APC S15 & SBATT Power Conditioners

APC, the leader in power surge suppression for the PC/Network and Medical markets has now set its radar on the consumer A/V market. In speaking with their lead design engineer at CEDIA, he shared some very insightful comments on the home A/V power conditioning industry. Apparently, as is the case with exotic cables, snake oil is equally abundant here as well.

Some Key Features that Differentiate APC Power Products:

• APC engineering subjects its designs to 6,000V spikes to simulate worst case real world scenarios.
• They measure how much of the spike gets through to the connection equipment which is referred to as Let-Through Voltage (LTV). This is a standardized test method of IEEE.
• According to UL 1449 Standard, a LTV of < 330V is considered good. APC AV's S Type Power Conditioner with Battery Backup has a LTV Rating of < 40V!
  Note, the lower the LTV Rating the better.
• According to IEEE the LTV Rating is the best indicator of surge protection performance.
• LTV measurement is a direct measurement of how much surge or spike actually reaches your equipment.
• Most competitor manufacturers promote Joule rating as an indicator of Surge protection. A Joule Rating only indicates how much energy is required to break down a surge device. It has no bearing on its effectiveness from preventing these surges from reaching your equipment.
• APC Protection is guaranteed for life.
• APC Products have UL1778 (tested to relevant UL1449), cUL, and FCC Part68 Class B Approvals. Very few if any competitors have these certifications and according to APC, most won't pass them.

This is a topic we look forward to demystifying in the near future. The APC A/V Power Centers seem to be the real deal. No snake oils, no gimmicky series-mode topologies, no baseless claims without industry standards backing, just pure engineering. Based on our past CES coverage of APC and our impressions in this show, we have requested test samples and are anxiously awaiting them to arrive.

Note: The front faceplate is interchangeable between standard silver or black.

Street Prices are:

S10 $1299.99
S15 $1499.99
SBATT $499.99

For more budget minded consumers, check out APC's H-Type Power Conditioners. They combine Voltage Regulation, Surge Suppression, Filtration, and Signal (Coax & Telephone) into a single box. The H-15, the 1500VA version is $399 and the 1000VA version is $299. They have all the same technology as the S-Type, but in a more affordable package and implementation

For more information, visit APC