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Anyone install a dedicated electrical circuit for audio system?

z-adamson

z-adamson

Addicted Member
Thinking about installing a dedicated 30 amp circuit just for my audio gear....30 amp breaker with 10/2 gauge cable to a quad (dual duplex) box. The current 15 amp circuit that I use is shared with lights and other stuff. It's 14 gauge, lots of termination points, shared with other stuff.......not ideal in my opinion. A solid uninterrupted 10/2 gauge with a 30 amps breaker seems ideal.

Anyone else do this?

I have space in my breaker panel, the materials wont cost that much, I can do it myself easily......seems like a logical way to do it.
 
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z-adamson said:
Thinking about installing a dedicated 30 amp circuit just for my audio gear....30 amp breaker with 10/2 gauge cable to a quad (dual duplex) box. The current 15 amp circuit that I use is shared with lights and other stuff. It's 14 gauge, lots of termination points, shared with other stuff.......not ideal in my opinion. A solid uninterrupted 10/2 gauge with a 30 amps breaker seems ideal.

Anyone else do this?

I have space in my breaker panel, the materials wont cost that much, I can do it myself easily......seems like a logical way to do it.
Click to expand...

Hi,

You can use 10/2 if you want, but don't go bigger than a 20A breaker, a 30A breaker won't provide adequate protection if there's a fault inside some of your equipment, or if an undersized extension cord is used, etc

I haven't don't this yet but I sure want to, I think it's a great idea.

-Max
 
I had a couple of dedicated 20A lines installed as part of an electrical upgrade when our house was being built (bought it prior to the slab being poured so we were able to spec in some improvements over the basic design). Those have systems running on them.

Also had the garage wired for 240V and a 30A 120V line anticipating some shop power tools but mostly just use the 240V line for my air compressor. With AC and a pool pump also in the picture, they had to bump me up to a larger system so the electrical service on the side of the garage is easily 2x the size of most of the houses in the subdivision. Between that and an 8.2 kW solar system, we do not lack for juice :-)

John
 
I installed two 20A lines more than ten years ago. One is for power amplifiers/electronic crossover/DSP. The other is for preamp and signal sources. The amps/crossover for my rear channels are plugged into another non-dedicated outlet.
 
Does it really matter as the electrical grid of substations and connections to other houses and commercial buildings reap havoc on the properties of electricity. Even getting a direct line from a substation is not a source of clean power. There is only one source of clean power that can be affordability dealt with consistently and that's solar panels because the only issue you have to deal with is one inverter, then from the fuse box run your single line to your stereo. I've actually seen this done with great success.....

Then the added benefit of not paying for electricity....imagine that !

If you live in snow country, there are solar panel roofing tiles and you can put heating pads under the solar panel roofing tiles just like under the tiles in the shower and bathroom floor. Just imagine not having snow on the roof.....

But, this won't work for those who need to pay an electric bill !!!!
 
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I installed 4 separate 20A breakers and receptacles for my listening /home theater/computer room, i use the original 15A circuits for lights and misc stuff. i didnt do it for clean power i did because i have a lot of Gear and i did it myself and it was just as easy to install 4 as one while i was doing it.
 
maxhifi said:
Hi,

You can use 10/2 if you want, but don't go bigger than a 20A breaker, a 30A breaker won't provide adequate protection if there's a fault inside some of your equipment, or if an undersized extension cord is used, etc

I haven't don't this yet but I sure want to, I think it's a great idea.

-Max
Click to expand...
10 gauge is code for 30A circuits. For individual protection for equipment I would suggest smaller fused circuits.
 
Djcoolray said:
Does it really matter as the electrical grid of substations and connections to other houses and commercial buildings reap havoc on the properties of electricity.
Click to expand...

Not a perfect solution, but a separate line would help to minimize any interference from close up sources that may be sharing the same circuit in your home otherwise. I added an extra service box some time back with a dedicated 20a line to the stereo, added a decent line filter, and used a "hospital grade" wall socket. I also got a couple industrial type breakout boxes for power distribution as I don't have a lot of faith in the quality of the components inside a standard power bar.

** At the very least, I'd suggest checking your wall socket and make sure you're not using the standard "stab" connectors. The stronger mechanical contact of a screw connection certainly couldn't hertz ...

Oh. Good idea to "exercise" your breakers every now and then, as those can oxidize over time, degrading connectivity. In extreme cases, they could even seize and fail to trip when you really need them to do their thang. Should be on the daylight savings checklist just to make sure you do that regularly.
 
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I don't have a "dedicated" electrical circuit but I recently moved my stereo into a different room that is separate from my main computer and has almost nothing else on that breaker. That is relevant because both my stereo and my main computer (overclocked 6-core processor, 3 videocards, etc) can nearly max out a 15A circuit on their own, so having both on the same circuit is asking for problems. As it is, I still can't turn on all of my amps at the same time without popping the breaker.
 
