What to look for in a UPS

[jonnn]

Hello,

I've just started looking into getting a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for my set-up. I've read a few things about how they can act as power conditioners as well as battery back-ups if you get the right kind.

I'd like to avoid getting one that's too loud, since I don't really have another room to put it in (maybe a closet) but I want to make sure I get one that's actually going to do a good job.

I'm running an i7 920 based PC and I usually only use my internal HD's, but I do occasionally use and external drive or two. I've got a presonus monitor station, a pair of dynaudio bm6a's, and about 10 ru worth of preamps, a compressor, converters, and my 002r.

And I'm aware I should've got a UPS sooner, sorry!

Thanks for any help I can get!

jonnn

[Top Jimmy]

Sine wave output when on battery.

I would not plan on putting all the gear on a UPS, only the critical components. PC, drives, monitor and interface on the UPS would allow you to save, quit and shutdown gracefully in the event of a power outage.

The APC Smart-UPS 750VA might meet your needs. All the other gear can go on a Furman rack strip.

[albee1952]

+1 for an APC but I would go a little bigger. Their 900 model(at $129) is a good unit and as small as I would go. Their 1000-1500 models would be even better(find all of these at Best Buy or Staples). I run everything EXCEPT my speakers off mine and it can save your ***** for sure. I had a paying client watching while we bounced his final mix when the power went out. The bounce finished and I calmly saved and closed down. Without the APC, that session would have been trashed. Plan on new batteries about every 18 months. Ebay seems to have better pricing than APC on the batteries.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by albee1952

+1 for an APC but I would go a little bigger. Their 900 model(at $129) is a good unit and as small as I would go. Their 1000-1500 models would be even better(find all of these at Best Buy or Staples). I run everything EXCEPT my speakers off mine and it can save your ***** for sure. I had a paying client watching while we bounced his final mix when the power went out. The bounce finished and I calmly saved and closed down. Without the APC, that session would have been trashed. Plan on new batteries about every 18 months. Ebay seems to have better pricing than APC on the batteries.

APC here I have a couple of 1200s and a 900. If its electronic its on a UPS. I'm good for about 20+ minutes with full WiFi, Printers, DAW, etc all working. Pick one out by the amount of protected outlets.

I once had the joy of watching a older Belkin UPS go up flames without tripping the breaker....Another reason I like APC or at least dont buy Belkin.

[netnoggin]

Another decision-point is the type of conversion used in the UPS - offline/standby, line-interactive, online/double-conversion, or so hybrid combination of these. Probably not your primary buying decision, but it's good to know the difference. Wikipedia has a breakdown, so I won't repeat it here.

Also, don't assume a good or large UPS has good overvoltage or lightning protection. Typically, UPS manufacturers concentrate on the backup part much more than the protection part (contrary to their marketing claims). Having disassembled many of them including the APCs, I can tell you there isn't much in there for protection and line noise cleanup. Buy it for power backup, not for protection or noise filtering.

I use a UPS only for the things that benefit from it like the PCs, but have everything on filtering/protecting devices. It keeps the cost of the UPS and ongoing battery replacement a lot lower.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by netnoggin

Another decision-point is the type of conversion used in the UPS - offline/standby, line-interactive, online/double-conversion, or so hybrid combination of these. Probably not your primary buying decision, but it's good to know the difference. Wikipedia has a breakdown, so I won't repeat it here.

Also, don't assume a good or large UPS has good overvoltage or lightning protection. Typically, UPS manufacturers concentrate on the backup part much more than the protection part (contrary to their marketing claims). Having disassembled many of them including the APCs, I can tell you there isn't much in there for protection and line noise cleanup. Buy it for power backup, not for protection or noise filtering.

I use a UPS only for the things that benefit from it like the PCs, but have everything on filtering/protecting devices. It keeps the cost of the UPS and ongoing battery replacement a lot lower.

Yeah, A UPS is not a replacement for a power conditioner. If you don't have one of those add it to the list.

[jonnn]

Thanks everybody!

Top Jimmy - I'd read it was good to have the sine wave output and will for sure at least have the things you mentioned on the UPS.

Albee - Thanks, I'll look into the 1000-1500 models. Rather have too much than not enough.

netnoggin - I remember reading somewhere that the online one was better. Can't remember why, I'll look into it some more this week. And that's a good point about some not having overage protection. I have found a few that at least claim to have protection.

Sunburst - I currently have all my rack gear on a monster pro 3500. My power isn't really all that bad in the first place, but I do remote recordings with my rig from time to time and figured I'll run into bad power. But there was an instance where the monster unit wasn't able to fix this noise I was getting from the power supply for my old laptop. One of the preamps on my 002r was picking up the noise. Only thing that fixed it was an ebtech hum-x on the laptop.

