As computers and audio gear be-come increasingly more integrated and sophisticated, it gets easier to hang your livelihood on a few key pieces of equipment. And the one thing that can catastrophically disrupt your workflow is equipment failure.

Downtime is an ugly word that inspires daydreams of lost revenue and unhappy clients. In some cases downtime can be circumvented by preemptive system maintenance. Power line surges, however, like the worst of natural disasters, are unpredictable and potentially destructive. Among the products that can keep downtime at bay is a quality surge suppressor. I recently used one such product from SurgeX.

The SurgeX SX908 ($239) and SX1808 ($299) surge suppressors are load rated at 7.5 amps and 15 amps respectively. The 6 lb., magnetically shielded steel box is sturdily built and houses six side-mounted switched outlets and two rear-mounted unswitched outlets.

Because of the generous spacing of the six switched outlets, I was able to put several wallwarts side by side. This is a welcome feature to anyone used to wrestling with a wallwart and a traditional power strip.

The on/off switch is hefty, as is the 6' grounded power cord. The circuit breaker reset button is above the power switch. On the front of the unit is the self-test light which when lit, shows proper operation of the unit. This is more than a power-on light; it is integral to the sensing and control circuitry.

The SurgeX products use no Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs). The downsides of MOVs are that they degrade with use and they don't contain surges - they simply divert them to the safety ground. The Underwriters Laboratory has rated the SurgeX suppressors A-1-1. This means the product has been endurance tested through 1,000 surges of 6,000 Volts and 3,000 Amps without any failure or degradation.

SurgeX has a complete line of surge suppression and power conditioning products for home and studio. Contact: SurgeX at 215-862-9344 or see its website at http://www. SurgeX.co