Why buy a power conditioner for your home theater equipment? A power conditioner is a vital component to home theaters that filters out “dirty” power and keeps equipment safer, lasting for as long as possible, and functioning at top speed. When your equipment isn’t protected by a top-notch power conditioner, your equipment is vulnerable to dips and spikes in your electric current that causes damage to equipment. In addition, power conditioners filter out excess noise to deliver a clean, crisp sound for your home theater. You can even hook up your home theater lighting to a power conditioner to protect it from electrical current and surge damage. There are so many options for power conditioners on the market, so we’ve compiled a list of the 11 best power conditioners for home theaters on the market for every budget.
11 Best Power Conditioners on the Market Today
These are our choices for the best power conditioners for home theaters, organized by price range and budget for our readers:
1-4: Budget-friendly# 5-7: Mid-range # 8-11: Higher-end
Our Top Picks
1. Furman Power Conditioner SS6B
PROS
The Furman Power Conditioner SS6B is a low-priced power conditioner by a trusted home theater industry brand, so if you’re on a budget, this may just be the power conditioner for your home theater. It comes with a lengthy 15-foot power cord, a circuit breaker, and six outlets. It is well-constructed with heavy-duty metal, and comes with EMI/RFI noise attenuation for home theater power conditioning, which helps eliminate humming noises from bad grounding or pops as you turn on your speakers.
CONS
The Furman Power Conditioner SS6B comes with six outlets, but that may not be enough to supply a medium or large, high-end home theater system. You may end up having to purchase two. Additionally, the outlets are not very widely spaced. You may run into problems being able to fit all of your plug-ins. The Furman Power Conditioner SS6B doesn’t come with a lot of bells and whistles. It won’t provide any USB, coaxial, or ethernet hookups, like many other power conditioners. It has basic power conditioning capabilities, but compared to more high-end power conditioners, this is just a good-quality surge protector with some power conditioning capabilities (more on surge protectors in our guide).
2. Accell PowerSquid Surge Protector Power Strip
PROS
The Accell Powersquid Surge Protector Power Strip is a great budget-friendly power conditioner and surge protector. It comes with a 3-foot, heavy-duty power cord, and five flexible outlets. The outlets can be utilized for your home theater since they each have their own flexible arms attached. The Accell Powersquid boasts 1,080 joules of surge protection and basic power conditioning and noise reduction features through filtering RF/EMI in your home theater audio.
CONS
Like the Furman Power Conditioner SS6B, the Accell Powersquid doesn’t come with a whole lot of features to write home about, but it fulfills its basic purpose of being a surge protector and power conditioner. For small home theaters, this may be the perfect option. However, for larger home theaters, five outlets won’t cut it, and you’ll need to purchase more than one. In addition, it also doesn’t come with any USB, Ethernet, or coaxial hookups, like other power conditioner/surge protector models on the market today.
3. CyberPower CPS1215RMS Surge Protector
PROS
The CyberPower CPS1215RMS Surge Protector is a 120V/15A rackbar surge protector that comes with a whopping 12 outlets and includes EMI/RFI noise filtering. It is also UL recognized. The CyberPower CPS1215RMS Surge Protector is a wonderful budget-friendly power conditioner for a medium or large home theater, due to the number of outlets. There are six outlets on the front of the CyberPower CPS1215RMS and six outlets on the back. The six back outlets are widely spaced and leave room for extra bulky cords and wall adapters. It is made of industrial-grade metal housing and has a 15-foot power cord. It also has a cord retention tray. The CyberPower CPS1215RMS Surge Protector, unlike our previous two options, is more than just a basic surge protector strip with some power conditioning capabilities. It is a complex power conditioner that was built with users in mind. It comes with 1,800 joules of surge protection and is a 1U rackmount (19 inches) with 0U vertical rackmount and under-counter configurations.
CONS
While the CyberPower CPS1215RMS Surge Protector is a stand-out budget-friendly option for home theater power conditioning, it does only come with traditional outlets, and it does not have connections for Ethernet, coaxial cables, and USB cords.
4. Pyle PCO850 15 Amp Power Supply Conditioner
PROS
The Pyle PCO850 15 Amp Power Supply Conditioner is our last budget-friendly pick and a great choice for home theaters by leading home theater brand Pyle. The Pyle PCO850 15 Amp Power Supply Conditioner has built-in AC noise filtering, eliminating RFI and EMI, as well as spike and surge protection. It has an operating voltage of 115V – 60 Hz with nine outlets – eight in the rear and one in the front. Three of the outlets in the back are widely spaced to help make room for your bulky cords and power adapters. It has a built-in circuit breaker with a 15 amp rating. It is 1U rack-mountable and its peak impulse current is 1,200 amps. It has a 6-foot power cord and weighs 3.5 lbs. With three widely-spaced outlets and one in the front by itself, you should have more than enough room to utilize all of your plug-ins for your home theater, and with nine outlets, it should suit many home theaters on its own.
