Home Theater power conditioner/surge protector

[Project86]

http://www.buy.com/prod/newpoi...loc/111/204213291.html

Discontinued model from last year, they tried and failed to get into the high end market dominated by Monster/PS Audio/Furman/Panamax.

MSRP on the 10 outlet model was $220, currently selling for $59.99/free shipping. They have a smaller 8 outlet model for a few dollars less, and a larger 12 outlet unit for $71.99. I think this 10 outlet unit is the best for the price. I ordered it las week, it took about 4 days to arrive. The build quality is very good, and it looks like something that belongs with my fairly nice home theater equipment.

To my ears, I feel there is a slight increase in sound quality with this in the loop. This is using digital out from an Oppo SACD player to a JVC RX-D702B digital receiver, out to some Definitive Tech Mythos 1 speakers. It may well be placebo, and certainly if you don't have a fairly high end system it won't have a noticeable improvement. But even if it is all in my head, I am still getting beter protection than my old Belkin surge protector, and it certainly looks cool.

 

[Steven the Leech]

Thanks Op, been looking at getting one for 1 year now, forgot till I saw this post.

 

[isekii]

i was gonna use a UPS 600va for power conditioner/surge protector

would this be better ?

 

[Project86]

Originally posted by: isekii
i was gonna use a UPS 600va for power conditioner/surge protector

would this be better ?

That depends.

White paper on UPS vs Conditioners

If you have a good enough UPS, it will be fine. If you have a cheap one (like I do on my computer) it is probably not so good. This conditioner would be better. Some say you can combine them for addes protection, some say you can't.

 

[Treyshadow]

Can anyone tell me if their is a stage difference between the newpoint and say...

The Monster Power 3600 MKII or the Belkin PF60?

It seems as if this model is a Power Conditioner version of the Newpoint Theatre Director UPS 204230.

The price is right, but I want to know the drawbacks of this thing. Seems as if noone reviewed or tested this thing. I was looking at the 12 socket model.

 

[aznbumbaclot]

Can you tell me the dimensions of it?

 

[Project86]

Originally posted by: Treyshadow
Can anyone tell me if their is a stage difference between the newpoint and say...

The Monster Power 3600 MKII or the Belkin PF60?

It seems as if this model is a Power Conditioner version of the Newpoint Theatre Director UPS 204230.

The price is right, but I want to know the drawbacks of this thing. Seems as if noone reviewed or tested this thing. I was looking at the 12 socket model.

I think the UPS 4230 never made it to market... I only see CES coverage and press releases for it.

As far as the Monster 3600 MKII, it has a basic LCD on front, and costs $400+ more. Everything else seems about equal.

The Belkin PF60 has a bit more options like a 12v trigger, as well as configuring any outlet to be always on or delayed on. It also has a very informative LCD that can not be completely turned off, which would be a deal breaker for me. Everything else is pretty similar, except the price (again).

Unless you have money to burn, or are into the brand name recognition, I see no reason to spend 5 or 6 times the price. You will certainly be impressed with the build quality of the Newpoint, and if it fails then you get the same warranty as the other guys.

 

[Project86]

Originally posted by: aznbumbaclot
Can you tell me the dimensions of it?

I will measure when I get home later. It is large though: larger than my Oppo 970, larger than my Dish 625 box, and very similar to my JVC receiver.... which is listed as 17.2 wide x 3.6 high x 14.6 deep. It's basically very similar in size to every receiver I have ever owned, which has been Harman Kardon, Denon, Marantz, and the JVC. The 8 outlet unit looks to be a bit less high.

 

[mrrman]

looks decent but I dont think its sufficient for a home theatre...I have all high end stuff, 2 HD DVD players, LCD TV,Pioneer Elite Receiver,CD player/burner,HDMI switcher and I have a huge APC UPS on mine...I would use this for all my gaming consoles, thats about it IMO

 

[Zap]

So, is it verified that this unit does line conditioning and isn't just an overglorified surge strip? By line conditioning I mean it feeds out a sine wave (or pseudo sine wave) and keeps the voltage locked whether there's a surge or a brownout.

