Belkin PureAV Home Theater Power Console -Black

Power protection seems to be a big theme in home theater these days, and units run the range from glorified surge suppressors all the way to full-blown uninterruptable power supplies (UPS).The Belkin PF60 is at the basic end of the spectrum in terms of these capabilities...no automatic voltage regulation, no UPS, etc. But, as a surge suppressor on steroids, it definitely has a place in my equipment rack.First, it's a fairly rugged unit and seems like it would offer good protection in the event of lightning strike or other unusual situation. Construction quality seems good for the price, and it's just big enough to house all the outlets I need without being obtrusive in my equipment rack. It runs cool and quiet, and doesn't seem to add any sort of hum, noise or interference in my system.It's important to be sure that you've sized the unit to match your equipment needs. For instance, in my primary home theater setup, I have several massive monoblock amps that in total are capable of drawing 60A (7200 watts) of power. Connecting these to a unit like the Belkin would be a big mistake. Connect one of today's bigger AV receivers, a big subwoofer, a large plasma TV and a bunch of other components, and you can easily exceed the rating of a single unit like the Belkin PF60. This isn't a flaw with the Belkin - you just need to be sure to size things appropriately. I'd love to see a unit similar to the PF60, but with multiple power cords that can be connected to different circuits to get you more than the 15A (1800 watt) capacity single outlet units have.Often not discussed in the convenience factor - with one of these units, you have a single power cord between the Belkin and your wall outlet, and then everything plugs directly into the power console. This alone is probably worth the price, since it makes for a much neater installation. It also ensures that everything shares a ground (versus, say, connecting different components to different outlets).The programmable outlets are also convenient in that it lets you stage power-up, versus that surge you sometimes get by turning on everything at once. I have a pair of electrostatic speakers (they require a 110v power source), and it's nice to be able to fire up my amps before the speakers to avoid that "thump" caused by the surge of everything coming on at once.Overall, very good product at a terrific price. If your needs are relatively basic in terms of power protection, the Belkin is convenient and priced well.

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to adequately protect my home A/V configuration, but I'm glad that I finally found the Belkin PF60 to do the job. One rule of thumb I've seen is to invest roughly 20% of your total equipment value in power protection. That may be a good marketing ploy for high-end equipment vendors, but I honestly can't see why I would ever need more protection than what the Belkin PureAV PF60 offers. Belkin offers a $500,000 connected equipment warranty for the lifetime of the product to the original purchaser.There is a lot to like about this unit:- Level 4 surge protection with automatic over-voltage cutoff (7116 Joules - 369,000 Amp max spike current)- Belkin Phase 6 electrical noise filter- 13 power outlets, configured in 6 banks of 2 (rear) and one in the front (behind a protected door) including one bank for high-current devices (Amplifiers, Receivers)- each of the 6 banks are electrically isolated, minimizing interference between components- each of the 6 banks can be configured for always-on, switched, or switched with delay- switched outlets can be controlled from the front of the unit, or by a remote trigger (12V DC in)- front LCD status display shows line voltage and current (Amp) usage for the entire unit, or for each of the 6 banks- 12v DC remote trigger output for additional components- extremely heavy duty (10AWG) 10-foot power cable, with right-angle plug- nice form factor, size, and styling fit well in my home theater configurationWhat's missing? Unfortunately, a few key items that the Belkin PDF manual (on their support site) would indicate are included:- no Ethernet or phone jack protection- no AC power cord for remote trigger (luckily, there is a standard 1/8" mini 12V DC port)- no mounting hardware for rack mountThere are also a few annoying things:- there is no option to completely turn off the LCD backlight, although the dimmest level isn't too distracting- after a complete power failure, the PF60 doesn't remember its settings. Since I use the remote 12V trigger for switched outlets, after a power failure, I have to manually hit the "Remote" button on the front of the unit. And, I have to reset the LCD backlight down from its brightest default.But, in all, considering the performance and other features, at this price point, it's hard not to like the PureAV PF60. In my configuration, I did notice a slight improvement in video quality, especially with analog inputs. And that is saying something, as I don't generally believe in cable "voodoo". And that alone is worth the investment, beyond the essential component protection.