Electrical Mystery with Surge Protectors

[Echolane]

I tried to power on my Oppo the other night in anticipation of watching a DVD. It wouldn’t power on. Not with the remote and not by manually pressing the power button. After contacting Oppo support and following more than the usual instructions to restore process to my Oppo, nothing worked until I was instructed to plug it into a wall socket. After a few days I returned it to the protection of my Brick Wall, a line conditioner and surge protector that cost me nearly $600. It is advertised to never fail

No Failures - Period | Brick Wall

Brick Wall Surge Protectors Do Not Fail Tested to One Thousand Surges of 6000V, 3000AWe believe that surge protectors should not fail. At the heart of o...

www.brickwall.com

And as a line conditioner

Line Conditioners | Brick Wall

Brick Wall Surge Protectors are Exceptional Power Conditioners System NoiseElectronic noise is undesirable low level high frequency signals found on the...

www.brickwall.com

It has 8 receptacles in the back and two in front. I’ve been very happy with it, especially its large number of receptacles, 8 behind and 2 in front.

I then brought out an ordinary power strip/surge protector and the same thing happened; the Oppo failed to power on.

Coincidentally,, I bought a new Roku and when I plugged it into the Brick Wall, it failed to display its menu. I plugged it into a wall socket and no problem, it displayed its usual menu. I plugged it into the power strip and it refused to display.

I wrote to Oppo and asked them why they had told me to plug thr Oppo into a wall socket. They replied that they had had some problems with surge protectors and didn’t know why.

I also have my ARCAM SR-250:AVR out for service becsuse among other things, it wouldn’t power on. The service department where I sent it reports that it operates perfectly. Now I’m wondering if it is having the same problem as the Oppo and the Roku.

I should add that I’ve tested all the sockets on the Brick Wall and the power strip and all will turn on a lightbulb and I’ve also plugged in a power saw here and there and it works just fine too.

But what is causing this problem???

 

[BlueFox]

Unless I misread your post, it appears your surge protector is bad. As an FYI, I have two Oppo 203, both are plugged into Shunyata gear, and both work fine. In 10 years of using various Oppo and Shunyata devices I have never had any issues.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I suggest you contact BrickWall. It appears, as far as your reported experiences go, that it is at fault but you should let them comment and, perhaps, take a look at it.

I have been using my BW for 15 years now without any problems.

 

[Echolane]

Unless I misread your post, it appears your surge protector is bad. As an FYI, I have two Oppo 203, both are plugged into Shunyata gear, and both work fine. In 10 years of using various Oppo and Shunyata devices I have never had any issues.

I should have mentioned I tested both surge protectors. See last paragraph of original post where I have edited in the fact that I tested both surge protectors. One more oddity is that I’ve owned the Brick Wall unit for almost two years and the Oppo and the Roku (and the Arcam) had all functioned without incident until now. It just now occurs to me that the electrical storm that started the terrible fires in California could have something to do with this?

 

[Mikem53]

I have a brickwall surge as well. I use it on my HT, networking equipment. It’s going on 22 years now and it’s rock solid with no such issues. It’s weak point is using 2 electrolytic caps that will fail and should be replaced. I plan on replacing mine shortly. I recently purchased a zerosurge unit, made By the people who license it to price wheeler, brickwall. Using it on my main system before my balanced power transformer.
I noticed no ill effects on SQ. I would have it checked by brickwall under warranty.
The Filtering used in the brickwall is minimal but they do claim it lowers the noise and doesn’t impede voltage or current in any way. Got an oscilloscope handy? That would tell the story.. I’m getting same voltage in and out with a DMM.

 

[Echolane]

I have a third surge protector to test the situation with and in this case the Oppo and the Roku both perform perfectly. This is so confusing! BrickWall has offered to take a look so I will be sending thr unit in.

 

[Mikem53]

I have a third surge protector to test the situation with and in this case the Oppo and the Roku both perform perfectly. This is so confusing! BrickWall has offered to take a look so I will be sending thr unit in.

interesting.. I look forward to hearing your results..