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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

DonR

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He is saying that these devices filter SURGES. Good enough? Did Amir measure what happens if you send a surge of power through it? NO. He doesn't have capability.

If you want to say a surge protector isn't a filtering device you can play that semantic game if you like. I assume when they say their products filter they are speaking generally and have products that do filter in the way you expect.

With a sufficient power surge, this filter will protect your equipment and having it work after is an improvement.

There isn't a claim every product improves audio performance in real time in every instance. Clearly, if your gear is good enough and your power is clean enough, you aren't a customer for this product.
The company claims EMI/RFI filtration just like almost all other premium surge protectors.
 
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amirm

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There isn't a claim every product improves audio performance in real time in every instance.
The statement of improvement on their website makes no qualifications. It says it reduces distortion in your audio/video gear. As I have shown and explained in many such reviews, your power supply performs the needed filtering as to not need any kind of special/clean AC power.
 

don'ttrustauthority

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The company claims EMI/RFI filtration just like almost all other premium surge protectors.
I see that now. I guess I don't know what that means and how it's generally used in the industry, so my opinion matters not.
 

don'ttrustauthority

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The statement of improvement on their website makes no qualifications. It says it reduces distortion in your audio/video gear. As I have shown and explained in many such reviews, your power supply performs the needed filtering as to not need any kind of special/clean AC power.
I have ground loops that create audible issues that a cheaper Amazon piece of trash deals with. I have no idea what is wrong with my equipment, but plenty of people have power supplies that suffer ground loops so obviously we are buying inferior gear.
 

pablolie

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He is saying that these devices filter SURGES. Good enough? Did Amir measure what happens if you send a surge of power through it? NO. He doesn't have capability.

If you want to say a surge protector isn't a filtering device you can play that semantic game if you like. I assume when they say their products filter they are speaking generally and have products that do filter in the way you expect.

With a sufficient power surge, this filter will protect your equipment and having it work after is an improvement.

There isn't a claim every product improves audio performance in real time in every instance. Clearly, if your gear is good enough and your power is clean enough, you aren't a customer for this product.

Amir clearly stated he checked for the audio-improvement claims, as done with other "audiophile" power "conditioners".

The protection element is important but also -as Amir stated- very dangerous to test unless you have a specialized to do so. IMO no one in their right mind should be near a power surge - if your home voltage can kill you (over 400 people get killed every year and 10x as many injured in the US alone), imagine what a surge situation trying to emulate a lightning strike can do to you. I wouldn't try if you paid me 100k. High voltage MUST be respected. It is a totally different setup than testing frequency responses and THDs etc.
 
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amirm

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I have ground loops that create audible issues that a cheaper Amazon piece of trash deals with. I have no idea what is wrong with my equipment, but plenty of people have power supplies that suffer ground loops so obviously we are buying inferior gear.
Few buy these boxes for that. Instead, the main application I constantly hear is applying them when there is no sign of audible noise.

The best weapon against ground loops is a balanced interconnects.
 

DonR

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I see that now. I guess I don't know what that means and how it's generally used in the industry, so my opinion matters not.
RFI Radio Frequency Interference is noise in the radio spectrum which starts around 100KHz and goes up from there. Usually present on our home power lines from all the tiny switching power supplies like cell phone chargers which back-feed their noise onto the lines, It is almost always very small and certainly non-audible.
 

Jbrunwa

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The company claims EMI/RFI filtration just like almost all other premium surge protectors.
I’m only interested in the surge protection and no negative impact to power amps. But to be fair, their spec claims 3 dB @ 7kHz, 25 dB at 100 kHz (50 ohm Rgen., load). There was no attenuation measured. EDIT: follow up measurements showed slight attenuation.
 
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Doodski

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Amir clearly stated he checked for the audio-improvement claims, as done with other "audiophile" power "conditioners".

