Home theater power manager also known as home theater power conditioner, which basically regulates a fixed amount of power in your home theater protecting it from high power voltage.
There are some devices which are at high risk of falling prey to electricity fluctuation, dirty power or power outages. Though we usually don’t get to see electrical fluctuations but there are risks involved. Devices which can be at risk are computers, air conditioners, refrigerators, home theaters, etc. for the better life of your appliances you should opt for power managers.
Actual work of a home theater power manager? Well it acts like a filter as it eliminates the dirty power to ensure the health of your appliances and make them function longer.
When you don’t use a home theater power manager while using a home theater, there are possibilities that fluctuations in electricity may damage your home theater internally. And there comes the power manager which neutralizes the fluctuations to ensure your appliance works properly.
In this article we have mentioned various options of home theater power manager to consider with their pros and cons. Also their importance for your home appliance.
Why is a power manager so important for expensive appliances?
Home theaters are quite expensive, consisting of several equipment such as a woofer, speaker set, receiver etc. to give you the maximum satisfaction of music or movie whatever you use it for. If any of this equipment gets affected by the electrical fluctuation you can imagine what it would do to your wallet. So it’s better to take precautions beforehand.
You might not hesitate to consider taking precautions for physical damage, then why is it hard to consider electrical damage which would destroy your product internally beyond repair sometimes. Home theater power manager won’t only protect any sort of damage caused by poor electricity but it would also ensure its life long performance.
Is there any difference between Power Conditioning and Surge Protection?
Yes there is a difference between power conditioning and surge protection also known as surge diverter. Though they work for almost the same purpose but can make a huge difference based on your needs.
If it is to explain in short then the surge protection gives the surface protection while the power conditioner provides full protection and acts like a smart gadget.
Surge Protection
A surge protector is useful for situations when there is power outage or lightning strike, which is capable of disturbing the distribution of power in electrical equipment as some devices need very tight power tolerance.
There is a certain level of power flow allowed to pass through a surge protector. It follows that level and avoids power to surpass that fixed level by blocking the power. It doesn’t change the power flow until the power goes over the specific threshold.
Power Conditioner
Power conditioners basically modify the power to match the requirement of the appliance being used whether it is a computer, television, air conditioner, home theater, etc.
Power conditioners are capable of altering the power which is like a smart device which works on its own to protect your electrical appliances though a lot of appliances now have in-built power conditioner which protects them from electrical fluctuations without using any other gadget for specific reasons.
Power conditioners also provide a “noise filter”. You might have noticed a buzz sound from electrical devices, that buzz sound is due to fluctuated power flow, power managers can get rid of that buzz sound.
There are several things to keep in mind before buying a home theater power manager.
Budget
Budget is the first thing to pop-up in your mind when you plan to buy any home appliance. Quality and functions of a home theater power manager can be affected by the price.
There are cheap and expensive power managers you can go for based on your needs. If you have a very expensive home theater then you should go for the expensive one with more durability and functions. And if you have a cheaper home theater then there is no sense in buying a home theater power manager which is more expensive than the home theater itself.
Though expensive power managers work more efficiently in filtering dirty power, that doesn’t mean a cheaper one won’t be able to do anything. It is totally based on your requirements.
Quality
Budget and quality run parallel. The more you are willing to spend the more you receive in the form of quality.
There are some basic components to measure the quality of a home theater power manager. Such as number of outlets, noise filter and build quality as well.
Number and Position of Outlets
There is nothing wrong if you are trying to play safe, therefore you should try to get a power manager with more outlets then you actually need, you never know if it comes handy in future. Usually power managers have 6-12 power outlets.
One more thing you must pay attention, your power outlet should have different types of power outlet to support different type of plugs.
Size and Requirement
Though size shouldn’t be an issue as you are considering a power manager with more outlets so it would be slightly bigger in the size. But if you have placement issues due to its size then you should go with the required size.
You can either place it on a surface or you can wall mount it.
Filtration Rating
There are two types of filtration ratings you can check for- clamping voltage and energy absorption rating.
Clamping voltage indicates the threshold of the voltage at which the surge protector in the power manager initiates the voltage shutdown. In most of the power managers the clamping voltage range is 120V to 400V.
Now about energy absorption rating, it works by absorbing the excess power after crossing the threshold of required power.
There are some references of home theater power managers you can consider.