Based on some of the things I'd read online, I thought maybe using a battery backup on my gear would be like using batteries on guitar pedals. For example, you have a guitar pedal that's really noisy when it's running off an adapter, but quiet when you use a battery. Then you know there's an issue either with the power adapter or the electricity in your house or something.

But it seems like I'm wrong, so unless I hear otherwise here, I'll just pick one out to keep my important stuff (computer, drives, monitor, 002r) protected in case the power goes out.

Thanks

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by jonnn

Thanks everybody!

Top Jimmy - I'd read it was good to have the sine wave output and will for sure at least have the things you mentioned on the UPS.

Albee - Thanks, I'll look into the 1000-1500 models. Rather have too much than not enough.

netnoggin - I remember reading somewhere that the online one was better. Can't remember why, I'll look into it some more this week. And that's a good point about some not having overage protection. I have found a few that at least claim to have protection.

Sunburst - I currently have all my rack gear on a monster pro 3500. My power isn't really all that bad in the first place, but I do remote recordings with my rig from time to time and figured I'll run into bad power. But there was an instance where the monster unit wasn't able to fix this noise I was getting from the power supply for my old laptop. One of the preamps on my 002r was picking up the noise. Only thing that fixed it was an ebtech hum-x on the laptop.

Based on some of the things I'd read online, I thought maybe using a battery backup on my gear would be like using batteries on guitar pedals. For example, you have a guitar pedal that's really noisy when it's running off an adapter, but quiet when you use a battery. Then you know there's an issue either with the power adapter or the electricity in your house or something.

But it seems like I'm wrong, so unless I hear otherwise here, I'll just pick one out to keep my important stuff (computer, drives, monitor, 002r) protected in case the power goes out.

Thanks

Most guitar pedals are designed around a DC power supply and depending on filtering in the pedal using a AC adapter can introduce noise. Most of your audio gear is meant to use AC so depending on the quality of the conversion of the UPS you may or may not pick up any noise. I run simple furman power conditioners into the UPS and I haven't noticed any extra line noise.

I think bigger is better when it come to UPS's. I've also run UPS's in series before. E.G. I took my old 750 watt UPS and plugged my CRT monitor into it then plugged it into a larger 900watt unit. That way the power hungry CRT didn't drag down the main UPS.

[netnoggin]

Originally Posted by jonnn

netnoggin - I remember reading somewhere that the online one was better. Can't remember why, I'll look into it some more this week. And that's a good point about some not having overage protection. I have found a few that at least claim to have protection.

Yup, the online is a preferred choice, but that type is hard to find in smaller, affordable (to me anyway) units. As for the overage protection, it's not so much that they don't have any at all - probably safe to say they all have some. It's the amount and quality of the protection that's lacking. For instance, one of the main components used to provide this functionality is the metal oxide varistor, or MOV. They come in all shapes, sizes and capacities. One of the ratings on a MOV is the amount of energy it can absorb without failing. To a great extent, the more it can absorb, the more it costs. So the UPS manufacturers make a decision on which ones to use in their units, and you'd be surprised to see how low their energy ratings are, even for UPSes considered to be higher than consumer grade. But they can still claim overvoltage protection, no matter how small the MOV is. But it's kinda like having a 90 pound bouncer at your club instead of a 300 pounder. You still have a bouncer, but...

The real kicker is how cheap MOVs are, even in small quantities. I usually buy a handful of them every now and then, to replace the ones found in outlet strips, etc. with larger ones. It's really not that hard. Upgrading them in UPSes is an advanced topic, but it still can be done.

Sunburst, I've done the UPS-in-series before too, although lots of people will tell you not to do it. Can't remember what the pros and cons are, other than if they are square wave output instead of sine wave, they may not play well together.

[sunburst79]

Originally Posted by netnoggin

Sunburst, I've done the UPS-in-series before too, although lots of people will tell you not to do it. Can't remember what the pros and cons are, other than if they are square wave output instead of sine wave, they may not play well together.

Right now I have a 1000 and a 1200 in parallel and that meets my needs. I never had any problems with the older models being in series but I think I really only used and needed them once or twice. The CRT is Looong gone. I could see how having a less than perfect sine wave feeding an other power power conversion unit would be less than optimal. AFAIK though the other 99.98 % of the time when they are not running on battery power it shouldn't make much difference. All I'm really suggesting is to reuse an older smaller UPS.