The protection element is important but also -as Amir stated- very dangerous to test unless you have a specialized to do so. IMO no one in their right mind should be near a power surge - if your home voltage can kill you (over 400 people get killed every year and 10x as many injured in the US alone), imagine what a surge situation trying to emulate a lightning strike can do to you. I wouldn't try if you paid me 100k. High voltage MUST be respected. It is a totally different setup than testing frequency responses and THDs etc.
I worked in a metrology lab that dealt with high voltage gear and the safety measures where very strict. Warning lines on the floor, warning lights etc. I wasn't allowed near the high voltage test bench when it was operating. Only the engineer and the business owner where allowed near that stuff. Then I visited a high voltage motor supply company and they where extremely strict about going anywhere near the control panels when they where being tested because electrocution could happen at a distance of feet from the panels I was advised. Scary stuff for sure to be dealing with it daily.
 

don'ttrustauthority

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A typical UPS with surge protection lets through over 500 volts of surge energy. Energy over 400 volts can cause degradation to sensitive electronics leading to premature failure. For this reason, preceding the UPS with a Zero Surge 2R15W unit will filter the high energy surges before they pass through the UPS and into the connected equipment. As an added bonus, the UPS itself is protected from getting surge damaged when it’s needed the most.
 

don'ttrustauthority

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Amir clearly stated he checked for the audio-improvement claims, as done with other "audiophile" power "conditioners".

The protection element is important but also -as Amir stated- very dangerous to test unless you have a specialized to do so. IMO no one in their right mind should be near a power surge - if your home voltage can kill you (over 400 people get killed every year and 10x as many injured in the US alone), imagine what a surge situation trying to emulate a lightning strike can do to you. I wouldn't try if you paid me 100k. High voltage MUST be respected. It is a totally different setup than testing frequency responses and THDs etc.
Since you guys claim scientific objectivity, you won't mind me objecting that he fails again to cite these claims with evidence.

This is standard if you want to say your are being scientific, so others may check your work and not simply rely on what Amir clearly stated.

I believe Amir is a very honest and trustworthy person, don't twist my words into saying something I am not.

I have huge respect for Amir.
 
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amirm

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I am also not fan of power filters an not believe they give any benefit but measurements without load left open way to argue that measurement was not made in correct conditions.
Good point. :) So I kept the unit another day to run more tests. Review is updated with the details. Briefly, I first expanded the measurement bandwidth to see if it is doing anything above 20 kHz (with open load) and it is:

index.php


I then plugged in the hypex Amp to see if it makes an incremental difference and it did:

index.php


But as you can see, it is very slight.
 

pablolie

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... I have huge respect for Amir.
I never implied you didn't. Really. I think it is natural to expect thorough functionality tests especially on this website (as it typically does), but when the testing becomes... dangerous... my only intent was to say *I* personally would never risk it. Like @Doodski above, I had experience with high voltage long time ago here.

It scared the beejeezuz out of me half the time even though I was not allowed into the 6-floor open ceiling lab that simulated super high voltage strikes (I was just writing software for the machine measuring those and observed).

Nothing in your post was disrespectful to anybody, and I hope you don't think I was attacking you by simply clarifying that I agreed it's extremely dangerous to test high voltages without having a lot of space, strict testing protocols, top equipment etc.

We want Amir to test audio stuff for a long time! :)
 

Angsty

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I have a SurgeX for surge protection, not noise filtering. I don’t have the test equipment, but I’d swear that my Bryston 4B-ST sounds *worse* on the SurgeX than when plugged into the wall. It’s the only component not on the SurgeX.

Amir tested this surge device using a Class D amp with a switching power supply. Would there be a difference with a Class AB amp with like my trusty Bryston? Could it induce distortion at high current levels?
 
