Panamax - 11-Outlet Power Conditioner/Surge Protector - Black

I bought 2 of these for my AV Racks for my home theater. The build quality is great I like the isolated outlets they are rack mountable. I really like the always on feature on some banks but you can switch the other outlets off. The fans in my AV racks don't have an off switch so turning them off while keeping other devices on really comes in handy. The warning is this although they say high current plugins for amps and reciever. DO NOT plug your receivers subwoofers or power amplifiers into them. These type of conditioners restrict or limit current and amps need unrestricted current to work they're best. The consequence of this is it can severely affect the dynamics imaging and soundstage of your home theater. I learned this the hard way. From the moment I plugged it in I heard a huge difference in sound. After I checked in on several av forums I learned from others about this problem. If you have a dedicated 20 amp circuit to your home theater plug all your other gear into these but plug your amps subwoofers and av receivers straight into the wall. If your worried about surges just unplug them when not in use. I like the product but am giving them 3 stars for advertising they can be utilized for all your home theater gear when they clearly are not made for any type of amplifier that needs unrestricted current.

Using this for a component rack that's in a corner, away from TV & front speakers. Have Denon AVR-3311CI, Sony BluRay, CD Jukebox, Cable Box, Zone 2 Yamaha Receiver, and Network Switch plugged in to the 5300. Also run cable coax and ethernet thru it straight from the source, so no back-door risk. Quite confident that protection is good, based on the build quality and all reviews I read before buying this. "Level and Stage" ratings seemed a bit more marketing-related than real world, but nonetheless... So that leaves the age-old question about improved performance. I've always been skeptical and figured that people saw/heard what they wanted to see/hear when they spent their money on new toys, I know I do sometimes. Well, I can assure you that (at least for audio) there is a definite improvement, noticed it right away -- more clarity, bass is cleaner and tighter, both for 2-channel music and movie surround sound (Def Tech 7004's, CLR 2002, SM350's) . Surprisingly, also noticed significant depth with Polk Atrium speakers on the patio, never expected that... Because of my setup, with the TV using a separate power conditioner, I can't really judge the full extent of video improvements, but I did notice ever-so-slightly sharper BluRay, CATV and Netflix picture -- might be my imagination, but makes sense if it's receiving cleaner source material from receiver, bluray player and cable box. I use a 16' Monster 1000 HDMI cable. I'm so impressed with this unit that I'm strongly considering getting another one, or maybe a 5100, just for the TV/Def Tech 7004's.

I researched several Power Conditioners prior to making the choice on this one. First off, Best Buy has all of these and unless you are an authorized retailer of Panamax, they will not honor their warranty protection of your home theater. Amazon however is not an authorized seller and sells through third parties which does not qualify for the extended protection. It costs a bit more through Best Buy but at least you know you are purchasing from an authorized dealer. The unit is quite large and resembles a stereo amplifier and can blend in nicely to any home theater set up. If you are expecting detailed directions of how to set this up, there are none, but the putlets on this are labeled pretty well and all it takes is to plug it into a wall outlet and start plugging in your components. What you will notice, the front of this until has two round windows displaying amps and actually is reading power coming in. Plus you can run your audio system through the high voltage outlets and it separates the sound so as not to interrupt your other systems from speaker distortion etc. I compared this to the Monster units and there is no comparison. Monster makes fine power strips, but for my new Sony 4K TV, I would not trust a measly Monster power strip to protect something this valuable. Once plugged into this unit, it takes over and manages your power intake and protects your systems and is always on monitoring. This unit is a bit pricey but I would not expect anything less to protect my high end equipment.

First Let me say I have had this product for almost 2 years. I have a 50 inch TV, a 5.1 amp, 2 tower speakers, and a PlayStation 3. In the 2 year period I have had the power go out in my house several times. Sometimes due to storms or outages in my city. The last major storm was hurricane sandy which knocked out my power. While other friends and family had to replace their products due to damages I did not have to. Originally I thought that this product would not do much but as time passed I have seen the benefit. The day I purchased this product and set it up a friend of mine stated he saw a picture quality difference. To be honest I heard a difference in my speakers but did not notice the picture difference until he stated it. I tested it out with and without my tv hooked up to it and found that there was less fuss. Today I noticed that a indicator was on which meant the wiring was faulty and the device shut off the power to my stuff. I rewired the outlet and plugged in the panamax suddenly everything turned back on. I can not imagine how different it would have been if i did not have this product but I am happy I have it. I also have several smaller panamax products hooked up to my smaller tvs in my other rooms and I recommend this to all my friends and family. Its a great additional protective measure to have. In short this product has saved me tons of money and trouble. I'm pretty happy that i went out and got this.

