Surge protector question

[Ikabob]

Whenever I make a change to some part of my music system (cables,component), I wonder if the sound quality has been affected pro or con. After experiencing some occasional and infrequent snaps/pops, I decided to troubleshoot. Luckily, changing out the surge protector has almost eliminated (but not totally) the noises. But, now I wonder whether the sound quality has been altered in some way with this new power surge protector. I don't think so but being obsessed and possibly paranoid with my system, I'm not real sure.

So, my question is, can a surge protector influence in anyway the sound quality of a stereo system? Are there surge protectors that are specifically recommended for sound systems rather than computer/misc. protection?
Recommendations, if any? Thank you.

[mdconnelly]

IMHO, the answer is qualified yes, a surge protector can detrimentally affect sound quality just as much as any cheap powerstrip or powercord can. It is all a function of the resolution of your system, the quality and type of the surge protector, and what, if anything, it is replacing.

As I've recently discovered, the subject of "surge protectors" is hotly debated. Most surge protectors on the market that you find in Target, Office Depot or online under $50 are cheaply built (which unfortunately, does not necessarily correlate with the price you pay). They are based on MOVs (Metal Oxide Varistors) which do wear out with time. Sadly, most fail in a way you'll never see until there is a surge that simply doesn't get stopped. Some, however, do fail in a most nasty way - they overheat and catch fire.

I've recently replaced all my MOV based surge protectors with series mode protectors that do not wear out with time and have been proven to be far more effective against real-world power surges. It's a fairly new technology available from the likes of ZeroSurge, SurgeX and Brick Wall. (I believe ZeroSurge holds the patents and licenses to the other two). I have placed a ZeroSurge into my audio rig and cannot hear any detrimental impact on sound quality. If anything, it may improve it since it does have some level of power conditioning as well.

[Ikabob]

Thank you for the explanation. I'm not sure if I have lost some fidelity or not... Especially the high end.

[mlsstl]

I'm not sure if I have lost some fidelity or not... Especially the high end.

Just a quick comment -- your uncertain worry may be affecting the perceived sound quality far more than any actual physical change. Our subconscious dramatically affects our perception no matter whether the subject is audio or something else.

You didn't say what equipment was powered by the surge protector, but as a practical matter, there's only 2 or 3 broad areas where it could affect the sound. The first is the surge protector is unable to deliver enough power to supply what's needed by your gear. The second issue would be if it is screwing with the AC waveform or otherwise adding noise to the system. The third is rather a variation of the second, in the sense that having multiple components on the same surge protector is affecting the ground or transmitting interference from one component to another.

Keep in mind that sometimes less noise in a system can be perceived as duller sounding (i.e., reduced highs). In the old days of tone controls (when I sold stereos for a living), probably 99% of customers would always notch up the treble and bass to 1 or 2 o'clock and prefer that to a flat setting. Very few components have tone controls these days, so people often gravitate toward gear with a built-in brighter sound.

I just threw the last item out there as a possible explanation as to why your new surge protector could actually be working better (i.e., greater fidelity, not less) than the old one even though your perception is a reduction in highs.

[mdconnelly]

Tell us more about what your audio gear is and what surge protector you're using. Surge protectors rarely provide much in the way of power conditioning unless you've gone pretty upscale on what you're calling a surge protector. But I agree completely with mlsstl that cleaner power will often result in a preliminary perception of loss of high-end detail when what it's really doing is cleaning noise from the high end.

[Ikabob]

Ok. Thank you very much for such educated explanations. We're lucky to have so many expert responses. I had purchased a surge protector that was made for a computer system... Maybe the electrical suppression (is that impedence) was too great for a sound system. So, I exchanged it for a very inexpensive SP and the pops and snaps are no longer present and the fidelity seems the same. There were some audio Monster SPs also which I passed up. They were advertised to "clean" up electrical noise but I was only interested in stopping the pops and snaps and I was fearful that the noise reduction promises might be at the expense of some high end sound. Should I give them a try? I'm very tempted to try one.

What do I have going into the surge protector: Marantz preamp(with tone controls),Squeezebox Touch, external hard drive ,DVR.

Thanks again.

[mlsstl]

Quick comment on your old surge protector and the noise. Many surge protectors use metal oxide varistors and this part can deteriorate with time or surges. That may have been the reason the noise disappeared when you replaced it.

[Ikabob]

I think you are correct, the old suppressor was old and probably deterioration did occur. At this moment I am listening with the Monster surge protector which also claims noise filtration. I believe there is a positive improvement in the sound and I'm planning on checking them out further. So far it's good! Thanks for the responses.

[mdconnelly]

Just be aware that any SP based on MOV technology will wear out in time (i.e. stop protecting) depending upon the quality of your power, frequency of minor surges and, of course, the quality of the surge protector itself. Some surge protectors have an auto-cutoff such that once the MOVs fail to protect, the strip will no longer provide power. That's great and definitely worth a few more bucks. A bit of googling around will uncover far more than you ever wanted to know about the various types of surge protectors.

My advice would be to routinely replace any MOV-based surge protector every 3 years or so (more often if you live in an area with a lot of electrical storms and resulting power glitches) -or- invest in a series mode surge protector like ZeroSurge, Brick Wall or SurgeX.

[trott3r]

Lo,

At 17:39 05/08/2012, you wrote:

>Just be aware that any SP based on MOV technology will wear out in time
>(i.e. stop protecting) depending upon the quality of your power,
>frequency of minor surges and, of course, the quality of the surge
>protector itself. Some surge protectors have an auto-cutoff such that
>once the MOVs fail to protect, the strip will no longer provide power.
>That's great and definitely worth a few more bucks. A bit of googling
>around will uncover far more than you ever wanted to know about the
>various types of surge protectors.
>
>My advice would be to routinely replace any MOV-based surge protector
>every 3 years or so (more often if you live in an area with a lot of
>electrical storms and resulting power glitches)

In the UK there are surge protectors that have a light on when its
still protecting
the sockets. My Masterplug surge protector from Sainsburys has one.

That would be a better idea since no one knows how long they will last.



> -or- invest in a series
>mode surge protector like ZeroSurge, Brick Wall or SurgeX.

I had a look on amazon for those brands and it came up with nothing
sadly.

Martin N

Running MorphOS v3.1 (July 2012) on a PowerPC Powerbook, Moderator of
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