Review:

Their product base starts with very basic solutions for surge protection and runs up to sophisticated units that can be used in a variety of applications. The subject of this review is the MAX 5510 PRO ACRegenerator, which is Panamax’s flagship model, it retails for $1500. As it’s names suggests this unit is much more than simply a surge protector. The Panamax features 3 levels of protection, depending on the components that you connect to it. Level 1 is for digital source components and/or display devices, level 2 are for analog components, and level 3 is for high current components. The unit is rather attractive with its dual light meters, silver accents and black faceplate. It has a 2325 joule rating, offers a lifetime $5,000,000 Connected Equipment Protection Policy and a three year parts and labor warranty.



The front panel is rather tidy with its centerpiece being two large backlit analog meters. The first is an Ammeter, which measures the current draw for the equipment connected to the MAX 5510 PRO. The second is a Voltmeter which measures the incoming voltage source from 0 - 150 VAC. There is a switch on the front panel, which cycles through 5 different settings for the meter’s backlighting (high blue, low blue, high amber, low amber and off). There are also push button switches for activating the unit’s power, and selection of the ACRegeneration output. Three LED status indicators advise if there is an unsafe voltage, if there is a signal present at the voltage trigger or if the switched outlets are providing power. Lastly there is a convenience outlet located on the front panel, which can be used for a quick connection when needed.



The rear panel of the MAX® 5510 PRO is loaded with connections. There are a total of ten 3-prong outlets for powering equipment. There are two banks (four outlets), which are always powered on as long as the unit is connected to wall power and within the allowable voltage range. Each bank has its own separate “balanced, double L” filtration circuit to provide power for low current analog audio and video components such as preamplifiers, receivers, VCRs and PVRs (Personal Video Recorders such as a TIVO, Replay or Cablevision type DVR‘s).

The next set of four outlets is recommended for digital source components such as DVD players, plasma displays and digital front projectors. They are isolated from the incoming power using a 720VA isolation transformer. There are two different power mode settings, which can be selected for these outlets using the ACRegeneration switch on the front panel. The first is the isolated power mode. At this setting the secondary (load side) of the transformer’s winding is completely isolated from the ground connections. This can help control eliminate ground loops and hum problems. The second is Balanced Power mode. At this setting a center wire tap from the secondary winding is connected to ground. This creates a balanced voltage waveform which is +60V line-Ground and -60V neutral-ground, 180 degree out of phase, which still provides 120VAC to your connected equipment. This setup has the benefit of common mode noise between line/neutral and ground cancellation. This also prevents digital noise from polluting the main power line. These isolated outlets have a selectable turn-off delay (always on or 10 second delay before turn off).

The remaining two outlets are designed for high-current components such as amplifiers and powered subwoofers. These outlets have a selectable delayed turn-on time (either 0 or 10 seconds) to make sure the preamplifier electronics have stabilized to prevent an inadvertent "thump" through the speakers. The outputs are specifically designed to maximize dynamic current needs for power amplifiers and subwoofers. Therefore, no inductors are used. There is an RS 232 control interface with a DB9 male connector, which is designed for use with home automation systems (like AMX, Crestron etc). 12vdc triggers, F-connectors for CATV, and Satellite connections, LAN and telephone jack connectors and a ground lug for equipment with separate ground leads. There are line level audio and video RCA connectors, which can be used to protect the system from backdoor surges, which could come in over the signal lines.

Rounding out the rear panel, the MAX® 5510 PRO has a 15 amp main circuit breaker for the input power. There's also a secondary 4-amp circuit breaker to protect the isolation transformer. However, the majority of digital components draw little current, so this is seldom a problem. There is also a USB jack, which is used to connect the supplied 5-watt gooseneck lamp to the MAX PRO. This proved very useful when making connections behind my gear rack where lighting is always a problem.



The Panamax MAX5510 PRO’s SurgeGate Plus™ circuitry protects components connected to it by preventing any of the outlets from getting voltage beyond the 90V to 134V range for an extended period of time. Protection is also provided between Line/Neutral, Neutral/Ground and Line/Ground. The SignalPerfect™ Technology protects the two satellite interfaces and the single antenna/cable connection. All F-connectors are gold-plated to ensure long-term reliability for both satellite and cable/antenna connections. The cable/antenna connections are designed to operate over a range of 5 to 950 MHz with a clamping threshold set at 0.7V, well above the level of the modulated video signal. Satellite connections work over a range from 950 MHz to 2.2 GHz with a loss of less than 1dB in signal level. The clamping circuitry for the satellite connections is set at 27V to handle the 13 and 18-volt control voltages used for the LNBs.

