I was thinking of buying the "Monster power center HTS 1000." Supposedly this is an excellent surge protector and it conditions/filters our noise from the power.
I've heard arguments that these are a waste of time unless you have dirty power, and I've heard that they result in measurable improvements no matter what your power situation).
I've also heard that using something like this can reduce the detail coming from a receiver... make everything a little bit muddy. is this true?
I guess it's a buy it and see situation... but I could use some suggestions and opinions anyhow.
Mark, I'm mature enough to realize that some or all of my opinion may be based on the placebo effect but here goes. I bought the HTS 2000 mainly because of the stupid price the store was offering and the fact that I was desperate to spend money that day ( ever been there?). I've noticed increased "clarity" in the sound coming from the reciever and even my wife has noticed. The difference is especially noticable when i use regular C.D.'s. Just one mans opinion. I do live in a old farmhouse with questionable power at best. Let us know what you find and how your new system sounds. I am in the first days of a new SVS and am loving it. have fun....kevin
Mark...I don't know how much you are spending on that Monster HTS but you should also consider Acoustic Research, you can get the same performance for a lot less $
I actually only spent about $50 on it... I was looking at the AR stuff, but I couldn't find as many reviews on them as I did on the Monster product.
Like I said, I think it's a wait and see game. If I don't like it for my receiver, I think I could still benefit from it for my TV, SUB, DVD Player, etc.
Thanks all for your feedback! It's much appreciated. Once I have the product and install it, I will post my impressions.
I do not know where you live, but I used to practice law on the west coast and was involved in a number of very large lawsuits where the local electrical utility was sued because the power system generated some of the worst electrical noise that damaged sensitive electrical equipment used by a number of businesses. Some areas have very good power, but others have the worst rot imaginable. I like to point out that the City of Los Angeles's municipal utility (the Department of Water and Power), for example, designed their system in 1923 and have not updated it in many sections of the city (it also uses a delta configuration rather than the standard "Y" configuaration, so if the line ever goes down, you are going to fry somebody!). If you neighbor uses a power saw or a large KitchenAid electrical mixer, you can be sure you are going to get nasty power that will affect the quality of the sound in such areas.
So, not knowing if you live in an area with good power or lousy power, I would suggest you bought yourself some very cheap insurance. Great purchase for $50.
Just do it. I have that same model, we have mediocre power here in london, ont at best. What a difference it made, like not HUGE, but overall my audio presentation is more dynamic. One thing i did notice is a reduced picture quality on my 53 in panasonic RPT, apparently the cable guy showed me the bit rate before and after having the coaxial in the power centre and not in. The numbers don't lie, the bit rate was higher when not attached to the Hs1000. This was on a scientific alanta box, the only ones available in my area via cable.