Power conditioning suggestions

I own a Belkin PF60 and am happy with it is a nice centralized power strip. I have also had experience with APC units and they are built extremely well too. Both companies have their products certified to meet all UL requirements as well.

If you want pure unadulterated power and have some money to spend I would recommend getting an APC battery backup.

Now that the recommendations are out of the way on to the caveats. Most people will get no audible or visible (in the case of displays) benefits from running a power supply or battery backup. This is because most houses/apartments will probably have a good enough power supply within the system. If you want to have a unit thats great, I prefer the convenience of one, but if you are searching for true sonic improvements I honestly suggest you look elsewhere. If your home is prone to power spikes or dips, brown outs or blackouts then I would recommend at least getting a conditioner, but would push you towards spending a little extra and get the battery back up. If you don't experience these problems then it is unlikely you will have any real benefits.

Excessive noise on the line or frequent sags and spikes can stress the power supplies though. Cheaper power supplies tend to not last as long, especially in a dirty power environment. I wrok in the computer field and have seen quite a few power supplies die after power failures or when on dirty lines.

I have to disagree with you lcaillo that cheaper power supplies do the same as better made one at eliminating line noise. Lesser quality power supplies incorporate lesser quality components like capacitors transistors and Metal-Oxide Varistors. This causes more ripple and decrease hold up time which in most cases falls in the tolerance level of the component's digital circuits but can occasionally manifest as anomalies when the power supply is under stress. Stress could be caused by increased power demand of the component the power supply is in, or from line noise, small spikes and sags.

I'd say objectively that power conditioners are good for extending the life of your components. They might not necessarily enhance the components abilities though.

I was strictly referring to power supplies in consumer video equipment. I have serviced many. Most are rather robust with respect to noise and voltage fluctiations on the a.c. line. Severe surges are another matter, as defective designs and components would be.

The quote that I referenced above related to line noise. I have tested many consumer video power supplies and can assure you that low level line noise does not pass through most swiching power supplies to the secondary. The power supply itself generates several orders of magnitude more noise that needs to be filtered.

A good quality surge suppresor with protection for all incoming lines is all that is needed to maximize protection from surges. I recommend the Panamax units that have the over/under voltage protection because they shut the system down until the voltage is at an acceptable level and have excellent protection on all signal lines. More expensive power conditioners are rarely justified for video.

You might want to read a more detailed discussion of the matter that I posted a while ago:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/for.../6069-power-conditioning-smpss.html#post48414