Surge suppressors: Are SurgeX units the best available?

[Tatteredmidnight]

I’m quite happy with my Furman PST-8D. They are a reputable company, and the biggest thing for me above a whole house unit is that it has non-destructive over-volt protection at something like 136v. This has only tripped once for me, but I was glad it did.

Luckily, my internet is fiber (FiOS), and I have no coax runs to anything. I’ve experienced one cascading failure over Ethernet that originated at a router and took out a switch and the Ethernet port on a motherboard, that was a bit concerning.

I’ve also lived in an apartment where the bathroom fan would cause my powered speaker on the same circuit to pop when it was shut off. My theory was that the motor was dumping current back into the line due to a spike caused by the magnetic field collapsing on the coils, but Iack the education to be certain. I would think that would be DC current though, so probably not much that would help there (shrug).

Long story short, Furman is a brand I’ve encountered when working with pro-audio companies, as is surge-x. They both seem to be high quality, and may add the additional benefit of over-voltage protection in circumstances where a whole house unit may not trip. Most of my non-audio equipment is on line-interactive UPS’s so who knows.

 

[Angsty]

I have had a SurgeX for several years. I use it for my turntable, phono pre, preamp/dac, and CD player. I do not use it for my Bryston power amp. When on the SurgeX, it sounded different and less dynamic. I think the SurgeX may have been constricting the current to the amp in a way that made it sound less pleasant. No audible impact on the other components, though.

 

[ck42]

Good Intro to the different Types of surge protection.
I pay $10/mth for Type-1 protection on my meter
Have a Type-2 Siemens FirstSurge connected to the electrical panel
Then have Type-3 surge protectors installed all over the house (various types) for anything I'd be upset about losing (sensitive stuff or $$ stuff)

 

[Speedskater]

When on the SurgeX, it sounded different and less dynamic. I think the SurgeX may have been constricting the current to the amp in a way that made it sound less pleasant. No audible impact on the other components, though.

That's hard to believe!
It's not uncommon to find SurgeX equipment in the studios that recorded the music that we all listen to.

 

[Haflermichi]

To answer the OP's question, as far as I'm concerned yes they are. I have 3 Surgex SX-1115 RT for about 2 years now. One on each important audio system. Yesterday my family and I noticed all manner of odd behavior from appliances culminating with the TV shutting off. The TV is plugged into one of the Surgex. After the third shut down event (they ran about 20 minutes apart and lasted for about 15) I began investigating and noticed that the TV Surgex was indicating Over/Undervoltage protection and not passing power.

I put my meter (Fluke 87 mk5) on the wall outlet and read 150 volts AC! I started checking outlets all over the house and got everywhere from 90 to 150 volts. This range is far outside what is considered acceptable variation. Each of the Surgex units was indicating Over/Under and not passing power.

At the same time certain lamps in the house were brighter than normal while some were dimmer.

Internet investigation pointed to possible floating/missing/intermitent Neutral. Several electrician's websites emphasized this was a very dangerous condition. I called PG&G, told them I had 150 volts at my outlets and they had a guy at my house in an hour. At 11:30 PM.
He checked the meter, my breaker panel, did a visual on the weather-head and excalimed "You have a Neutral problem". He went up in his bucket
lift and redid all three connections at the pole. He said the Neutral connection in particular was very corroded and this can cause over/under voltage. He verified he also got 150 volts before going up in the lift and that's high enough to cause equipment failures including fires.

After coming back down he remeasured at the panel and we were spot on 120 volts.

So now, as far as I'm concerned the Surgex paid for themselves by shutting down due to the Over/Under conditions. Funny thing is I picked Surgex due to the series-mode, non-MOV approach alone and never even considered the Over/Under protection.

 

[jtwrace]

I now have 10 Zerosurge.com units and in Florida we have storms all the time and not one issue. My neighbor lost every single piece of electronic equipment in their house. From HVAC to alarm clocks...everything.

 

[pierre]

Anyone knows something of similar quality in Europe?

‘if you have modern house in Europe, you should not need one. Ask an electrician.

 

[raindance]

That's hard to believe!
It's not uncommon to find SurgeX equipment in the studios that recorded the music that we all listen to.

I have heard of (and experienced) this same effect also - I suspect that it is because the series mode technology adds some series impedance to the mains outlet, but have no proof of this. It only seems to affect power amps. This would potentially cause momentary voltage droop at the output of the conditioner when transient current is required from the wall. This is total speculation, so don't jump all over me .

 

[T0paz]

I have had a SurgeX for several years. I use it for my turntable, phono pre, preamp/dac, and CD player. I do not use it for my Bryston power amp. When on the SurgeX, it sounded different and less dynamic. I think the SurgeX may have been constricting the current to the amp in a way that made it sound less pleasant. No audible impact on the other components, though.

Which SurgeX model, what was the year of manufacture and what color are the outlets?

 

[Angsty]

My model is at least 12 years old and the rear is difficult to access for the model number. It has black outlets; it’s a rack-mountable version.

 

[Audiorick]

I can get a good deal on a SurgeX Eliminator Series XQ515.​

I’m not too worried about surges, since I have a whole house surge protector, but I would love to use it as a sequencer. The only thing is, I’m worried that they will affect my sound negatively. Can anyone comment on the power conditioning/sonic effeo this could have. Thanks

 

[Human Bass]

I can get a good deal on a SurgeX Eliminator Series XQ515.​

I’m not too worried about surges, since I have a whole house surge protector, but I would love to use it as a sequencer. The only thing is, I’m worried that they will affect my sound negatively. Can anyone comment on the power conditioning/sonic effeo this could have. Thanks

Why and how they would affect negatively?

 

[Dialectic]

I can get a good deal on a SurgeX Eliminator Series XQ515.​

I’m not too worried about surges, since I have a whole house surge protector, but I would love to use it as a sequencer. The only thing is, I’m worried that they will affect my sound negatively. Can anyone comment on the power conditioning/sonic effeo this could have. Thanks

If you are prejudiced about what adding it to your system will do to the sound, there may be a significant nocebo/placebo effect.