 

[GeezerMan]

More Info

I might try one, probably go for the model 204220

 

[aznbumbaclot]

Originally posted by: Project86

Originally posted by: aznbumbaclot
Can you tell me the dimensions of it?

I will measure when I get home later. It is large though: larger than my Oppo 970, larger than my Dish 625 box, and very similar to my JVC receiver.... which is listed as 17.2 wide x 3.6 high x 14.6 deep. It's basically very similar in size to every receiver I have ever owned, which has been Harman Kardon, Denon, Marantz, and the JVC. The 8 outlet unit looks to be a bit less high.

Okay thanks, what's the approximate length of the cable leading to the outlet? Thanks!

 

[Project86]

Originally posted by: mrrman
looks decent but I dont think its sufficient for a home theatre...I have all high end stuff, 2 HD DVD players, LCD TV,Pioneer Elite Receiver,CD player/burner,HDMI switcher and I have a huge APC UPS on mine...I would use this for all my gaming consoles, thats about it IMO

I've got all "high end stuff" too, and I think it is fine. In what area does your APC unit exceed the specs of the Newpoint? Is 5,000+ joules protection not enough for you? Also, are you sure your APC has an isolation transformer in the output circuit? What about a proper inverter design? Many/most UPS units are not built with home theater applications in mind, which is one reason why people with really high end systems (nicer than ours) don't usually use them.

 

[Project86]

Originally posted by: Zap
So, is it verified that this unit does line conditioning and isn't just an overglorified surge strip? By line conditioning I mean it feeds out a sine wave (or pseudo sine wave) and keeps the voltage locked whether there's a surge or a brownout.

Yes, I found it somewhere, they call it Clear Connect power conditioning. It has attenuation of EMI and RFI noise as well as the proper sine wave inverter.

 

[Project86]

Originally posted by: aznbumbaclot

Originally posted by: Project86

Originally posted by: aznbumbaclot
Can you tell me the dimensions of it?

I will measure when I get home later. It is large though: larger than my Oppo 970, larger than my Dish 625 box, and very similar to my JVC receiver.... which is listed as 17.2 wide x 3.6 high x 14.6 deep. It's basically very similar in size to every receiver I have ever owned, which has been Harman Kardon, Denon, Marantz, and the JVC. The 8 outlet unit looks to be a bit less high.

Okay thanks, what's the approximate length of the cable leading to the outlet? Thanks!

Cable lenth is 8 feet. I didn't get a chance to measure the unit though, sorry.

 

[skywhr]

in for 1 @ $56.99

 

[88NovaTwincam]

Where did you find it for $56.99?

 

[skywhr]

5% off up to $15 coupon available at the usual site

 

[Thump553]

Took the plunge, thanks.

The fact that it looks like a piece of audio equipment rather than a UPS or piece of computer hardware will help a great deal in the WAF (wife acceptance factor) in allowing this in the living room.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Project86
Yes, I found it somewhere, they call it Clear Connect power conditioning. It has attenuation of EMI and RFI noise as well as the proper sine wave inverter.

I read up on it and it does not mention the sine wave inverter. Without it, it is just a fancy surge strip to me. That EETimes article mentioned above describes it as a high end surge strip with noise filtering (common to most higher end surge strips).

I think I'll pass at this time. It is still, however, a hot deal.

 

[Project86]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: Project86
Yes, I found it somewhere, they call it Clear Connect power conditioning. It has attenuation of EMI and RFI noise as well as the proper sine wave inverter.

I read up on it and it does not mention the sine wave inverter. Without it, it is just a fancy surge strip to me. That EETimes article mentioned above describes it as a high end surge strip with noise filtering (common to most higher end surge strips).

I think I'll pass at this time. It is still, however, a hot deal.

I'm sure I found a link the other day that confirmed the existence of the inverter. I checked it out before I ordered. For the life of me I cannot find that link today.

Oh well.

 

[88NovaTwincam]

I have an aging Tripplite Isobar Touch master plus and am about to upgrage my receiver and speakers.
I wondering if this is any better or worse then what i have..

Still available for 59.99 shipped..