Topic: Furman power conditioners = waste of money!

[Evil Taper]

So here's the scoop:

Furman power conditioners are nothing more than a rack mountable surge protector with an LED on the front.  When you open the things up they're not better than an ordinary cheap ass surge protector strip that you can find at the wal-mart for $10.  If you're cool with paying $150 for aesthetics then good for you, but to anyone else they're a big waste of money.  Forget those Monster Power surge protectors too, they're in the same class.  If you want real surge protection that is actually going to offer protection beyond the standard options you should buy a Tripp Lite unit.  They supply extremely clean and efficient power as well as test your circuit before interfacing.  So if you have problems with your wiring or a sketchy circuit the unit will refuse to power up.  Just thought I'd pass along some knowledge since it took me by surprise.

[Dede2002]

Hi,

Thanks for the heads up. A surge protection  will be my next purchase and your report means a lot.
Take care

[scervin]

This is the one and only "real deal"

http://www.purepoweraps.com

[Church-Audio]

So here's the scoop:

Furman power conditioners are nothing more than a rack mountable surge protector with an LED on the front.  When you open the things up they're not better than an ordinary cheap ass surge protector strip that you can find at the wal-mart for $10.  If you're cool with paying $150 for aesthetics then good for you, but to anyone else they're a big waste of money.  Forget those Monster Power surge protectors too, they're in the same class.  If you want real surge protection that is actually going to offer protection beyond the standard options you should buy a Tripp Lite unit.  They supply extremely clean and efficient power as well as test your circuit before interfacing.  So if you have problems with your wiring or a sketchy circuit the unit will refuse to power up.  Just thought I'd pass along some knowledge since it took me by surprise.

Tripplite is good these guys are better


http://www.etasys.com/Main/Products/DigitalRackmountConditioning.asp

[cshepherd]

I find the effects of ac power on sound really interesting.  Someone posted a youtube documentary of the greek audiophile society somewhere around here.  One guy...the craziest of them all if you will...made a claim that a/c power is 50% of the system's sound.  I found that number a bit surprising, but I respected his statement. 

Monster line conditioners are sub-par.  A customer of ours replaced a $1500 Monster unit with a Quantum Q-Bar and a good power cord.  We brought it to his house for demonstration and he bought it on the spot.  The Monster sounded veiled and sleepy by comparison.  Good a/c distribution is not cheaply done.  I think the $150 price tag on the Furman is the first clue.

Chris

[carlbeck]

I have to be honest, Monster may be a cheesy brand but it works. It is way more then a surge protector, I am referring to my HTS 3500. I can hear a noticeable difference with & without. I have no doubt there are much better products but in my system it is a noticable improvement.

[TNJazz]

The rule of thumb I've always heard is if you can lift it easily with one hand it's probably not doing a whole hell of a lot for you.

The crap from Musician's Friend is nothing more than a fancy power strip, as has been pointed out already.

[Jamos]

So here's the scoop:

Furman power conditioners are nothing more than a rack mountable surge protector with an LED on the front.  When you open the things up they're not better than an ordinary cheap ass surge protector strip that you can find at the wal-mart for $10.  If you're cool with paying $150 for aesthetics then good for you, but to anyone else they're a big waste of money.  Forget those Monster Power surge protectors too, they're in the same class.  If you want real surge protection that is actually going to offer protection beyond the standard options you should buy a Tripp Lite unit.  They supply extremely clean and efficient power as well as test your circuit before interfacing.  So if you have problems with your wiring or a sketchy circuit the unit will refuse to power up.  Just thought I'd pass along some knowledge since it took me by surprise.

Tripplite is good these guys are better


http://www.etasys.com/Main/Products/DigitalRackmountConditioning.asp

We bought a couple of these for use where I work.  They have all but eliminated any of the 60Hz buzz in our room, and some other annoying noises.

One of them was under $500, so they are not too expensive...but they are super-heavy and have really loud fans, which is kind of a bummer if you need an acoustically isolated environment.

[Church-Audio]

So here's the scoop:

Furman power conditioners are nothing more than a rack mountable surge protector with an LED on the front.  When you open the things up they're not better than an ordinary cheap ass surge protector strip that you can find at the wal-mart for $10.  If you're cool with paying $150 for aesthetics then good for you, but to anyone else they're a big waste of money.  Forget those Monster Power surge protectors too, they're in the same class.  If you want real surge protection that is actually going to offer protection beyond the standard options you should buy a Tripp Lite unit.  They supply extremely clean and efficient power as well as test your circuit before interfacing.  So if you have problems with your wiring or a sketchy circuit the unit will refuse to power up.  Just thought I'd pass along some knowledge since it took me by surprise.

Tripplite is good these guys are better


http://www.etasys.com/Main/Products/DigitalRackmountConditioning.asp

We bought a couple of these for use where I work.  They have all but eliminated any of the 60Hz buzz in our room, and some other annoying noises.

One of them was under $500, so they are not too expensive...but they are super-heavy and have really loud fans, which is kind of a bummer if you need an acoustically isolated environment.

They are meant for a studio equipment room where they can purr away undetected. They are one of the best around though.