Anyone install a dedicated electrical circuit for audio system?

Yes. IIRC correctly, I brought a piece of 12/3 or 14/3 BX cable from the circuit breaker panel to a box in my living room. Since its got two hots (black and red) and a neutral and I live in the US of A, I can put the black and red wires on two different phases and use the neutral for the unbalanced current. I only have one phase hooked up now and would need another receptacle box for the second phase. My tube amps and some other things are plugged into this circuit.
 
Scifi said:
Yes. IIRC correctly, I brought a piece of 12/3 or 14/3 BX cable from the circuit breaker panel to a box in my living room. Since its got two hots (black and red) and a neutral and I live in the US of A, I can put the black and red wires on two different phases and use the neutral for the unbalanced current. I only have one phase hooked up now and would need another receptacle box for the second phase. My tube amps and some other things are plugged into this circuit.
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Or just break the tab on the outlet and be install a "split duplex receptacle", and use a two pole 15A breaker to feed it. Then you have two circuits with very minimal work.
 
dave1701 said:
Why does the primary side of the transformer matter in terms of audio fidelity? Outside of extreme circumstances, won't any halfway decent power supply do its job regardless? If your power supply is putting out smooth DC, then how is noise an issue?
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The poor power supply shielding of typical consumer gear will happily re-radiate RF noise and EMI inside the cabinet that's been picked up by and/or transmitted down the power cord. Shielding the power supply, as is done in sensitive test equipment, would probably work even better than running dedicated power circuits for rejecting interference.
 
Was installing new feeds for a big fish tank so got a couple of 20 amp ones put in for audio as well.

Can't say I noticed much difference at the time. Have since noticed benefit in it allowing me to use any switched mode power supplies on old circuit and keep them off audio circuit.
 
I have a 4 plex isolated outlet on a 15 amp circuit. More then enough power for my digital room (Sunfire II power amp, Sony TA-N220 amp), the rest is small potatoes. I'd say unless you are running a couple of mono-block big amps, 15 amps is more then enough. With big current mono-block amps, you could risk nuisance breaker tripping due to the inrush current from amplifier turn on.

I believe that when Frank sells a set of his DVA-850 power amps, he has each one with a different turn on delay so it doesn't cause nuisance tripping. If you're running your amps loud enough to trip a 15 amp breaker........you are nuts.
 
I had two 15 amp circuits moved to the same phase as the 3 20 amp circuits I had installed for the HT system and common amplifiers with the Stereo system while also remodeling the kitchen . Changed from a 1`00 amp breaker box to a 200 amp box. Then an external master box was installed for the fire department. All circuit breakers were replaced and the line from the transformer on the pole replaced. All connections were checked and bonded. A new ground stake was installed for the electrical system and a new ground stake for the high Fi system. The cable system was disconnected from the sound system and Direct TV satellite installed. Cable system feeds the Time capsule only and the computer net work feeds the HT thru apple TV modules. SO THERE IS NO PHYSICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN THE COMPUTERS AND THE SOUND SYSTEMS. Sorry for shouting, but that point is important.
 
kaplang said:
I just plug mine into the closest outlet to my stereo. It's not dedicated and is probably a 20 amp circuit but may only be a 15 amp. Works great. The amplifier comes on and the turntable spins and no breaker is tripped.
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Hey, wait a second... is it really that simple?
Don't you love the threads where they just bleed belief ?
 
A few months ago, I put in four 20 amp dedicated outlets in addition to the one I had put in years ago. I used 12AWG NMSC (Romex) and Hospital Grade outlets. II have access to Electrical Engineers and Master Electricians. When I discussed materials and installations related issues, the best advise I received was “Do it per Code and keep it simple”. I didn’t get a permit but if your electrical knowledge is limited, I highly recommend it. BTW: I am a retired Building Inspector.
 
z-adamson said:
Interesting.

In my home theater, just turning the amps on will pop the shared 15 amp breakers. 30 amp dedicated breakers were essential. They made the difference between a useless HT and a very nice HT. As for my vintage hifi room, there is a dehumidifier, lights and other small stuff on the same circuit breaker. If I had to choose between continuing to share or giving the hifi room it's own circuit breaker, I would have to go with the hifi room having it's own circuit breaker.
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I'm really not talking about popping circuit breakers here, what I'm talking about is not preventive maintenance and If I was going to I would rip out the fuse box and go with an industrial design. Of course, if a circuit had a possibility of an overload preventative measures should be taken. But since this is also about audio and current influences audio, its best to build a quiet circuit. My last answer was based on improved sound if a circuit was added to your existing fuse box. If you just string up some romex from your fuse box to a hospital grade wall socket, you won't trip the circuit breaker and you won't get an improvement in sound for the money you spent. I'm just saying, to get better takes planning better....
 
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Late last year I installed a dedicated 20 amp circuit using a Romex (don't remember if it was 12/2 or 12/3) run to run just my audio gear that includes an SAE P500 amp that at the last service check indicated 640 wpc into an 8 ohm load. I run the rest of my stuff inc.TV, DVR, Clock, and one DAC on another 15 amp circuit. Also used "medical grade" wall sockets. I have absolutely no electrical inference or any other weird noises coming thru now that I did this. It think it's a good thing to have your main system on a dedicated separate circuit but in saying that also feel that a high end wall socket is a "must use" also. Doesn't make much sense to go to the expense of installing a dedicated line and then use a cheap $3 wall socket on the receiving end..........:rolleyes:

Regards to all, BankShot
 
whoaru99 said:
I wonder how many people know who you mean by that. On the presumption, of course, you mean who I'm thinking of. :idea:
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I remember him. I really like his posts and used to damn near drool at the pics of his set ups. I wonder who chased him off ak??
 
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