CONS
While the Pyle PCO850 15 Amp Power Supply Conditioner has great ratings from most customers, more than one customer has said that its surge protection capabilities aren’t top-notch. One user said the equipment connected to the Pyle PCO850 15 Amp Power Supply Conditioner suffered damage during a surge when other equipment hooked up to a basic surge protector did not. While nine outlets is a good amount for most basic home theaters, some may find that this is just not enough for their home theater. Additionally, the Pyle PCO850 15 Amp Power Supply Conditioner does not have any USB, coaxial, or Ethernet hook-ups.
5. Furman M-8X2 Merit Series 8 Outlet Power Conditioner and Surge Protector
PROS
The Furman M-8X2 Merit Series 8 Outlet Power Conditioner and Surge Protector has two models in the mid-range price, one with a rack and one without. The Furman M-8X2 Merit Series 8 Outlet Power Conditioner and Surge Protector has AC noise filtering that reduces RFI/EMI and spike and surge protection to keep your equipment safe, as well as nine total outlets. There are eight rear panel outlets, and three are widely spaced for power adapters. Plus, there is a convenience outlet on the front panel. It has a filtration rating greater than 23 dB, 200 kHz to 10 MHz, which is great for home theaters of all shapes and sizes. The Furman M-8X2 Merit Series 8 Outlet Power Conditioner and Surge Protector is raved about for getting rid of all pops, crackles, and excess noise in speakers. It also has a 15 amp rating with a circuit breaker built-in. This professionally-built power conditioner and surge protector is a true gem at a great price.
CONS
While many purchasers of the Furman M-8X2 Merit Series 8 Outlet Power Conditioner and Surge Protector are very satisfied with its noise elimination and power conditioning capabilities, a few said that the hum sounds are not completely eliminated. While nine outlets is enough for many home theaters, large home theater owners may not have enough outlets for all of their products and accessories. Additionally, there are no extra hookups like USB, ethernet, or coaxial.
6. Pyle 19 Outlet 1U 19″ Rackmount PDU Power Distribution Supply Center Conditioner PCO860
PROS
The Pyle PCO860 19 Outlet Power Conditioner is a mid-range power conditioner that is sure to impress with a whopping 19 outlets – 16 of which come with their own arms, so you are sure to be able to utilize all of them. This is sure to be enough outlets for just about any home theater. It also comes with one USB outlet. It has a detachable 1u rack design for standard 19-inch racks, and it has detachable mounting flanges for rack-mount, wall-mount and under-counter installation options. It has a built-in 15-amp circuit breaker and a 15-foot power cable. This power conditioner by top home theater supplier Pyle has an integrated switched front panel AC outlet, and it is optimized for reliable distribution of power with an operating voltage of 110/240V and USB power of 5V/2A.
CONS
This may seem like the perfect mid-range power conditioner on our list, but it does have a few downfalls, as told by purchasers. One person said the USB outlet is faulty, even after purchasing two different ones. Additionally, one person said the Pyle PCO860 19 Outlet Power Conditioner doesn’t fit a full 1U height, so only the top mounting holes could be used during installation. And while this well-designed power conditioner does come with one USB outlet, it doesn’t have more than one USB hookup or any other hookups, like coaxial or Ethernet.
7. Furman Power Conditioner PST-8D
PROS
The Furman Power Conditioner PST-8D is a top mid-range power conditioner with advanced linear filtering to dramatically reduce AC line noise and power contamination. It also comes with Series Multi-Stage Protection Plus (SMP+), which gives it the highest level of AC surge suppression, allowing it to guard valuable home theater equipment from extreme voltage surges. It comes with eight main outlets, as well as coaxial and Telco connectors , so not only will your home theater equipment be protected, your cable, satellite, and telephone/LAN will be too. It comes with a sturdy aluminum chassis and a warranty to cover loss of electronics when properly connected to the PST-8D during a power event. The PST-8D’s SMP+ circuit incorporates Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT) and a high current TVZ-MOV to ensure the highest quality of clean, filtered power and noise reduction.
CONS
Even though the Furman Power Conditioner PST-8D is a well-designed power conditioner for high performance, the number of outlets may only be suitable for some home theaters, but some may need to purchase additional power conditioners/surge protectors to protect all of their equipment. Additionally, there are no USB outlets on the PST-8D.
8. Panamax MR4300 9-Outlet Home Theater Power Management with Surge Protection and Power Conditioning
PROS
The Panamax MR4300 Surge Protector and Power Conditioner is our first power conditioner at a higher price from the leading home theater brand. It is specifically designed to provide protection and filtered power to home theater systems. It comes with nine protected and filtered outlets that feature its exclusive Automatic Voltage Monitoring (AVM) and Panamax Level 3 Noise Filtration. It has a $5,000,000 Limited Lifetime Connected Equipment Protection Policy and a Lifetime Product Warranty. The MR4300 also has two pairs of universal CATV/satellite connectors and one pair of RJ-45 and one pair of RJ-11 in/out connectors. Two of its outlets are specifically for high current hookups, like pre-amps and receivers. It also has one USB charging outlet on the front panel.
