August 2006 Reviewed by Randall Smith	APC H15 Power Conditioner

Description Model: H15 Price: $399.99 USD Dimensions: 17"W x 3.75"H x 9.5"D Weight: 16.7 pounds Warranty: Five-year repair or replacement, $750,000 equipment-protection policy Features Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) Building-wiring fault indicator	Features (cont'd) Cable line protection Coax protection Coaxial/cable line splitter IEEE let-through rating and UL 1449 compliance Lightning and surge protection Noise filtering Overload indicator Phone-line splitter Protection working indicator Resettable circuit breaker Right-angle plug Status-indicator LEDs

As I’ve assembled my home-theater system, I’ve had to plan out my purchases over time. Investing in high-quality speakers was tops on my list, followed by electronics. This process has spanned several years of trial and error, and in several cases I had to start the process over again. I’d always considered buying a power conditioner to improve the system’s performance, but how could I be sure that it actually improved anything when my system changed almost monthly?

My system has now finally settled down, and lately I’ve been experimenting with power conditioners to see exactly where I might make performance improvements. After all, I’ve invested my hard-earned money in good speakers and electronics. Protecting them with a $100 surge protector would functionally work but might overlook an important system part. On paper, American Power Conversion’s H15 power conditioner ($399.99), with its considerable flexibility and connectivity, looked like just the ticket. But would it help the sound and image?

Description

At 17" wide by 3.5" high by 9.5" deep, the APC H15 looks like a DVD player without a disc drawer and fits into an equipment rack as easily as any source component. Its body is light gray, its faceplate silver. The acceptable input-voltage range of operation is 92-144V with a nominal voltage of 120V AC. The allowable input frequency for operation is between 47 and 63Hz.

On the rear of the H15 are two rows of six outlets each. The top row is marked "Digital Filter." Any component can be plugged into one of these outlets, but the top bank is optimized to protect your most sensitive digital devices: source components, cable or satellite box, and monitor. The bottom row is divided into three zones: a video filter for a TV and VCR, an analog filter for a tuner and preamp or receiver, and a high-current filter for power amplifiers and subwoofers.

The second half of the rear panel has inputs and outputs for various other types of surge protection. The first section is a bank of coax/RF connectors: three for cable, two for satellite. The cable connectors allow you to go into the H15 with one coax cable; the H15 then splits this feed in two, one each for your cable box and cable modem. A phone-line surge protector and splitter are also provided.

Other features on the rear of the H15 include a central grounding terminal. This connection helps eliminate the ground-loop problems commonly found in home-theater systems. APC also includes a manual circuit breaker. A surge coming through the power line will trip this breaker and thus protect your valuable equipment. Finally, there are two DC triggers, an input and an output; this allows one component to power up before another.

On the front, eight LEDs indicate the statuses of the H15’s various functions. Wiring OK warns that there’s a problem with the wiring of the outlet and that the H15 should be unplugged. Above that is Line OK, which indicates when the AC line’s input voltage is within an acceptable range. If Line OK is dark, then the H15 is required to boost or trim the power it releases to your system, at which point the Filtering and Line Boost LEDs light up. When the Overload LED is lit, unplug one piece of equipment at a time until the light goes off. In this case, you may need more than one H15 for your system. There are also a power button and two setup buttons.

The main feature on the H15’s face is its digital display, which provides detailed information about the current power situation. When the Line Boost LED was lit, the display showed the amount of power coming in vs. the amount of power called for by my system. I could read these LEDs from my listening seat and confirm the time of day my AC power was most strained.

Setup

The APC H15 was very easy to set up and use. I removed from my system my Monster HTS 1000 Mk.II surge protector, then placed the H15 on the floor and plugged it into the wall to verify that my wall outlet was wired properly. The Wiring OK LED confirmed that it was. I then pulled from the wall the H15’s sturdy power cord -- much thicker than any other in my system -- and began to plug my entire system into the APC’s rear panel. My Anthem MCA 50 power amp and SVS PB12-Plus/2 subwoofer went into the high-current filter outlets, my Anthem AVM 20 preamp-processor into the analog filter bank, and my TV into one of the Video Filter outlets. The Digital Filter outlets took my DVD player, XBox, HD cable box, and Sirius Satellite Radio cradle. Once all of these were secured to the back of the H15, I plugged the APC’s own power cord into the wall.

