PanamaxM8-AV Hi-Definition 8 Outlet Surge Protector

Updated Review: After using a number of these surge protectors for eight years or more — in a highly lightning-prone area of the US, I can attest to their value at preventing blow-outs of electronic equipment, which has saved me plenty of money. There is one issue I want to point out. I advise against using the Panamax surge protection for coaxial cable. It's not that it doesn't provide protection, but that for some reason, it also interferes with the signal in some situations. I was experiencing ongoing Internet connection issues for years. When I finally plugged the coax directly into the modem, speeds improved and disconnections vanished.So my advice is to use it for stuff that has a plug, not for stuff that involves coax cable.Original Review: I blew out a computer, two cable boxes, and a TV during a recent lightning storm here. After that I decided to get serious about surge protection. I bought three of these bad boys and hooked them up. So far, we've been through two bad storms (bad enough to knock out power to the house) and all my electronics made it through OK. The units are expensive, but so far, they have proved to be worth the cost. I will update this review over time and see how many more storms these devices help us survive.

This is bit wider than normal surge protectors. But then, this isn't just surge protector. It has power conditioning too. I noticed right away that my TV screen was smoother and not pixelated. I had dirty power on this circuit in my house for sure. I had moved my living room around, at the request of my wife. After I was done, I started to notice popping, hissing, static in all of my speakers. I am an audiophile and started checking every connection to all my speakers, then every connection to my receiver, checked all my wiring in the attic, in the wall, and I could not find the source. A quick research session taught me that dirty power or uneven sine wave, voltage, or some type of interference can cause all sorts of havoc on audio and video, I had no clue about the video part... So I bought this protector and sure enough, my TV looker cleaner and sharper, my audio was cleaner and more pronounced and no more static or hissing and popping intermittently in my surround sound system. Thank you Panamax!

It is only being used for my subwoofer and TV and seems fine for them. It sits on a carpeted floor behind the subwoofer and seems to get pretty warm on the bottom. That is my only real concern. Other than that it seems fine.

We have alot of spikes from the local grid. Was hurting the compressor on my fridge. I have three panamax surges I use on my other electronics. So, I tried this one for my fridge and it solved the spike issue. Great product!!!!

With the summer monsoon season approaching and a sometimes unreliable electric utility, I decided to upgrade from a normal high-joule rated surge protector to the Panamax which also has a real time voltage monitoring system. I am very pleased with the product and in particular, with the spacing of the 8 outlets. I have a number of AV products that have the large wall warts and with the Panamax, there is plenty of space for a variety of plugs. We haven't had bad weather yet, but after reading the reviews prior to purchasing, I decided that this would be the way to go to provide a little extra protection for my system. It is very sturdy, looks to be extremely well-made, and has perfect spacing of the plug-ins for my needs. Hopefully I won't need the extra protection, but I feel better knowing that I've added something extra in the event of brownouts, changes in voltage, storms, etc.

I had a close call with lightning last summer, so this year, I'm not taking any more chances with my laboratory instrumentation. In addition to regular surge protection, this unit has real-time voltage monitoring which will protect my equipment from voltage spikes and "brown-outs". I found that the mounting plate near the plug end is removable, so mounting was much easier than initially expected. As well, the wall plug is a right-angle plug, so it doesn't stick out from the wall very far. Panamax is a great company and they make high quality power management equipment... For the past 8+ years, I've been using a component-style Panamax with my home stereo, so I know that these products are rock solid.

This is an interesting story. 2 years ago we bought this same Panamax to protect our flat screen TV, stereo and other electronic equipment in our living room. We live in a highly active Thunderstorm area. Last week our house was struck by lightning and everything that was connected to the Panamax survived, completely unscathed! The TV and HD receiver box in our bedroom which were not protected, unfortunately got destroyed. We have purchased a second one so that our replacement equipment in the bedroom will now also be protected. I believe this inexpensive piece of protection saved us from a potential $4,500 loss!Highly recommended !!!

This one has 4 plug outlets, just what I needed, and they are spaced far enough apart that it doesn't matter what size prong cover is being plugged in, it won't bump or interfere w/ the next one. So often w/other models, it may have more outlets, but, not all are usable because they are so close to together and one type of plug will prevent a neighboring outlet to be accessed. Very happy w/ this, and glad to have one that is not black. My carpet is tan, and this isn't such an abrupt contrast.