I looked at a hundred power protection solutions at different sites, and Panamax appears to be the best capability for the money. I use the M5300 to protect two of three $8000 workstations for video, 3D/animation, and rendering- all with expensive cpus, gpus, and RAM. I studied the M5400 and its simple voltage regulation, and decided it wasn't worth the difference. Do not need it for speakers and home theatre, but for what I do it works fine. The current info, filtering and power stability is great, though I can't tell much of a difference for screen quality. Eventually I will use this box to protect my $4000 NAS rack, and will get three high end voltage-regulating surge protecting UPSs for the main workstations. The UPS I was using for two workstations failed in the middle of some involved work and I lost more than I would have with a surge protector shutdown. I have continuous backup so the more crucial thing than power recovery is to protect against power spikes, voltage out of range, and damage to data and components. This is the best protection for the money to protect expensive equipment. The only better protection is an expensive high end UPS for each workstation- a lot of money.

I purchased this unit based on a suggestion by my local Best Buy Magnolia rep. I took quite some time to decide, as it is on the pricey side! While deciding and shopping around, I have found the same unit on the web cheaper, but there is a CATCH!! If you buy the Panamax product at a non-authorized dealer, the warranty is VOID!! Hmmm, seems there is a market cornered here, AND, it seems Panamax should only be distributing their items through AUTHORIZED dealers... right?!?! Well, after getting another positive referral from a friend that has one, and another from a Home theater shop, I bit the bullet and bought one. I did wait until my Reward Zone points came in from the 55" TV I bought, so I could at least feel a little better about the price! :) Now that it is installed, I can say it is a great addition to my system! It helped to clean up some of my wiring mess, along with keeping a clean picture and sound for my system! My only complaint is that Panamax add a 90 degree (right angle) plug, instead of the straight plug currently on the unit. The power cable is rather beefy, and the 90 degree plug would allow for furniture or TV stand to be pulled closer to the wall! Thanks Panamax!

When I was looking for power conditioners I immediately looked to Panamax, as they have a name and reputation for making good power conditioning products. I found out they were picked up by Furman, who is also very well-known for making solid quality products. Looking at the line-up of Panamax products I turned to this one, which does pretty much everything minus voltage regulation. For the money I saved I think it was worth it and was still a good choice compared to the more expensive 5400. There are plenty of outlets on the back and the power cable that is included is not only beefy, but replaceable and has a nice retention clip in place. You can also rack-mount this thing down the road if you choose to do so. My only gripe about this unit is the overly bright lighting. I think it's super cool, but a lot of people will hate it. There is a way to turn the lighting to dim or even off I think and that will save people a lot of grief down the road. Aside from that this is a great unit and did make a difference in taking some of hiss out of my stereo. Mind you this could be placebo, but you're really buying this as insurance for your electronics.

Purchased this to replace my old, but still fuctional, Monster power strip. (I relocated its use elsewhere) The Panamax is sleek and fits nicely side by side with other home theater components. It's light weight and each of the rear outlets are spaced far enough that it doesn't get cumbersome to connect all my cables. Not sure about connecting large box type plug-ins, but most of those should be phased out by now. It remains cool to the touch even when placed in an enclosed cabinet as i have it. Why four stars? Well it would be nice if you can dial down how bright the LED lights are. It's not an issue for me since it's in a cabinet but for others who may have it out in the open i can see how it can get annoying if you're trying to watch a movie in the dark. And the final reason i gave it four stars? Well its one i don't want to happen, but i guess it will happen eventually is how it will perform during an actual power surge. The controlled tests I've viewed online is one thing, but a real lighting storm creating multiple surges during a storm is another. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works as it's supposed to. Also, i took advantage of the killer sale price at the time. I'm definitely happy with my purchase and highly recommend it, especially at the price point BB had it listed for.