Panamax M10-HT-PRO Home Theater Management

Don't buy it from Amazon thinking that it's going to provide insurance for your equipment. Panamax

will not honor that protection for their products bought online except from a list of authorized

dealers, which can be found at panamax.com. I do wish this had been mentioned somewhere in the

product description or even on the outside of the packaging, instead I found it in the fine print

of the little booklet packed with the unit, after my husband spent some hours carefully attaching

everything. It's a good unit, but if you, like I, are buying one of these with the insurance as

a feature partially justifying the expense over cheaper protectors, get it somewhere else.

Many folks on here talk about the power strip, it's size, whether or not it actually improves sound quality, etc. Well, I agree it is big, heavy. Build quality from the outside appears to be top notch. But one unnoticed/misunderstood, but very useful feature is the 12v Triggering capability. The bank of three outlets nearest to the power switch (opposite end to the coax connections) can be (switchable) controlled by a 12v triggering mechanism. For folks who have remotely placed HT components such as sub-woofer, power amplifiers, etc. this a tremendous value. Running a 12v trigger cable (25ft Ir Emitter 3.5mm Mono Extension Cable By Infrared Resources) from the back of your HT receiver/pre-pro to this unit, will trigger those remote components on/off as needed, without you have to either a) leave them on all the time, or b) have to remember turn them on/off. This one feature is in itself worth the price of this unit, which is frequently discounted 50+% here on Amazon. Comparable 12v triggering devices from Niles CS12V Current-sensing 12-volt trigger and XANTECH AC1 Controlled AC Outlet run well above the price of this unit, and do not also have the ability act as surge suppressors and/or power conditioner in themselves. All in all, for those who are looking for this type of functionality, as I was, this represents a huge value.

Buy Panamax M10-HT-PRO Home Theater Management Now

After doing some research on different power centers/conditioners, I ended up deciding on this one based on a few things.

First off, the price. I'm glad I got it when I did, it was a little cheaper during the gold box deal. I knew I didn't want to spend $200+ on a power conditioner at this point. It was an upgrade from the 8-outlet Belkin surge protector (which featured no clean power feature). Secondly, I wanted to get better audio and video performance (which it delivered). And finally, I wanted more reassurance that my components were safe from a surge. Since Panamax is a highly respected brand in the Home Theater world, this fit the bill perfectly.

Since other reviewers have done a fantastic job of describing the physical unit, I will focus this review more on the audio and video improvements I've experienced.

The video is improved quite a bit it seems like a layer was taken off of the front of the screen, much like looking through a window after it's been cleaned with Windex (but don't use Windex on your TV!). There is less noise than there was before. Even my wife saw a big improvement, and she can't tell much difference between Blu-ray and DVD.

The audio is also greatly improved. It has a similar effect to what the video was: it sounds that much clearer. You could swear the sounds were in the room and not coming from the speakers. We watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon on Blu-ray and the fight scenes sounded more clear than before.

I would highly recommend this to those who have the space for it. The video/audio improvement is worth it alone! Take the time, measure and make sure it will fit where your TV/home theater is. Then get this power center!

Equipment and Plug Location:

PS3: Filtered

Receiver: Filtered

Samsung HDTV: Digital Video

Subwoofer: Delayed

DVD Player: Normal

VCR: Normal

Cable Box: Normal

EDIT: I forgot to mention one more nice feature of this power center. It has two diamond shaped cut outs on the back side of the strip, so it is wall mountable. I know that at some point I will make good use of that and mount it behind the TV, out of sight!

Read Best Reviews of Panamax M10-HT-PRO Home Theater Management Here

This is my 4th Panamax product and I love them all. I live in FL where lightning and power surges happen frequently. Sometimes the power will go on an off 4 times in a row from the power company. Lightning hits always seem close. The surge protectors react immediately and shut down power until power comes back. All my electronics have survived. Prior to going on a buying binge with panamax, a lightning hit blew out a High Def DVD player, receiver and a cable signal amplifier. I took 3 months to get the receiver fixed properly with a dozen trips to the electronic repair shop that was 25 miles away. Very frustrating and something I would not wish on anyone. I've seen all my panamax units react well with power surges (nearby power transformers cycling on and off) and nearby lightning hits. Nothing will protect your electronics from a direct lightning hit, but so far panamax technology has dealt well with nearby hits. I highly recommend panamax products.

P.S. I've read comments on the large size of this unit. When I saw it for the first time, I just smiled ear to ear. I loved the large size and design of the power surge protection strip. Go figure.

Want Panamax M10-HT-PRO Home Theater Management Discount?

I play electric guitar with numerous effects pedals and one amp for guitar as well as another one for vocals. Everything was plugged into either the wall outlets or a power strip. I had HUGE problems with ground loops, which would cause unlistenable amounts of hum, hiss and buzz to come from my amps. I found that the only thing that worked for me in reducing all the noise was to whittle my system down to the two most essential and noise-less pedals, but I still had some hiss and I missed having all the other cool effects to play with. Then a friend got me one of these, and I bought a Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus to power the pedals instead of using AC adapters. Oh my God, night and day difference! I have tons of effects pedals back in the chain now, and I can go from a screaming monstrous roar to instant dead silence just by muting the strings on my guitar with my hand. Amazing! This thing makes me love playing guitar again. I highly recommend the Panamax M10-HT PRO -and the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power 2 Plus -for any musician who plays through electrical gear and has issues with unwanted noise getting into their system. The Panamax is bulky and expensive, but it is no ordinary power strip and it is well worth the extra coin.