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Doodski

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*I* personally would never risk it.
My father was a industrial firefighter and industrial paramedic working at a large metals refinery that employed several thousand people. Emergency calls where pretty frequent and deaths where not unheard of. One day he had a call for the electrocution of a electrician that had some kind of lockout policy failure and he took voltage direct off the mains from the hydroelectric dam that powered the operations. The guy was crispy, burned, had multiple broken bones and was still alive. This was back in the day when resuscitation possibly meant mouth to mouth and upon doing that the electrocution victim convulsed, spewed vomit and it got into my father's mouth. He persevered and continued resuscitation but the guy died shortly afterwards. Electrocution is very real, very deadly and is not to be taken trivially. I am not supportive of @amirm configuring and making a high voltage test lab because it is so dangerous and we don't need high voltage testing that much to risk life and limb.
 

dtaylo1066

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Local transformer blowing out, car hitting the transformer bank (usually with a very light weight fence around it, and numerous other ways. The 2 I mentioned, I have been on the receiving end of.
About 30 years ago I lived in an older neighborhood with electric lines on poles. One of the big can transformers was up on the pole in the corner of my small yard. It blew one evening and sounded like a shotgun blast, if not louder. The Excel Energy guy had to climb the pole and replace it.

But it did not do any damage to any appliances in my house, thankfully.

Most of my TV and audio stuff are on these type of units, which probably are nor worth squat for surge protection. Perhaps I should buy a few to be safe, but not for $250.
1674618825622.png
 

pablolie

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My father was a industrial firefighter and industrial paramedic working at a large metals refinery that employed several thousand people. Emergency calls where pretty frequent and deaths where not unheard of. One day he had a call for the electrocution of a electrician that had some kind of lockout policy failure and he took voltage direct off the mains from the hydroelectric dam that powered the operations. The guy was crispy, burned, had multiple broken bones and was still alive. This was back in the day when resuscitation possibly meant mouth to mouth and upon doing that the electrocution victim convulsed, spewed vomit and it got into my father's mouth. He persevered and continued resuscitation but the guy died shortly afterwards. Electrocution is very real, very deadly and is not to be taken trivially. I am not supportive of @amirm configuring and making a high voltage test lab because it is so dangerous and we don't need high voltage testing that much to risk life and limb.
Grisly and yet very real story. Any high voltage lab has huge warning signs all over the place and that is *IF* they allow you in, which typically they don't. In the location I described above, a test -and they are very expensive- had to be redone because the high voltage, instead of going where it was supposed to, picked a random rat that somehow had crept in... and the rat literally had *exploded* all over the place...

Yeah, I'd rather have Amir test audio for a long time rather than become a chicharron. :-D

PS: From weather.com... ".. A typical lightning flash is about 300 million Volts and about 30,000 Amps .." Not saying that would be the testing protocol but you get the idea. Tiny bit more than the 120V/15A we have at home and *still* can give you a deadly jolt. It also goes wherever it wants, which is why high voltage labs keep stuff surgically clean.
 
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KMN

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The data sheet spells out the class of surge testing this device complies with and also the certified test lab which performed its qualification testing.

Series SPD's are typically more effective for filtering relatively higher frequency surge energy than the more common parallel SPD's are typically used for filtering.

Looking to the audiophile community for rational advice, regarding local utility quality management, may be ill advised.
 

jomo

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Well, I also "hate" it when people don't do just a bit of homework before complaining. From company website which has a clear section for hifi: https://zerosurge.com/audio-visual-home-theater/

View attachment 259693
I read it before and took it with a grain of salt. It is purposely vague marketing to "puff up" the value of having an EMI/RFI filter. The distortion they are talking about is likely from an electrical component degrading over time. They talk of this on the website homepage.

Regardless, this is not the primary purpose of this device and they make no claims that it is a power conditioner.

To tell you the truth, I don't understand what would be said of a power conditioner that can produce a perfect 60 Hz sign wave, because from what has been shown on ASR, such clean AC power is not necessary and provides little benefit. So such a device would get a golfing panther because it does something well, but unnecessary? That's for another day.

This interview answers some questions, but opens others. I assume that this device has electrolytic capacitors which won't last forever, but for this duty, maybe they last longer. And don't understand the preference for low capacity MOV based surge protection.


The curve below is also interesting and looks desirable. I wish this could be confirmed, but understand why not. Perhaps some high frequency pulses at safe voltage can "test" to see what it does since it responds to varying frequency pulses (from interview).

 
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