The digital display sprang into action and quickly began spitting out information. It turned out that my power needed a boost. I’d expected this; it was 4 pm, one of the busiest times of day for the power grid. The Power Boost LED came on, and the digital display showed the deficiency of power. My wall outlet was providing less than 120V, and my system required a little more than that. Had my equipment been starving all this time?

I then turned my focus to setting up the H15 through its digital display. I set the range of the Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) to Normal, or +/-10% of 120V. The two other settings are Narrow and Wide, and where you set the AVR will depend on the quality of your line power. If your AC is unstable, choose Wide; if it’s very dependable and stable, choose Narrow. The final setting was to delay power to certain outlets in order to sequence the startup of components, but I didn’t require such a feature.

Better audio/video performance?

Immediately following setup, I eagerly turned my attention to discovering any changes in my system’s sound that the H15 might have made. Flipping through the HD cable channels, I settled on The Rock’s Walking Tall, a film I’ve seen several times. The picture looked sharper, with facial outlines contrasted vividly against the outdoor backdrops. Blacks appeared blacker, shadows were nicely rendered, and night scenes had murky detail that was a notch better than what I’d seen in the past.

The sound of my system also seemed to subtly improve. The soft, detailed sounds in various movie soundtracks seemed more prominent, as if a faint background noise was missing that I’d never noticed before. In Walking Tall, The Rock’s footsteps on the rock-covered road were very prominent: the sound of his foot touching the ground and causing small pebbles to scatter across the front soundstage was clear and precise. These details made a strong impression in my early auditioning of the H15.

I began to listen to CDs. Through a wide range of music, that new background silence revealed itself again and again. While these weren’t night-and-day improvements, slight details revealed themselves that had been missing before, and I began to better appreciate what the H15 was doing. On track 4 of Bright Eyes’ recent I’m Wide Awake, Its Morning [CD, Saddle Creek LBJ 72], the studio ambience and the singers’ physical movements were revealed in distinct ways. I heard papers shift, and the stool on which Conor Oberst sat squeaked as he began to play his guitar. Was this all due to the H15, or was I simply listening further into the music? A little of both, I’d like to think.

Comparison

A few weeks into my auditioning of the H15, another device arrived that conditions power through an entirely different process. The Goertz BP-40 balanced symmetrical power supply is a shielded isolation power transformer potted in an epoxy compound inside a round, deep-drawn steel can. It has one male plug that goes into the wall, and one female plug coming out. An additional power strip is required to use the BP-40 with more than one component. The Goertz has no LEDs or digital readouts to confirm its operational status. The 1000VA version I received retails for $433.

By listening to countless CDs, I confirmed that the Goertz BP-40 removed more background noise from the AC line than the APC H15. The APC, on the other hand, doesn’t require another power strip to support an entire system, has immense functionality, and improved video performance as well. The Goertz worked well in conjunction with the APC (remember, you’ll need more outlets than the BP-40 provides). The APC H15 has seemingly every system covered from a connectivity standpoint, and outperformed the $149 Monster HTS 1000 Mk.II I own in every way.

Conclusion

The APC H15 didn’t give my home-theater system an extreme makeover, and for $399.99 I didn’t expect it to. What I did notice were subtle improvements -- icing on the cake of a carefully-put-together home-theater system. If you’re happy with your system but think it’s time to investigate subtle ways to improve its performance while feeding your cherished components good, clean, steady power, I recommend the APC H15 as the place to start your search.

Manufacturer contact information:

American Power Conversion
132 Fairgrounds Road
West Kingston, RI 02892
Phone: (877) 272-2722

Website: www.apc.com

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