Surge Protectors & Backup Batteries, appartment style Options

[eaks]

Hi dear fellow musicians, I thought this could be the right place to talk about:

surge protectors & backup batteries!

To which extent do you guys think its important to have some hi-tech protectors with batteries? Would you mind a casual, rare happening power failure? Can we take the risk not to have quality surge protectors?

I checked those APCs' fatties today and I'm wondering if they're noisy, having a home-studio brings gear in a kindred way...I dont want no troubles while miking with condensers such as the NT4!!! Otherwise I would go for something like that, with the USB connection ensuring secure computer shutdown in case of a power failure. The other thing is that it uses a usb port, which is already overcrowded. But in another hand, I would consider one APC (or else) that has multiple usb ports to shut down multiple computers.

So, what is your opinion on all that, considering an appartment with no possibilities of lone grounding? Any suggestions and experiences on various brands would be appreciated.

regards!

[jaffi]

There are a few different things to consider when dealing with power. Surge protectors are just that. They do nothing more. Power conditioners are surge protectors that also feature EMI/RFI filters. This filters out interference in the air that can cause hum on your mains (i.e. flourecent lights, electric motors, etc). Balanced Power Conditioners do the same thing as a power conditioner, but also filter the AC power going to your gear. These are very expensive and are mostly used in pro facilities due to the fact that they must have a dedicated 20-30Amp socket to attach to. Then there are UPS (uninteruptable power supply). These are basically big batteries that allow you to save your data, close programs and shut down your gear in the event of a power outage. Personnaly, I recommend a good power conditioner for most people. Furman is a good brand that makes rackmount versions that aren't too pricey and have models that allow European compatibility. Even with all of this stuff, you could still get hum and noises from parallel grounding. This is what happens when two pieces of metal cased gear are touching. The best way to combat this problem is to use nylon washers for you rack mounting screws.