Curious what you guys use for surge protection on high current amps. Need to install a few Crown amps in a small hotel restaurant and I am hesitant to just plug them into the outlets. They are current models and should be more or less immune to surges but still.

Furman or Surgex

Surgex

One per amp? I'll have about 4-5 separate amps.

Go Torus if budget allows. Those clients are hard to find though.

[Link: toruspower.com]

Furman!

Most power amps don't need it and many surge suppressors actually limit the peak current drawn by Class AB amps when they're operating at a high output level. Make sure whatever you use is able to handle what is being demanded. If the amps have a DSP, it's a different issue- most other amps aren't so delicate.

Crown is very good at documenting current requirements, which makes doing power layouts a breeze. Strongly recommend Furman; it's what I use with my PA system, and what all my friends who run sound use.

I agree.

The amp's power transformer and power supply are an effective suppressor. An amp with a separate, small power line line connected power supply for DSP or similar functions would be more vulnerable to transients when the main supply is turned OFF. A switch mode power supply would be slightly more vulnerable than the typical brute force analog supply.

It's a little over the top, but one approach might be to install a sub panel for the electronics (which might include computers and such) and use surge suppression on that panel as a sort of "first responder".

In this sort of environment, in addition to the risk from power grid transmitted transients, there will be some local transients created by the restaurant equipment power switching -- especially if the restaurant owner is a cheapskate.

I was a Furman guy for a loooonnnnggg time. After frequent electrical storms here, I switched to SurgeX. Have not lost anything since.

We use crestron Sonnex for DA. Crown or Sonance for outdoor speakers and misc sub amps. I only route the master sonnex through racklink so that I can remotely power cycle it. All other amps are plugged directly into power. All rack power comes from a middle atlantic exact power rack.

The only amps I have replaced we're 15-20 years old. One was a bryston that just rotted into a puddle of brown goo inside. The other was an NAD amp in a theater that started having an issue with noise on one channel.

Part of the "correct answer" depends on the locale. In a "lightning alley" sort of area one cannot get enough surge suppression. In other areas I don't get too excited about transients.

There can always be one off sorts of events. In my area there is a little two story supermarket structure that was nearly destroyed by a direct lightning strike. There were weeks of major repairs. This building is nestled in an area with several nearby high rise buildings and lots of three and four story homes. Visually scanning the area one would think that this was the least likely building to attract a strike. This is not a "lightning alley".

With this kind of situation, it might be good to think up a circular kind of argument for the customer. This is my first shot at it, just to get the idea across. I'm sure you can come up with something more convincing:

"Oops, I see you're having trouble approving the budget needed for sufficient surge protection on the power amps, where it's very necessary, which tells me that other decisions may have been made about "economy" with wiring and switching, decisions which almost PREDICT that there will be a need for better transient protection right at the components. In other words, I see a danger here that economic decisions might backfire on you. There is always a possibility that what experts call 'value engineering' might result in problems."

Krassyg

You do not have to guess, have someone come out and do a power quality test.

They will hookup a power quality monitoring device, Fluke, BMI and recommend a solution.

Their could be more severe problems that are not apparent.

Krassyg

The ideas presented in the reply’s are noted and may get the job done, but.

They are suggestions based on assumptions!

We all know what happens when we assume!!