CONS
While the Panamax MR4300 is boasted about for its power conditioning and protection capabilities and has all the outlet types you could ask for, it is lacking on the number of outlets. It only has nine, which may be suitable for many home theaters, but some may find that this is not enough. Additionally, only a few have extra spacing between them, so they may not all be able to be utilized.
9. Furman Power Conditioner M8DX
PROS
The Furman Power Conditioner M8DX is another higher-end power conditioner by a leading home theater equipment provider. It has eight rear panel outlets and one front panel outlet. Three of the rear panel outlets are widely spaced, so your power adapters and bulky cords will be able to fit in at least four of the outlets. It is built with both AC noising filtering to reduce RFI and EMI, as well as spike and surge protection to keep equipment safe. Its peak impulse current is 12,000 amps and has a maximum continuous operating voltage of 130 VAC RMS. Its let-through voltage is 125 amps, 8/20uS waveform at 400 volts. The noise attenuation, in the transverse mode, is greater than 26 dB, 200 kHz to 10 MHz, and its operating voltage is 120 VAC 60 Hz. It comes with a 6-foot cord and a maximum output current of 15 amps. It also has two slide-out, swiveling light fixtures for discreet illumination of equipment, which is a rare find in power conditioners.
CONS
While nine outlets with four being well-spaced is a great number, some home theaters may need more than this, and may not be able to utilize all of them, if their equipment cords are extra bulky. Additionally, there are no hookups, other than traditional outlets. You’ll need a separate USB, coaxial, and Ethernet equipment protection.
10. Furman PL-PLUS C 15 Amp Power Conditioner
PROS
The Furman PL-PLUS C 15 Amp Power Conditioner is similar to the M8DX, but some experts say it is a step up from the M8DX. The Furman PL-PLUS C is an advanced power conditioner with SMP, EVS, and LiFT technology. Furman’s exclusive SMP technology to provide top equipment protection during surges. It has isolated outlet banks that minimize inter-component interference and noise contamination, and it has a segmented LED voltmeter to monitor and display incoming line voltage. It has an operating voltage of 120V 50/60Hz and 15 amps of maximum output current. It has a noise attenuation of 10 dB @ 10 kHz, 40 dB @ 100 kHz, and 50 dB @ 500 kHz. It has a maximum surge current of 6,500 amps and a spike clamping voltage of 188 VAC peak @ 3,000 amps. It also has the dimmable, pull-out lights that the M8DX features, and it has a 10-foot cord.
CONS
The Furman PL-Plus C should be a top choice for power conditioner buyers looking to protect high-end home theater equipment, but with only nine outlets, it may come up short in protecting all home theater equipment in larger home theaters. Additionally, it doesn’t have any additional outlets, other than the basic three-prong – no USB, coaxial, or Ethernet.
11. APC H15BLK 12-Outlet H-Type Rack-Mountable Power Conditioner
PROS
The APC H15 Power Conditioner is a great product from a trusted home theater brand, boasting of 12 outlets for all of your power needs. It also comes with CATV/modem and satellite/antenna hookups, as well as Ethernet hookups. The 12 outlets are well spaced, and you should be able to utilize all of them for your home theater. Not only will your home theater equipment be protected, but your phone line, internet, and TV can also be. It comes with isolated noise filter banks (INFB), and outlets with grouped filtering protection: digital vilter outlets, video filter outlets, analog filter outlets, and high current filter outlets. It has an LCD display that shows voltage in and voltage out, frequency, and load. It also has light dimmer settings. Its feet can also be unscrewed to be removed for rack mounting installation. It has a surge energy rating of 5,270 joules and comes with a $750,000 Connected Equipment Warranty. It has a let through voltage rating of < 40, a maximum input current of 15A and EMI/RFI noise filtration of 100 kHz to 10 MHz, 50 dB.
CONS
While the APC H15 does have a wide range of outlet types, it does not come with any USB hookups.
Find the Perfect Power Conditioner For Your Home Theater
When you’re ready to purchase a power conditioner for your home theater, it’s important to analyze your current and future equipment to plan ahead. Make sure to count your plugs and review your plug types, as well as consider future purchases. How many outlets do you need? Do you need different outlet types? Do you need lots of spacing to utilize all outlets? It’s important to make a budget recommendation for your power conditioner purchase, and it’s a good idea to check all possible spots to find the right power conditioner for you. You may find a model you like at one store but not the other. Additionally, you may need to consult an expert to ensure that the power conditioner you choose is a perfect fit for your home theater. Not looking for a power conditioner and want a simple surge protector? Check out our article on the 10 best surge protectors! I would suggest using surge protectors for non-essential devices. They are cheaper than most power conditioners.
Related Questions
Are power conditioners always necessary for a home theater? Power conditioners are a great investment for most home theaters, but if you don’t have very expensive equipment, a surge protector can provide the protection you need by itself. If you do have any expensive home theater equipment, you’ll definitely want to purchase a power conditioner. What’s the difference between a power conditioner and a surge protector? A power conditioner protects equipment from damage by “dirty” power and a surge protector protects equipment from damage during a power surge, like a storm can bring. Most power conditioners have surge protection capabilities, but not all surge protectors have power conditioning capabilities.
