Surge protection for amps?

I think I’m going to look at the whole house option. I just need to figure out which one is best for my needs. 

Effective protector does not do protection.  Best protectors connect low impedance (ie less than 10 feet) to what actually and harmlessly absorbs hundreds of thousands of joules.  Single point earth ground.  All four words have electrical significance.

Lightning (just one of many surges) can be 20,000 amps.  So a minimal 'whole house' protector is 50,000 amps.  Since MOVs do not degrade for decades when properly sized (when more of your money goes into the protector and not into profit margins).  Near zero protectors degrade or even fail catastrophically so that naive consumers will recommend it and buy more.

Conditioners such as Furman or series mode filters such as Surgex have numbers that 'protect' from surges too tiny to overwhelm superior protection inside appliances.  Worse, some plug-in boxes may even compromise that existing and robust protection.  Plug-in protectors also must be protected by a properly earthed 'whole house' solution.

50,000 amps defines protector life expectancy over many surges.   Protection during each surge is defined by a low impedance (ie hardwire has no sharp bends) connection to earth.  How do make that protection even more effective?  Upgrade earth ground and its connection.    A protector is only as effective as its earth ground - that ineffective and lesser protectors (with a large profit margin) will not discuss.

I too use the brick wall ,which  works very well 
And for $270 ask for audio version.
In Stereophile rated class -B   in recommended component's 
Against a $1500 unit it was a tie. That is what I call a bargain.

Works well? How many other appliances, not on a Brickwall, are destroyed? Since a potentially destructive surge never happened, then it works well? If it works well, then a furnace, dimmer switches, dishwasher, door bell, LED and CFL bulbs, central air, clocks, all GFCIs, and smoke detectors are damaged. Or a reality exists. What a Brickwall does remains completely unknown. It protected from what?. It does not claim to protect from typically destructive transients; once specification numbers are read.

@westom shows up again and talks bs about numbers and circuits he doesn’t understand. I think this time he’s switching current and volts.

MOV’s / Shunt type surge protectors are most cost effective at the panels. Noise dampening can also do a lot at the panel itself. I would not rely on this alone for precious audio equipment due to ability of a strike to induce voltage in the lines. A series mode whole-house protector at the service would be huge and expensive.

Series mode protection is best near the devices themselves, and it does not degrade and there is no current flow by design.

When I had access to my service panel I used this kind of dual approach myself. Given a choice of only one, I'd go with the series mode approach.

Best,

E

If a surge (ie 20,000 amps) connects harmlessly low impedance to earth, well, an IEEE Standard defines that as 99.5% to 99.9% protection. Only then can a plug-in (ie series mode) protector do something useful - add maybe 0.2% additional protection.

Surges are defined by the independent variable: current; not by a dependent variable: volts. One must know that before making even subjective recommendations.

Series mode protection is for one type of surge. And literally connects a surge directly into attach appliance once it has absorbed it maximum energy - typically 600 joules. Series mode protectors are hyped without numbers (ie a near zero 600 joules). Also ignored: another wire connects a surge directly into electronics - bypassing a series mode protector that cannot do anything about it.

Electronics already have protection superior to tiny protection provided by a series mode protector. Even simple numbers (that are ignored to promote a tens or hundred times more expensive solution) make it obvious. Proven protection is defined by an answer to a simple question: where do hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly dissipate.

How does its 600 joules absorb a surge that is hundreds of thousands of joules? Series mode protector promoted again by one who constantly ignores and never provides relevant numbers.  Including current, joules and an IEEE number: 99.5% of the protection.

Series mode filters are for a completely different anomaly - noise.