You don't have to watch too much CNN these days to hear all about how everything sold in America is built in China. Boeing can't seem to ship a 787 "Dreamliner." because so many parts are outsourced from so many obscure parts of the world that they can't put the actual plane together, while Europena-made Airbus is landing their mega-A380 at LAX and showing it off to everyone in Hollywood. In the world of home theater electronics and. more specifically, the niche of AC power, Richard Gray's Power Company is all-American. Built in Illinois by real workers making a real wage, this power product built its reputation in the audiophile community, but quickly broadened its appeal to the custom installer/CEDIA market, where it is well respected.

The technology behind the Richard Gray's Power Company (RGPC) $2,000 1200s product is very simple. Inside a heavy-duty chassis, there are two 6000-watt parallel chokes, which provide about the most significant surge protection money can buy. Reportedly, not one of Richard Gray's Power Company devices has ever been destroyed by a power surge or even a nearby lightning strike. Unlike some of the more power strip-oriented power devices, Richard Gray's Power Company products are built with the ultimate fuse. In technical terms, it's called an MOV. Some other $2,000 power conditioners use a Radio Shack-style fuse that, once it blows, leaves your system open to anything and everything the power grid has to throw at you. With an RGPC device, the MOV is gigantic, with metal and spools of wire. No wonder this product doesn't fail.

Performance-wise, the RGPC 1200 "Custom" offers the aforementioned surge protection, but audiophiles report being able to get more efficiency from their tube amps. Videophiles report being able to get slightly better blacks from their projectors. With AC power, performance improvements can be incremental. However, it has been suggested that the ever-so-small reserve of power in the large chokes of the RGPC 1200 allow for just enough reserves of power for many products to work better. The demonstration with a video projector is pretty telling, as I have seen it with my own eyes.

High Points
• I can't think of a better surge protector for your system. There's enough metal blocking anything short of a lightning bolt to your system, and it's nice to have that piece of mind when you fire up your expensive home theater system.
• Richard Gray's Power Company products are proudly made in the U.S., when practically every other AV company in America has outsourced the building of their products to China.

Low Points
• The RGPC for its price is low on technology, compared to power regeneration devices from Pure Power and PS Audio, which also, in some cases, offer battery backup, computer monitoring of your AC power and more.
• The RGPC 1200 "Custom" weighs an awful lot and careful consideration needs to be made when installing it into a rack, as you could possibly even bend rack rails with this beast.

Conclusion
The Richard Gray's Power Company RGPC 1200 "Custom" is the home theater industry's best surge protector. Beyond that, there are performance perks to be enjoyed across your audiophile and video components. While it doesn't come with the technological bells and whistles of the battery backup power regeneration products that are in the market at around the same price, it does come with the breathe-easy feeling that your system is safe from a power surge. Given today's aging power grid, that is saying something. Pair a Richard Gray's Power Company 1200 "Custom" with a Pure Power 1050 power regenerator and you have the best of all worlds in terms of AC power performance, features and security. The two work together like peas and carrots - I know, because I run them both in my reference home theater rig.