smart home' network add-ons, tho several of those did take a while to 'wait up and be sane' again.
Bought all mine used on Ebay, tho some were 'NIB' (SA-20 cleary was, it was still sealed.)
Best wishes!!