Is a Power Manager Necessary for Home Theaters?

Home theaters are the perfect way to enjoy your favorite movies and TV shows in the privacy and comfort of your home. However, home theaters are especially vulnerable to damage from power fluctuations as they often contain a large number of high-powered devices.

So since you don’t want your expensive equipment getting damaged, you might wonder, is a power manager necessary for home theaters?

Read on to find out.

What Is a Home Theater Power Manager?

A home theater power manager, also known as a power conditioner, is an electronic device that keeps all your home theater equipment safe by providing surge protection, noise filtration, and ensuring a clean power supply for your devices.

Depending on the power manager model, it can have additional features such as pure system power on/off and automatic voltage regulators.

Most power manager devices look very similar to DVDs or Blu-ray players, but they have multiple outlets on the rear panel where you can plug different devices. At the front panel, there is a small screen that shows the voltage and several other features depending on the model.

If the power manager detects an unsafe voltage, it will disconnect the device and connect it again once the voltage levels are safe. As a result, it improves the devices’ performance and allows them to serve you for an extended period.

Is a Power Manager Necessary for Home Theaters?

While some people can get away with not using a power manager, for most, these devices are a necessity. Power managers can be highly beneficial to home theater systems, but if your home is equipped with a high-quality electrical installation and devices, having a power manager won’t make much of a difference.

Most modern devices have built-in power supplies and chips, so they’ll probably work just fine even without a power manager.

However, if you live in an area that is prone to frequent lightning strikes or you often deal with power surges, then you most definitely need a home theater power manager. This device protects your home theater from lightning strikes and power surges and ensures a long life of your home theater equipment.

Another reason why you would need a power manager is its noise filtration features. If your speakers produce noise or interference, a power manager could filter out that noise and improve the sound quality of your system.

Additionally, dirty power is a common problem these days that not only affects your audio equipment performance but can also malfunction and damage your equipment. A power manager will filter out that dirty power and provide your equipment with a clean power supply.

That said, if you’re facing some of these issues, a home theater power manager is essential.

image credit: tvrvi.com

Difference Between a Power Conditioner and a Surge Protector

While power managers and surge protectors share some features, power managers are far more complex devices.

Surge protectors’ job is to protect your equipment from voltage surges. Using MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) and gas discharge arrestors, these devices redirect the excess energy from your equipment to the grounding wires.

The problem with surge protectors is that if they’re exposed to excessive voltage, they can explode and cause harm to your equipment.

pictured above: surge protector

On the other hand, power conditioners will also protect you against surges, but since they use the EVS (Extreme Voltage Shutdown) technology, they’ll disconnect your equipment in case of a high-voltage event.

Besides that, power managers have some additional features, such as removing noise and providing protection from under voltage, which is why these devices are considered to be much better than surge protectors.

pictured above: power manager

Do Home Theater Power Managers Reduce Noise?

Apart from protecting your electrical equipment from surges, power managers also effectively eliminate or at least reduce the noise in electricity which affects the audio quality.

This noise usually comes when other devices that are connected to the same circuit in your home are being used, and if it’s not filtered out, you’ll hear it through your speakers as hums or pops.

Additionally, dirty electricity, which is electricity that has a lot of noise, can also produce EMF (Electro Magnetic Fields) that can interfere with electronics. The power manager has filters that will purify this dirty electricity and deliver cleaner AC to your system, resulting in a clearer sound.

Also, plugging all your devices into one power manager will help you get rid of a ground loop which is the main source of hum or noise in our homes.

Does a Power Manager Affect Audio Quality?

Audio electronics tend to be quite sensitive, as they can detect any low-level noise and produce it through the speakers, which you’ll hear as a hum, noise, or interference.

While there is no doubt that the home theater power manager will eliminate that noise, in some cases, it can filter too much noise and remove sounds that it’s not supposed to. As a result, the audio will become flat and lifeless. Again, however, it all depends on which power conditioner model you’re using and the quality of your mains electricity.

That’s why it is recommended to test the audio quality with and without a power manager and decide whether you need to install one.

What Are the Benefits of a Home Theater Power Manager?

While a home theater power manager may not be absolutely necessary, it does come with a number of benefits, so it’s definitely worthwhile.

• Protect Your Devices — Home theater power managers provide a clean power supply for all your expensive electronics. As a result, your electronics will be protected against all kinds of surges and spikes, which will also help prolong their lifespan. That said, power managers are especially useful for people that live in areas prone to power surges.
• White Noise — Another reason power conditioners are definitely worth considering is that they eliminate the unnecessary noise that amplifiers pick up and improve your home theater performance.
• Cable Management — Another benefit of using a home theater power manager is cable management. Most power managers are designed to control up to eight devices, so you can place yours on a shelf and connect all your devices to it. That way, you can tuck away all the excess cables and keep your home theater organized.

Bottom Line

So, is a power manager necessary for home theaters? Yes, if you want to protect your expensive home theater equipment from damage and improve the performance of your audio system by effectively reducing unwanted noise. However, whether a power manager is a necessity or not ultimately depends on your personal circumstances.