Just curious what other people are using for power conditioning/surge protection for their audio gear. I tried using some surplus APC SmartUPS 1400 units but they didn't appreciate the power draw from the amp. So I'm upgrading to a "spare" APC Matrix 5000VA unit. The plan is to feed all my theater gear from this. So everything will be getting pure sine wave 120V from the batteries and be isolated completely from the household wiring (refrigerators/microwaves/hair dryers/etc).

Am I over-engineering here or just being prudent?

8-)

Cheers,

UPS's typically aren't designed for the power consumption requirements of amps. Most folks around here use surge protection/power conditioning from either Panamax (the MAX5100 that I use, for example), Tripp Lite, or Brickwall. Some of these do some power conditioning similar to what the batteries are giving you, but they do so without limiting current draw.

I understand. However, this isn't your average UPS. It's a 300lb monster that is capable of feeding nearly 4000 watts of power even when unplugged. Actually, it's probably worth more than all the audio gear I'd plug into it. 8-)

Cheers,

I've got parallel systems that include brickwall surge suppressors and balanced power transformers. They are fed from a separate subpanel. One system is for sources and my display, the other is for the power amps (a 755 and 2 M200s) and my subwoofers.

Your 755 and two LFMs should do well with surge suppression only. Anything that limits current will rob them of performance. If you want to isolate them from the rest of the house, you should see what balanced power can offer. It's not complete, but it's significant.

The results are in....

Even my wife can tell the difference when the audio gear is connected to the UPS versus the wall outlet. There is a noticible improvement in imaging and clarity. This isn't one of those "it increased the airiness and I noticed the whispiness of the strings more" type of difference that you'd commonly read about in some audio rag. It's a bona fide improvement that even a non-audio-freak can notice immediately. With some of my discs, it's downright spooky (Blue Man Group's "Audio" or Holly Cole's "Romantically Helpless"). They went from sounding great to sounding like the musicians were in the room. Audio nirvana. 8-)

The electrical system in my house is quite dated so perhaps the benefits I'm noticing are just the removal of limitations on current draw from the old wall outlet. Or maybe the audio equipment just "likes" getting a clean 120v sine wave. Whatever it is, I'm *extremely* happy with the results.

It turns out that my initial failures with the 1400VA UPS were a result of old/weak batteries in the UPS. I've sinced replaced them, and even the 1400VA UPS provides the same benefit. I haven't been able to "starve" the 755 for power yet....maybe I'm just not trying hard enough. 8-)

Cheers,

Modern power supplies, which are properly designed, take AC from your house mains, transform it, regulate and filter it before the audio gear uses it.

Unless you live in an area that has extremely poorly regulated AC, there is NO need for this extra filtering of the APC.

But, if you have a "spare" one, why not use it?

If you really are hearing a difference, then, I would agree, something else is going on with your AC mains.

i wouldn't plug my equipment into anything like you suggest ritz, i do use power conditioning and surge protection, that does not limit current in anyway, but i would be leary of filtering all my current through a ups of any type.

Limit current? That UPS can provide more current than most household 20a wiring can handle. It takes 30A 220V as input power.

I suspect it could power a complete home theater system on only battery power for quite a while.

Cheers,

220V at 30A? Good lord, man, where did you find this thing? You weren't kidding when you said:
Readster, I would typically agree with you (see my post at the beginning of this thread), but the specific unit that Ritz is using is clearly not a typical residential UPS.

However, the characteristics of the output are likely not the same as a typical circuit breaker equipped line. For instance, what will your UPS do if the load asks for 40 amps for, say, 200 milliseconds? Circuit breakers are designed to protect against THERMAL failures in the wire they protect. Transient over-currents are generally happily accommodated.

Heh, the Matrix and Symmetra UPSes from APC are primarily designed for datacenter use. They're definitely a bit more brawny than what you'll find at CompUSA. 8-)

My electrician was a bit puzzled why I wanted a "dryer outlet" in my living room. 8-)