Home > Consumer Reviews > Acoustic Research Spikemaster SM-BB8S 8 Outlet, Satellite Protection Surge Protector (Black)

I purchased a SM-BB8S after a lighting strike took out my modem, thinking I was now protected. On Dec9th we had a power disruption and energy surplus which the SM-BB8s did not stop. This resulted in over $600.00 damage to my computer and monitor. What makes this worse is Recoton/Acoustic Research/Thomson Inc. have lagged in the customer service dept. I've made 7 phone calls to the 1-800 number and sent one fax as required in 6 weeks and have NO reply other then "we're sory sir, but the claim is now in the Thomson legal dept." (they will not give out any information as how to contact the legal dept either). No one has ever called me back, no one has ever gave me more information, and every dead line as to when I will recieve a call or answer to my warrenty claim has passed.

Find a company who backs their product up with a real warrenty, and who doesn't play games with thier customer service. This company doesn't deserve your money.

What can you say about an outlet strip?

How about specially designed outlets for those bulky power (transformer) plugs.

Or a rotating head on the 3-prong plug, so you can plug it in at any angle in case the adjoining outlet has one of those bulky transformer plugs plugged into it.

I didn't know it had these features when I ordered it, but now that I do, I won't buy anything else!

Okay. To answer your question: you're wrong. Cheaper is usually NOT better and, in the case of surge protection, it almost NEVER is (but something tells me you knew that, right?) While this product is, well, okay -- for the price -- do yourself a favor and spend a few more bucks for something more reliable (like Belkin's SurgeMaster, for example). Of course, you could really lay out some cash on a decent back-up/protection unit (think a couple hundred) but, at forty or fifty bucks, the Belkin should do fine.

it cheaper than the Monster Surge Protector i own. and it looks the same. don't know much about the spec. but as a consumer, cheaper is always a good thing? someone tell me if i am wrong?