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How important is a power conditioner for CONNECT and CONNECT AMPS?

Forum|Forum|8 years ago
April 26, 2018
19 replies
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Sonos Amp

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Best answer by Kumar

Far better and more useful is a UPS of the online double conversion kind that supplies clean, constant voltage constant frequency power 24/7 and also uses a battery to do just the same whenever the main power goes down. It won't do anything audible for sound quality, but it will protect all connected load from voltage fluctuations from the mains side 24/7 as well as from on/off cycling of the kit in case of frequent power failures - and also assure continuous music play through these of course. And unless the power outages last for more than 15-20 minutes, the battery can be small enough to be contained in the same box as the UPS.

Not usually needed in first world countries.

More information here: https://www.qpsolutions.net/2015/06/line-interactive-vs-double-conversion-ups-which-ones-best/

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K

Kumar

Aside from performing the same functions as a $10 surge protector

So given that some do work as they are supposed to, they are a very good idea - do these only work for sudden spikes as from lightning strikes or also as cut outs past a certain voltage? And, do the referred $10 kind do the job? How is one to know before it is too late what is one that will?

K

Kumar

it knocked me down and out for several minutes. If the phone hasn't fried the wife would likely have called 911 by the time I was up to my knees.

Stanley,

That is intense indeed! What do you do to prevent a recurrence?

K

Kumar

Not one of my Sonos pieces are plugged into anything but the wall, aside from my two second gen Play:5s. No issues going all the way back to 2009.

First world locations should work fine like this; as long as there aren't intense thunderstorms/lightning strikes.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

I ordered a bunch more TripLite Isobars, mostly the dual outlet plug in versions I mentioned above and stuck every expensive appliance on one. We lived there for several more years with no further lightning damage although neighbors reported a couple fried devices every monsoon season. For places I needed more than two outlets I ordered the extension-cord style TripLites in four or more outlet configurations. I used the cheapie single plug ones for less expensive equipment like tabletop radios and phones. I also dug out an antique Western Electric dial phone and plugged it into the phone connector out in the guest bedroom so we'd possibly have phone service if we lost the fancy phones again.

I don't recall the total loss and repair cost but the appliances ran several hundred dollars each, the big CRT TVs weren't cheap to replace either. A quick call to my insurance agent (a good personal friend) for advice suggested I'd be better off over 5 years paying my own repair costs instead of having a premium bump due to the claim.

As to getting knocked down, I took to heart the chewing out I got from the wife once she realized I was not dead or severely injured and stayed inside on the dry floor to do my storm watching out the windows from there on out. The wife wasn't the only influence there, the birds coming in to munch on dead rabbit in the area around the strike was also a strong motivator.

You may need one, you may not need one but you won't know you needed one until your gear is dead. Even my Play 1s cost enough that a $7 TripLite single is a small cost increase and my Play 5s make the $22 dual-outlet one with the increased protection attractive.

K

Kumar

a $7 TripLite single is a small cost increase and my Play 5s make the $22 dual-outlet one with the increased protection attractive.

So one that actually works does not have to be expensive; the trick is to know which one will work if the brand you name is not available.

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

I haven't looked at reviews recently but here are a few, I didn't read beyond the basics so you'd need to verify how they tested the units to make their choices..

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-surge-protector

https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-surge-protectors

https://www.techhive.com/article/3172540/home-tech/best-surge-protector.html

I got to looking at the TrippLite line and now I'm thinking I might just upgrade my SpikeCubes to TravelCubes for about double the energy absorption for $11.50 versus $8.00 for what I have now.

https://www.tripplite.com/spikecube-series-1-outlet-personal-surge-protector-direct-plug-in-600-joules-2-dignostic-leds~SPIKECUBE

https://www.tripplite.com/protect-it-1-outlet-portable-surge-protector-direct-plug-in-1080-joules-tel-modem-protection~TRAVELCUBE

Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

A post with some good surge suppressor links is pending, hung in the spam filters for now.

Got it; many thanks.

There is a very good summary about surge suppression in the Wired article at the end - new learnings for me are that these devices degrade over time and need to be replaced; if they are of the type that will still allow the load to work even after they have lost protection functionality, it isn't easy to know that this has happened. Some will not pass any voltage once they have so degraded and there it is easy to know that this has happened.

And that the best way to protect expensive kit during a storm is by unplugging it from the mains - no suppressor will protect against a direct hit.

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