thanks @TumeniKnobs! BTW I lose a lot of TLDR posts, but have gotten in the habit of copying them before posting, and now almost never lose them...
Regarding power, I fixed a NASTY issue the other day by redoing everything to draw off of one outlet. Helped a TON. I never knew about "ground loops" before, but now I know they are real, and potentially very problematic, often in strange ways. So yes, I tried a setup more like yours, helped a lot! I'll need to keep this in mind for future adds/changes. I may bump into my circuit limit (15A?) pretty soon.
Regarding Furmann gear, IMO it's important to have some meaningful protection in line with expensive electronics. My $200 Furmann PL+C has been a great investment to date. My (limited) understanding of the Furmann lineup for studios is it includes:
-- voltage regulators: protect from too low or too high voltage, including potential surges and spikes
-- power conditioners: "clean up" power with the effect of reducing noise
-- uninterrupted power supplies: give you some time on battery in case of a power failure, thereby limiting or avoiding data loss etc.
-- power sequencers: give sequenced on/off. This is useful for large touring shows etc., maybe not so needed for normal studios
SO out of those, IMO the possible needs for a small to medium studio would be voltage regulation and/or power conditioning. Your M-8Dx already does that, so maybe the question is would an improved unit be worth while? That's what I'm currently pondering, the main upgrade candidate for me is the $~950 Furman P-1800, but I haven't yet determined if something higher or lower in the conditioner/regulator lineup would be more suitable. I'm in MN where the power almost never goes down except in extreme weather, so I wouldn't really consider a UPS presently. But maybe a UPS would be good in your area or for your uses?
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