The unit came securely packed from Panamax and in the box were the MAX PRO, removable IEC grounded power cord, RJ-11 telephone cable, CAT 5 Ethernet cable, Coaxil cable for SAT or CATV, rack ears w/screws, and the aforementioned goose neck convenience lamp. I connected my gear to the MAX PRO as follows:

- Both Parasound amps to the High current outlets - Denon 3910 DVD player, and Sony HS51 front projector to the isolated outlets - B&K Reference 50 S2, TIVO, 8300HD DVR/high def. Cable box, and Gefen HDMI switcher to the analog outlets

I ran the cable line from the wall directly into the CATV input and then out to my high def. Cable box/HD DVR.

Both of my amplifiers have 12 vdc trigger inputs on them as well as my B&K preamp having corresponding outputs therefore I did not utilize the trigger on the MAX PRO. This would be a welcome feature in setup that necessitated it. I did test the delayed turn on/off feature for the high current outlets and it worked perfectly. Once again it was not a feature necessary for my setup as there is a built in delay between my preamp and amps already. Once all connections were made and I was sure that things were properly connected I plugged the MAX PRO into the wall receptacle. The unit takes a few seconds to allow power to the equipment as it checks for any unsafe voltage conditions. Once that was completed power was sent to all connected equipment. The voltmeter on the front panel registered 122 volts coming from the wall receptacle and never varied from that while in my system. I powered up my preamp, (which in turn powered up the amplifiers) DVD player, cable box, and front projector. The ammeter registered 4 amps when the amps powered up and did not go any higher than that when the rest of the gear entered the equation.

I set the ACRegeneration control to the isolated setting and checked for noise levels. My system runs very quiet however there is a detectable low level hum (only heard through the two channel amp by pressing an ear right up to the low frequency speaker drivers in my left/right main speakers). I was happy to find that the hum was no longer present and that the system ran dead quiet. I watched cable TV and was curious to see if there was any improvement to cable picture quality. Cable programming can look great on some channels and terrible on others. I immediately observed a noticeable improvement on analog based channel programming (I have Time Warner cable and am referring to channel 99 and under). There was consistently less video noise and the image appeared to have more stability in darker scenes. The same was true with standard definition channels (digital channels 100 and higher) however the difference was to a lesser extent. High definition programming appeared to be the same as before although I would think that there was some improvement. There was no question that the Max 5510 PRO made a noticeable improvement to analog cable programming.

Switching the ACRegeneration control to the Balanced setting yielded no discernible difference as far as I could see. Panamax advises that differences can be affected by the quality of incoming power to your home, the combination of components in the system, noise sources close to the home or system, and the quality or routing of interconnected cabling within the system. Depending on the setup you may find that one setting is better than the other.

I decided to try routing the component video output from my DVD player through the MAX PRO and then on to the projector to see if there were any significant changes in image quality. I ran cables from my Denon 3910 through the line level in/outputs on the 5510 and to the Y PR PB inputs on the projector. The component output on the Denon is excellent and the pairing with the Sony already yielded superb images. I was unable to detect any definable changes in the quality of the picture when fed through the Panamax. I can say that while it did not notably improve the picture, it in no way detracted from it either.

I decided to really put the system to the test and run the amps all out with no subwoofer with both movies and high-resolution surround sound music. I drove the system to high sound pressure levels and never once was the Parasounds starving for power. The 5510 MAX PRO kept up and did so with a smile. The sound coming through the system was clean, without edginess or strain. Once again I switched the ACRegeneration setting from Isolated to Balanced mode and did not detect a discernible difference between the two. Again, I would stress that each system is different and that it is important to try each to see how they interact with your setup.

Overall I think that the Panamax 5510 PRO benefited my system. I was very impressed with how it removed a low level hum coming through my Parasound 1500A two-channel amplifier. It also made a significant improvement with cable programming on the analog based channels, which have always been difficult to watch on a big screen. Panamax went the extra mile to ensure that the unit has convenience features such as the 12vdc triggers, delayed system power up/down options, RS232 automation control, the 5 watt gooseneck lamp, and lastly the front panel outlet. Add to that the easy to read and concise owner’s manual and you have got an excellent product. I am happy to say that I have enjoyed every moment that the Panamax MAX 5510-PRO was in my system. It is highly recommended.

Features:

• Number of Outlets 11
• Always On Outlets up to 9
• Switched Outlets up to 4
• Delayed Outlets 2
• Cord Length 10 ft.
• Connections Straight
• Length 12"
• Width 17"
• Height 3.5"
• Weight 33 lbs.