Will A Power Conditioner In My Home Theater Improve The Sound and Picture ?

Question

Whenever i go to B.B. or C.C. i see those Monster Cable power conditioners hooked up to their home theaters .
Is this something that the stores are trying to sell or it really is worth the investment ?

Answer 1

A device is theoretically supposed to run on absolute perfect voltage and current.

In practice a device running on power supplied from current power providers who’s main concern is profit and not you having a great picture or sound just a "working" supply is one that could do better.

Anyone who looks at a really high end set up will see power protection and filtration are a big part of the system. Not only for surge and brown out protection but induced noise.

Any time a device uses wall AC it induces noise on to the power, just run a powerful vacuum cleaner on the same circuit and look at the noise generated. Filtration can make a big difference on how hard you devices need to work to overcome that induced noise.

Since most of us don't use isolated shielded power lines in our set up this reduction in incoming noise will reduce the EM signature to just what the system creates, excellent cables will further add to the performance of a system. Isolating your system from your neighbors induced noise and the noise you generate will enhance you systems performance.

I do agree that BB and CC are the last place you want to buy cables or power conditioners from. Their non-commissioned sales people are more pushy than commission ones, and know little more than "this better" about cables and Power conditioners. Most of their people over sell a much bigger than needed power conditioner with no heed to size or customer needs. Cables are often over sold as well. Just ask that employee exactly how does it do that, (Monster wants its retailers to undergo training BB and CC say they will train their people with bad results, hence Monster is reconsidering the arrangement)

Just because a big box retailer uses these kinds of tactics does not mean a product is bad just misused. In summary go to a monster retailer that actually knows what they are talking about and get the correct performance cable and power conditioner for your best possible viewing pleasure.

Answer 2

I work for the big blue box... I agree most employees don't understand the full value of a power conditioner and are just told to sell it. There is a difference between a surge protector, power conditioner and voltage regulator. I understand the systems as well as their functions. There is no need to sell someone a voltage regulator with a $500 T.V. it just doesn't make sense. In my setup I have a 50" plasma and musical fidelity amps, marantz dv7600 dvd player and all audioquest cables.

Now the talk of cables comes into play, yes most people couldn't tell the difference between a high end cable and basic cable. But thats also because their system cannot take advantage of better connections. HDMI is all digital, 1's and 0's... yet there is a difference between a basic HDMI cable and a high end HDMI... Why spend the money for the best cable thats out there if your system will never be able to take full advantage of it? I agree most people at BB, CC don't know what they are talking about in terms of cables rather just told what to sell... I don't have any monster cable products in my system, all audioquest.

But back to the original question at hand... the power in the big box stores is as bad as it gets... having a power conditioner helps, I see the difference but I also know exactly what I'm looking for. In a home situation, your picture won't improve night and day difference, more like noon vs. 12:15... so its a very slight improvement. The humming and hissing in audio is reduced greatly though but not eliminated... Noise is added at every connection point so thats why you need good cables with awesome connectors on it, they reduce that added noise and preserve the original signal...

On my system again, I have a voltage regulator. That plugs directly into the wall, and plugged into my voltage regulator is my power conditioner that functions as that and surge protector. In the last month alone we have lost power two times, both came with huge surges. The AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) disconnected the components and kept everything safe. So from the AVR I have a constant 120V, and then the conditioner makes it a pure 120V. You see monter products all over the place... the APC products are 1/4 the cost for the AVR and isn't as good but still very nice. Panamax makes amazing products.

Now a little secret about the big box stores... you see those items hooked up becuase the manufacture pays for them to be there because people buy it just beacuse they see it hooked up. As a sales associate I look at everyones needs and wants and put a system together that makes sense. I wouldn't sell anyone something I wouldn't buy myself.

Overall you want to make sure you atleast have a good surge protector with some power cleaning ability... you get what you pay for and it depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go with the system. You should atleast protect your investment.

Answer 3

Power conditioners will improve sound and video because the units remove noise from the electrical lines. There may not be a huge difference, but they do help. As for the cables themselves, most people could not tell the difference between a cheap and a high end cable.

Answer 4

Of course you're going to see those power conditioners hooked up! After all, they are trying to sell them to you and if they didn't have them hooked up it would look like you didn't need it right?

But back to the question of will it help? Answer - it all depends. If your 120 volt power has a lot of noise in it ( noise being interference generated from other electrical equipment like motors - like what you see when you run a vacuum cleaner) then yes the power conditioner will help.

BUT I wouldn't buy it from BB or CC. Stuff like that is overpriced there. I'd shop around.

Answer 5

The simple answer to your question is "yes, but only if you are currently seeing or hearing noise attributable to the power line."

Do you get static when the washer or fridge is running? When fluorescent lights or dimmer switches are on? If so, a power conditioner may help.

Good quality A/V components have good quality power supplies which reject AC noise.

Answer 6

do not waste your money,monster cables are the biggest ripoff these stores have

Answer 7

i think i will help with the sound but not the picture!! :)