Panamax MR4300 Power Line Conditioner and Surge Protector
Pros
- Sleek design with modern look
- Benefit of 9 power outlets
- Can monitor voltage automatically
- Has a LED screen to display stats
- Includes lifetime warranty
- Protect or disconnect technology
- Available with 15 Amp power breaker
- Provides 2 isolated banks of high current or linear filtration outlets
- Front panel has control buttons
Cons
- Able to surpass your budget
- No USB ports
Panamax is a known brand in the field of home theater power managers. They provide modern looking durable power managers with quality.
The Panamax MR4300 has 9 power outlets which is more than enough but can come handy when required.
The best thing about this power manager is- it has automatic voltage monitoring technology which means you won’t need to check on it for voltage every time there are electrical fluctuations. There is one more benefit of this technology,if there is a situation of brownout ( under voltage) or power spike ( over voltage) it can shut the power down to the home theater.
Though the power flow would get back to normal once the voltage levels are stable. It indicates this type of situation through a red indicator situated on the LED display in the front panel.
It also has protect or disconnect technology, which can come handy during extreme electricity fluctuations. When the power surge is beyond its capacity to handle it would shut the power flow permanently from its side but you can turn it on manually when things get back to normal.
It has a lifetime warranty of course with terms and conditions. You can use the free credit of $5,000,000 after utilizing this credit. You’ll have to get it repaired at your expense, if there are any issues with the power manager, though you won’t need to get it fixed so often because its quality is good enough to handle any sort of fluctuations.
Furman AC-215A Compact Power Conditioner with Auto-Resetting Voltage Protection – Black
Pros
- Provides linear AC power filtering
- Small size – portable
- Equipped with auto- reset EVS circuitry
- Affordable
- SMP technology
- 10 amp rating featuring circuit breaker
Cons
- None that we could find
The Furman AC-215A Compact Power Manager has almost every thing a person might consider before buying a power manager.
It has linear AC power filtering which helps in delivering clean power to the device and also ensures better audio or video quality. Also it is a low noise power supply which is helpful in saving power and is less annoying.
It is also equipped with auto- reset EVS circuitry which is helpful in detecting voltage irregularities and act accordingly such as if voltage is beyond the limit it can control it would shut the power down.
Its size is small and manageable; you can place it anywhere and can transport with it if required. It also has mounting brackets which means you can wall mount it.
It is capable of AC power boost when required which makes it capable enough to be used as UPS as it provides a three- way protection scheme – SMP device + a linear protector + surge protector all three things combined, provides first- level protection.
If we look at the quality and facilities we are getting with so much advanced technology its selling price is reasonable.
Tripp Lite LC1200 Line Conditioner 1200W AVR Surge 120V 10A 60Hz 4 Outlet 7-Feet Cord White
Pros
- Equipped with ACV
- Available in different watt options
- LED indicator
- Provides 1200 joules of surge protection
- Easy to install
- Affordable
- Able to correct under voltage as low as 89v
Cons
- None that we can found
Like any other good home theater power manager Tripp Lite LC1200 also provides advanced automatic voltage regulation, which manages to control the power supply in the equipment it is being used. This unit provides 1200 watts of power, and is able to correct the under voltage as low as 89 volts and overvoltages up to 147 volts.
If you want a plug-and-play home theater setup then the Tripp Lite LC1200 is the best surge protector for you to choose. In LC1200 there are four AC outlets with a dual-outlet strip and a seven foot cord.
In its previous version it used to provide surge protection approx 800 joules while the LC1200 provides 1200 joules of surge protection.
It is equipped with an on/off switch which you can use to save energy by turning it off while not in use. There is a LED indicator to indicate the status of the surge protection.
As per users review on amazon people used it for different devices and it worked well for them.
If you want to buy an A line power conditioner then LC1200 can be your power conditioner of choice. It’s easy to install and provides a high level of protection.
It is smart enough to manage the flow of power as per device’s requirement, and can adjust for low, under, or high voltage devices. It is a combination of power protection and voltage regulation.
It can be a good choice with a line conditioner including advanced features. Also easy to install.
Panamax MR4000 8-Outlet Home Theater Power Management
Pros
- Provide noise filtration
- Line conditioning
- Monitor voltage automatically
- Rating for high surge protection
- Includes long power cord
Cons
- Expensive
Panamax MR4000-8 home theater power manager works as a great surge protector as per Amazon reviews people used all 8 outlets on full load and they didn’t see any voltage loss or fluctuations.
It has 8 outlets and every outlet can take up to 3 watts and 1480 joules, it’s clearly a pretty heavy duty device based on its usage. Comes with a decent warranty and has a good durable body. It doesn’t look very spectacular but its size is acceptable.
