|
 Belkin
has entered the A/V market with a series of new products under the PureAV™
name. A full line of interconnects and home theater power products are in the
mix. Fortunately, we got a chance to review their latest PF60 Power Console, which
is designed for today's audiophile and home theater enthusiast. The design of
the new PF60 provides users with an attractive component with impressive features.
The silver-faced front panel has a blue backlit LCD display in the center that
provides valuable information about the incoming power and current drawn from
the connected components. A convenient auxilary outlet is provided on the front
panel for use with camcorders and other devices that need temporary power. The
power switch is located on the left and three buttons (Remote, Bank and Dimmer)
are positioned just below the display. Rack mount hardware is included in the
package along with phone and networking cables.
The
PF60 has what Belkin refers to as Advanced Overvoltage Protection that
automatically disconnects power from your equipment when the input voltage becomes
dangerously high. Power is restored automatically by the unit when the input line
voltage returns to safe levels.  The
front LCD panel monitors the unit's vital functions. Large segments display the
incoming line voltage. Current is also displayed for any one of the six power
banks. The user can also choose to see the total current of all connected components.
The PureFilter indicator lets the user know that the Phase 6 PureFilter
Circuitry is working properly. Both Wiring (Hot/Neutral) and Grounding
are monitored and either display a checkmark if detected as good or an "X"
if a problem exists. The PF60 can be turned on by a remote component such as a
preamplifier or receiver. Using a remote power (120VAC) input or DC input (3-30V),
the PF60 will turn on when power is detected. This is a nice feature that only
turns the unit on when power is needed. The user must enable the Remote
function on the front panel of the PF60 by using the Remote
button. The Bank button is used to select any or all of the banks being
monitored by the front panel meter. Upon each button push the unit goes over Banks
1 through 6 and then selects all of them. The bank indicator on the front panel
shows what bank(s) is active. The Dimmer button selects the level of the
backlight on the LCD. There are a total of six levels that the user can choose
from, but none of them completely darken the display. We would have liked to see
a seventh (Off) mode for those who want no light from the front of the unit especially
when watching movies in the dark.
Rear Panel
 The
rear panel of the PF60 provides a total of 12 outlets, grouped in pairs for six
filter banks. Each bank is designed to offer the user with specific filter needs.
For example, the video filter banks are optimized for filtering noise from the
video spectrum while the hi-current outputs provide some filtering, but not at
the expense of limiting dynamic current needed for high power amplifiers. Each
bank can be independently configured for Always On (unswitched), Switched
On (No Delay) or Delayed Switched On (Delay). For each bank, one toggle
switch selects between Switched and Unswitched. If the Switched
mode is selected for the outlet, the user can use the second toggle switch
to choose whether that outlet is delayed or not. Even the 12V trigger out can
be switched or delayed. This output can be used to trigger other power consoles
allowing the units to be easily daisy-chained. The delay setting applies to all
delayed outputs and can be configured for 5, 10 or 15 seconds. A long 12-foot
non-detachable heavy duty 12 AWG power cord is attached to the unit. A 15-amp
circuit breaker and a large ground lug is located near the power cord.
The rear panel also provides protection for phone connections (RJ11) with one
input and two outputs. Broadband ethernet components are also protected (RJ45)
from harmful voltage spikes. The RJ45 protection is ideal for today's media servers
or home theater PCs connected to networks. Protection for cable, satellite and
over-the-air signals are provided.  Banks
Six banks are grouped on the rear panel and provide special filtering based on
the connected component. Banks 1 and 2 are designed for digital components such
as DVD or CD players. Special filters are designed to reduce digital noise from
getting back into the system power. The front auxiliary outlet is also tied to
Bank 1. Bank 3 is designed for video products such as TVs or VCRs. Bank 4 and
5 are optimaized for audio components such as preamplifiers. Finally, Bank 6 is
designed for high power components such as power amplifiers and receivers. This
HiCurrent™ Filter bank ensure that adequate current is available on demand,
which can sometimes be a problem with certain filter designs. The internal boards
are clean and well designed. Current sensors are located near each outlet banks.
Common mode chokes can be seen on all of the banks with the exception of Bank
6 (Hi-Current outlets). There are a total of six switching relays, each of which
is rated at 30 amps. Two Microchip PIC processors provide the intelligence for
the unit.
Performance
We connected an NEC PX-50R4A 50" plasma display and Panasonic DVD player
to the PF60. Some of the digital displays we have seen are very sensitive to noise
on the power, especially near black. In addition, these plasma displays dissipate
a large amount of power and as a result draw substantial current from the wall.
We monitored well over four amps on the front panel of the PF60 for the display
alone during bright scenes. It was really cool to be able to check current draw
from the various banks and see how much voltage drop occurs for each of the component
banks. The good news is the PF60 not only provided clean power to the display
under test, but it did so without encountering any significant voltage drop from
the wall. In fact, thanks to the beefy power cables the vast majority of the voltage
drop we did see was not from the PF60 at all, but from our own house wiring. The
user interface on the PF60 is simple, yet provides customers with the basic flexibility
to monitor their components. We found it fairly easy to re-configure the outlets
simply by reaching behind the unit and toggling the corresponding switches. Conclusion
Belkin's new PureAV™
Power Console is a functional design that provides A/V systems with the protection
they need from the elements. We didn't encounter any problems with the product
and it performed very well in our tests. We really liked the build quality and
the overall looks of the unit. At $749 retail, the PF60 is the company's top-of-the-line
power console. Belkin offers their $500,000 Connected Equipment Warranty with
this product. -
Kevin Nakano | 
