Cross posted from another forum that I posted about this same question:
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So I just did a bunch of research for a power conditioner for a new guitar rig I am building.
Pretty much everything under $300 or so is just an surge suppressor and EMI/RFI filter which is line noise. Real power conditioning will have sine wave generation and voltage regulation. Those are expensive, large, heavy, and require batteries or fancy voltage storage.
There are of course different specs as well. From what I could gather, the primary specs to look for (which are general, like amp wattage, or CPU Mhz...there are other factors for a system):
Joules: how much power the strip can take before self destructing. Higher the better. The theory is that lower ones will still let the surge through after destructing. Less than 1000 is cheap. 1000-2000 is pretty good, 2000+ is often recommended for Audio/Video/Home Theater.
Voltage Clamp: This is when the voltage is stomped down. 330V is UL minimum.
EMI/RFI Filtering: Check for the amount of supression. 20dB is about the minimal, 40-80dB is typical of nicer units.
The rest of the specs sort of don't apply. Most amp/recording rigs aren't going to pull more than 10-15 amps TOTAL, which is essentially a single house breaker. We rehearse with full PA, full recording rig with tube pres, Neve/API clones, etc. Then with lights, 100 Watt stacks and 1000Watt bass rigs, all on one circuit, no problem. Stage lighting and heaters on the other hand... power hungry.
So I dug around checking specs of popular rack units and reputable power strips. Essentially the rack units you are paying for the rack case ($50 on its own empty.. I know) and the convenience/lights/etc. Many of the power strips actually have better specs all the way around. PLUS you get an equipment warranty that is specified. I just bought one that did $300K!!
I don't know if Furman, Monster, ETA, etc. have that. But I checked on a few of those (won't specify) and a couple of their lower end models had the same specs as a $10 strip with EMI/RMI, 200 Joules, 330V clamp.
Anyway in this case my goal with this rig is to limit the weight and number of rack spaces. So in the end I grabbed this:
Newegg.com - BELKIN BE112230-08 8 Feet 12 Outlets 3780 Joules Surge Protector with Telephone and Coaxial Protection - Surge Suppressors
24.99 and it beats out pretty much every rack mount I could find specs on under $200 in terms of protection. Others I looked at were TrippLite and CyberPower who both have good reputations for honoring their warranties and equipment coverage. Belkin has no rep one way or the other.. could be they have never failed... but their process looks reasonable. My gear is insured separately for theft and damage anyway.
Anyway I AM NOT saying that rack-units are a rip-off or anything. For what you get they are a good value. Rack chassis alone are $30-100. Plus they use heavy duty switches, probably better plugs and construction. The more expensive ones have lights, volt-meters, etc. Plus they don't have the demand or bulk of traditional power strips. Musicians and pro-audio/video are a relatively small market compared computers/TV's/Home stereos around the world. Add marketing, distro, retail, etc. And I think the convenience is definitely worth it in professional rack based rigs.
But on the cheap, or in home/project studios where you don't mind dealing with strips, you can get just as much or more protection for a lot less money.
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The ones you really want to look for are "Online" backup power supplies. They will do true sine-wave power since they essentially charge a battery and then run you off the battery which is the best power you can get. They still run $300+, but they are way cheaper than the ones for "pro audio" and their marketing hype. Plus you get insurance with the computer based ones. And at work, we have cashed in on a failed one and it was relatively painless.