Panamax MR4000-8 provides high surge protection and is compatible with every electronic device which may need a power manager e.g., game console, home theater, computer, television, refrigerator, etc.
It provides a decent noise filtration which is normal to happen while using more than 1 device through the power manager, as there are 8 outlets you can use 8 devices simultaneously without any buzz sound.
However, it might sound normal but it has a long power cord which you may or may not find useful depending on your requirements. Though it can save you from the hustle of extension cord at least.
It has an interesting feature- automatic voltage monitoring feature. This helps the power manager to monitor the voltage and act accordingly, it would shut down the power flow to the device during voltage fluctuation as if it’s too high or too low.
8-Outlet Pyle Rack Mount Power Conditioner – 15 Amp 1800W Black AC Surge Protector Suppressor Wall Power Strip w/ Multi Rear Socket Outlet For Home Electrical Appliance, Computer Components – Pyle PCO800
Pros
- Easy to use
- Power strip with 15 amp rating
- 8 outlets
- Low power consumption
Cons
- No indicator light
It is quite easy to use as it doesn’t have a lot of buttons to make it difficult. It has a simple one button design. Build quality is worth talking about. It also includes a power strip in the box which has a 15-amp rating which is enough to handle home theaters.
There should have been an indicator light but that’s missing. The indicator light shows the disturbance in power flow, which we won’t get to see in Pyle Rack Mount Power Conditioner.
It has 8 power outlets and a surge protector to let you use it with other devices as well, it provides 1800 watt of clean power. This unit has an integrated circuit breaker that guards against short circuits.
As per amazon reviews people used it to its full capacity and the power consumption was impressive. It consumed 0.1 watt while normal usage and 2.3 watt on heavy usage, which is extremely low and pocket friendly.
It also provides the feature of clean power which allows you to set the amount of clean power to flow in the equipment.
Pyle 19 Outlet 1U 19″ Rackmount PDU Power Distribution Supply Center Conditioner Strip Unit Surge Protector 15 Amp Circuit Breaker 4 USB Multi Device Charge Ports 15FT Cord (PCO865) Black
Pros
- Allows you to rank mount it
- Able to power up approx 19 devices
- Integrated circuit breaker
- USB ports for device charging
- Affordable
Cons
- None that we could find
This Pyle power manager isn’t like normal power managers; it is a beast which can power up to 19 devices and also has an integrated circuit breaker which comes in handy during short circuits. You can either use it at home or in the office, It is compatible with both kinds of usage.
It has 19 power outlets and each one of them has their own surge monitoring and surge protection, which is impressive.
It should be mounted in an equipment rack as it comes with holes on the back which are pre drilled for the purpose of putting it in the rack. You can screw it into the rack directly.
You would need 0.25 inch mounting screw based on the pre-drilled hole’s size.
It has 4 USB ports located in the front for easy access.which can be used for charging your gadgets such as phone, tablet, etc.
Tripp Lite ISOBAR6Ultra Isobar 6 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip, 6ft Cord, Right-Angle Plug, Metal, Lifetime Limited Warranty & $50,000 Insurance White
Pros
- Fire resisting metal housing
- Good for heavy usage
- Allows to reset the circuit breaker
- EMI/RFI noise filtering
- 6 foot long power cord
Cons
- Slight noise when turned on
The Tripp Lite ISOBAR6Ultra Isobar 6 Outlet Surge Protector is a very heavy duty home theater power manager which can be used at home or at office wherever needed. Its build quality is center of attraction- sturdy and equipped with fire-resistant metal housing.
It has 6 well spaced outlets (NEMA 5-15R outlets) which are well placed and provide you enough space to plug in and plug out with ease. It has a six foot long power cord which makes it easy to use as you won’t have to worry about any sort of extension cord.
It is also certified to UL 1499 safety standards, which makes it more compatible with home usage but as it is such a powerful home theater power manager it can also be used for other devices or places such as offices.
There are several features it has which makes it compatible to be used with a home theater, such as EMI/ RFI noise filtering. It basically deals with the sound we hear when using a device like a computer, television or microwave.
And the which is also noticeable- resettable circuit breaker which trips when there is electrical fluctuation or power overload, in this kind of situation it can save you from accidents.
It doesn’t end here there is more to the list as it provides a surge protection rating of 3330 joules, which is very impressive and highest in the list of our home theater power manager.
