Home Theater Sludge

What's an audio/video filter?  You've heard of coffee filters, right?  OK, so where am I going with this. 

Well, let's say you're one of the many people who drink drip-brewed coffee.  Have you ever not used the paper filter, run out of them, or substituted the permanent gold-tone ones?  What do you end up with.  Yeeeeeech!

You get gritty, crunchy coffee, laced with grinds, that is bitter and chewable to the last drop.  Sludge.  But you can run to the store and get some more paper filters and then life is good again.

So how does this relate to a home theater A/V filter?  Let's examine the similarities.

First of all, your coffee maker is hungry.  So what do we feed it to make coffee.  Hot water and ground beans, which flow thru the system's 'plumbing', and on the way to creating your perfect cup they are passed thru a filter, which removes the loose sludge and impurities in both the water and bean mixture.

So what does a home theater system eat?  POWER!!  Electricity!!  And just like the coffee maker, how do you keep your system's electrical 'plumbing' from accumulating and putting out electrical sludge, resulting in a poorer video picture and distorted sound, full of noise and interference?

Everything A-OK Captain!

You get an A/V filter, also known as a power conditioner and surge protector (most power conditioners also include surge protection to guard your components from damage caused by random power spikes or surges delivered by your friendly local energy companies, when they experience problems with their power grids).

Many major manufacturers carry these, like Monoprice, Furman, Belkin, Monster, even Power Sentry.  We prefer the slim-line ones, which work well if combined with good quality cabling, and they also fit more easily into your component rack.

Belkin Power Conditioner (in silver)

So get out there and clean and protect your home theater power.  Your components might even last a lot longer on a healthier power diet.

"Good Luck, and Happy Power Conditioning"