I installed TWO 30 amp dedicated circuits for my HT. Mind you, these are 1000 watt X 2 pro audio amps in my HT. Three of them. They draw so much juice at power-up that they pop a dedicated 20 amp circuit. So 30 amp circuits were needed.

I figured it was logical to do the same thing for my vintage hi-fi room. Mainly to make sure that there is no starvation for electricity going on, appliances turning on and off wont have an effect.....things like that.
 
Yes, it matters. You're focusing on noise, I'm talking about capacity. Having the additional higher current lines - and larger service for the house - means I NEVER overload any circuits, and that the ones the stereo gear run on can't be loaded down by other stuff in other rooms because they're on their own breakers. It also provides a little bit of isolation from activity on the other circuits, so for instance when my 5HP compressor kicks in or the pool pump or AC cycle on, I don't have lights dimming or see line voltage variances on the other circuits.

John

Djcoolray said:
Does it really matter as the electrical grid of substations and connections to other houses and commercial buildings reap havoc on the properties of electricity. Even getting a direct line from a substation is not a source of clean power. There is only one source of clean power that can be affordability dealt with consistently and that's solar panels because the only issue you have to deal with is one inverter, then from the fuse box run your single line to your stereo. I've actually seen this done with great success.....

Then the added benefit of not paying for electricity....imagine that !

If you live in snow country, there are solar panel roofing tiles and you can put heating pads under the solar panel roofing tiles just like under the tiles in the shower and bathroom floor. Just imagine not having snow on the roof.....

But, this won't work for those who need to pay an electric bill !!!!
Click to expand...
 
sKiZo said:
Not a perfect solution, but a separate line would help to minimize any interference from close up sources that may be sharing the same circuit in your home otherwise. I added an extra service box some time back with a dedicated 30a line to the stereo, added a decent line filter, and used a "hospital grade" wall socket. I also got a couple industrial type breakout boxes for power distribution as I don't have a lot of faith in the quality of the components inside a standard power bar.

** At the very least, I'd suggest checking your wall socket and make sure you're not using the standard "stab" connectors. The stronger mechanical contact of a screw connection certainly couldn't hertz ...

Oh. Good idea to "exercise" your breakers every now and then, as those can oxidize over time, degrading connectivity. In extreme cases, they could even seize and fail to trip when you really need them to do their thang. Should be on the daylight savings checklist just to make sure you do that regularly.
Click to expand...

Yes...

I use line filters between the inverter and the junction box, then a high quality dedicated line to high grade hospital wall sockets. A solar panel system is a stable source of clean power of which quality can not be obtained from the grid. It does not matter how hard you try to clean up the current as it is impossible to attain the same result. Because the problem is overcoming the influence of the grid and all it takes is a bunch of guys to start using power tools to reduce any benefits you may have created for yourselves. You have to think beyond all those multiple connections and think about the equipment that is using the electricity.
 
jdurbin1 said:
Yes, it matters. You're focusing on noise, I'm talking about capacity. Having the additional higher current lines - and larger service for the house - means I NEVER overload any circuits, and that the ones the stereo gear run on can't be loaded down by other stuff in other rooms because they're on their own breakers. It also provides a little bit of isolation from activity on the other circuits, so for instance when my 5HP compressor kicks in or the pool pump or AC cycle on, I don't have lights dimming or see line voltage variances on the other circuits.

John
Click to expand...

Your talking about not overloading a circuit with the benefits of isolation and I'm saying it's not possible to isolate a circuit from the influence of the grid. The expense will not reap an appropriate reward of clean power to create a better sound coming from stereo equipment. The source being the grid won't allow it no matter what you do, with the exception of a solar panel system.
 
Djcoolray said:
Your talking about not overloading a circuit with the benefits of isolation and I'm saying it's not possible to isolate a circuit from the influence of the grid. The expense will not reap an appropriate reward of clean power to create a better sound coming from stereo equipment. The source being the grid won't allow it no matter what you do, with the exception of a solar panel system.
Click to expand...
Having a dedicated line is better than sharing a line...........even though it is still not as clean as it could be. What is better, a line from the grid that is shared with other household devices or a line from the grid that is shared with nothing?
 
z-adamson said:
Having a dedicated line is better than sharing a line...........even though it is still not as clean as it could be. What is better, a line from the grid that is shared with other household devices or a line from the grid that is shared with nothing?
Click to expand...

Only a solar panel system is shared with nothing.....

The grid is a cycle of constant sharing even if you only have one line in your house. The condition of electricity entering a home or building is always changing due to how many homes and buildings that are using it at the same time.
 
maxhifi said:
Hi,

You can use 10/2 if you want, but don't go bigger than a 20A breaker, a 30A breaker won't provide adequate protection if there's a fault inside some of your equipment, or if an undersized extension cord is used, etc

I haven't don't this yet but I sure want to, I think it's a great idea.

-Max
Click to expand...

I second this. You are better of (for overcurrent protection) to pull in two 20A or two 15A circuits than one 30A. I have also fed my listening rooms with dedicated circuits. If you want to clean up the power, I recommend Topaz transformers.
 
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