CyberPower CPS1215RMS Rackmount Surge Protector, 120V/15A, 12 Outlets, 15 ft Power Cord, 1U Rackmount
Pros
- 15 foot long power cord
- Rack mountable
- 12 outlets
- Warranty for 3 years
- Surge suppression- 1800 joules
Cons
- Bulky design
Heavy
CyberPower CPS1215RMS is a good choice if you’re considering it for your home theater or any other equipment, as it provides required power and protection with an impressive number of 12 outlets and a surge suppression rating of 1800 joules. You can use it to its full potential and yet it would give you a show worth watching. Its build quality is also appreciable, quite sturdy and durable.
It is not only user friendly but also unique because there are 6 rear outlets and 6 front outlets arranged in a way to make things less messy while using it on its full capacity. Also there is a 15 foot long cord to give you enough length not to use extension cord, and a 1U rackmount design to make the placement hustle easy for you.
Now the surge suppression of 1800 joules basically means you’ll be able to protect your gadgets and electrical equipment from power surge upto 1800 joules. In easy words CyberPower CPS1215RMS would interrupt the power flow to the devices after a certain dangerous threshold. It distributes power evenly which is a good thing as it would maintain a certain amount of powerflow to your device which is good for your device’s long term health.
It comes with a 3 year limited warranty, which means you can use it without worries.
Furman M-8×2 Merit X Series M-8×2 Power Conditioner
Pros
- Rack mountable
- Sturdy and durable
- EMI/RFI noise filter
- 9 outlets
- Affordable
Cons
- Size is a bit bigger
The Furman M-8×2 Merit X Series includes a lot of features we’ve discussed such as protection against power disturbance, short circuit, overvoltage or under voltage. This unit is rack mountable which makes the worries of its placement disappear, it includes the rack mounting kit.
It’s good even in looks, has a sleek design and uniquely honeycomb layout which sort of makes its usage less messy as outlets are placed strategically.
Though its size is a bit bigger, it sits perfectly. It has a 15 amp rating which should be enough for you. Its power strip is also long.It has a noise filter which eliminates any irritating and unwanted sound from your device. Can’t forget the circuit breaker as it can save your devices from short circuits and give them a long-healthy life. This is a good product at such a convenient price.
APC Performance Surge Protector with USB Ports, P11U2, 11 Outlet Power Strip, 2880 Joule Surge Protection
Pros
- Surge energy rating of 2880 joules max.
- Provides 2 USB ports
- telephone/ coaxial protection
- Lifetime warranty
Cons
- Large power strip
APC P11U2 is a powerful home theater power manager with almost everything one would consider buying on a low budget. This power manager has a surge rating of 2880 joules and also an electrical rating of 2100 joules, which is high and impressive. It includes 2 USB ports which allows you to charge your phone, tablets or any other equipment that can be charged through USB.
It provides protection for your telephone line and coaxial cable. Like any other power manager it also cuts the power flow in case of surge or spike in power, it also provides a warning to the user after shutting down the power.
This power manager is designed for the user’s optimum comfort as it has a 6-foot long power cord with 180 degree rotation, which keeps the cord organized. It has a lifetime warranty, which will give you the assurity of repair for any manufacturing defects.
It has some additional and appreciable features such as telephone/ coaxial protection and two USB ports, which can be useful sometimes. Though its size is a bit large,it is bearable and can be placed anywhere.
Furman PL-8C 15 Amp, Advanced Level Power Conditioning, SMP, EVS, LiFT, 9 Outlets, Pull Out LED Lights, Isolated Outlet Banks
Pros
- 9 power outlets including one on the front
- Modern looking sleek design
- LiFT technology
- SMP technology
- Has isolated power banks
- Extreme voltage shutdown system
Cons
- No USB port
- Expensive
Its features might seem similar to others but there are always something better or different in products, not all of them can be the same. Furman PL-8C is one of the most advanced power conditioners as it provides a lot of features which can come handy in times of need such as, 9 power outlets one of them is at the front panel for more ease in usage.
It works on SMP technology which makes it a multi purpose home theater power manager. It keeps your device safe by controlling the spike in power, it shuts down the electricity flowing to your device to protect it from extreme power surge.
It is equipped with linear noise filtration technology and there are also isolated power banks. All these features together make sure to pass the clean power to your device.
Conclusion
The products mentioned actually serve the purpose but it is still up to you. Each one of you can have different requirements from the power manager, and there are power managers with the same or different facilities for you to choose one of them.
