I've got a Panamx 5100 line conditioner and it seems to do very well at keeping everything working when the power get crazy. During a recent very violent thunderstorm (there was almost no time between the lightning flash and the boom) the lights in the house would flicker and everything connected to the Panamax kept on working as if nothing happened. The voltage display on the front was dancing around but none of my equipment seemed to notice. Only during long brown-outs or black-out would the Panamax disconnect power to my system. Once the power returned it would automatically reconnect the power and keep on going.

I live way out in the boonies and I can run our whole house off a back-up generator. When I first got the 5100 I hooked everything up, turned it all on and started screwing around with the generator. I cranked up the voltage, dropped the voltage, and varied the frequency. There was never a time when the picture on my digital Sony XBR800 or the sound through the system showed any sign that there was a problem. The picture was clear and stable and the audio was totally normal. When the power got too far out of whack the Panamax would disconnect the entire system from the power. Once I brought the voltage back within range, it would return power to my system.

The Panamax is not as sexy as the Monster units, but it is considerably cheaper. The 5100 weighs about 25 lbs so it is a good warm-up before you pick up your Outlaw 770 amp.