Surge Protection...

We live in an apartment in DC and were having issues with surges due to line work the city was doing. For about $250 we had an electrician install a whole house surge protector right at the fuse box and all problems stopped. Plus the peace of mind is wonderful.

It should protect your equipment, but as mentioned, it is safer to just unplug the equipment during severe electrical storms, especially if you are using solid state equipment. I believe that Monster has a $50,000 warranty if your equipment is destroyed due to surge protector failure. However, I would not rely on that, but just the fact that they mention it presents a feeling of reliability and certainty that the surge protector will not fail. It also got good reviews from Soundstage magazine.

http://www.soundstage.com/video/revequip/monster_hts800.htm

A protector is ok, but if there is ever any lightening unplug the system. I just had a dedicated line put in a few days ago and have a surge protector/line conditioner but never trust it since I live in FL. the county is the lightening capital of the northern hemisphere. Good luck and be careful.

The Brick Wall works well, check other posts as this has been discussed several times recently.