Specifications

Also very handy with the S20 is a temperature probe that can be used to monitor the temperature inside your component
rack or cabinet. A temperature/humidity probe is available as an option for the S20.
Communications and Control
This is the area where the S15 and S20 differ the most. The S20 is network enabled allowing control and status
monitoring via either RS-232 and/or a network management card to connect to any Ethernet network. A USB port is also
included that interfaces with APC’s “Powerchute” software to gracefully shut down computers with PC or Mac operation
systems.
While I have not made any use of the Ethernet network management aspects provided with the S20, I have no doubt those
with AV systems containing laptop or desktop computers may well find the S20’s network management capabilities very
enabling.
The S15 on the other hand does not have Ethernet or RS-232 control capabilities, but rather allows control of AC power
to the various outlet banks using the more common DC triggers (12V) provided by many preamplifiers and receivers.
Many users will therefore find the S15 easier to incorporate into their systems than the S20 that these lacks DC trigger
control.
Installation and Use
I recently moved from the San Francisco Bay area to a more rural environment in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Lake
Tahoe. Power failures are not uncommon here, especially in the winter. Fortunately, just as I was setting up the home
theater system in our new place, the Review S20 arrived and it solved a number that I previously had not dealt with or had
dealt with in an ad hoc manner. Perhaps the convenience of the S20 is best appreciated by considering my previous setup.
Even while living in the bay area, I always had my projectors protected by a battery back up, in that case, an APC
standby unit designed for computers; and that battery backup got lots of use, due to winter storms, human error, the
“energy crisis” in California, greed, politics, etc. The power in many parts of the country is perhaps not as dependable as
one might like for a number of reasons.
My setup in the bay area also included an Adcom “AC enhancer” that I primarily used as a sequential switcher to provide
sequential AC power switching to the power amplifiers and other AV components. Other components that were always
on were plugged in to a terminal strip/surge suppressor. Unfortunately since the Adcom required a switched AC signal to
trigger its startup sequence, and my Anthem D1 preamplifier used 12V signals for control not switched AC, I had to use a
12V/120V relay to control the AC controller. Messy but it worked, and I could delay AC power going to the power
amplifiers I was using at the time until source components and preamps were stable.