Dedicated Line Suggestions

Theseventh1

Theseventh1

Member
Let me preface this by apologizing now if this is in the incorrect forum. (you guys seem to give me a little more applicable answers). I'm interested in a dedicated line for my Mac gear....I live in New Orleans (read urban area). My home is relatively new (4 years old). I have replaced my wall outlet with a PS audio unit. All my gear is plugged into a Furman elite 15PF. My electrical engineer neighbor came over today...he said that a dedicate 20amp line would definitely supply more current. Cleaner??? he said noise can and does enter at the breaker box. Lastly, a volt meter was applied to the unused port of the wall outlet. It measured 122.3 volts. At moderately loud listening levels the volt meter only fluctuated 0.1-0.3 volts. With this info do you feel that a dedicated line would make an audible difference?
 
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Will it sound better? Hard to say. It won't be any worse though, that's for sure.

One thing to bear in mind is that a dedicated circuit won't supply any more current than a non-dedicated circuit unless said current is demanded, and the non-dedicated circuit is overloaded or has excessive voltage drop under load.

With the very low fluctuation of voltage you mentioned, I'd say current supply and voltage drop aren't an issue for the circuit you're on now.
 
Theseventh1.......A single 20 amp dedicated outlet for your sound system is a must, in my opinion. That would be the minimum. If you decide to have an electrician install a dedicated outlet, have him install two, because the extra run of cable can go in with the first, so you will ultimately save labor cost. This will provide you with a dedicate circuit for your MA6900, and a dedicated circuit for your MCD201 and MR67. Right now this may seem like overkill, but if you decide to upgrade in the future, this will provide you with the power you will need. Make sure the electrician puts both circuits on the same phase. He'll understand when you tell him this.

Dedicated circuits not only provide the maximum current you components require, they are not as noisy as a circuit that also has to feed a computer, lamp fixtures, a television, etc. Dedicated circuits are the way to go for your sound system.
 
I do not have any experience with a dedicated line or circuit.

However the washing machine and clothes dryer is on the same circuit as the stereo. When the Better Half decides to wash a load (not caring what is playing - the nerve!!!) I hear instant gunge in the music.

I fixed this problem with a power conditioner but I'd love to try a dedicated line!

The question that you may want to ask yourself is "Do I hear any deterioration of the sound quality when something is sharing the same circuit?"
 
Here's more of a question, than an answer:

Assuming that there's more than one phase coming into the house (and at four years old, there just about has to be, right?) would there be a benefit to having the electrician re-allocate the various breakers between phases so that all of the really noisy stuff (electric motors, refrigerators, heater, washer, dryer, etc.) are on one phase, and all of the "quieter" stuff is on the other phase, including the stereo?

I'm wondering whether the above should be tried first before the expense of a dedicated line is sunk.
 
Negotiableterms said:
Here's more of a question, than an answer:

Assuming that there's more than one phase coming into the house (and at four years old, there just about has to be, right?) would there be a benefit to having the electrician re-allocate the various breakers between phases so that all of the really noisy stuff (electric motors, refrigerators, heater, washer, dryer, etc.) are on one phase, and all of the "quieter" stuff is on the other phase, including the stereo?

I'm wondering whether the above should be tried first before the expense of a dedicated line is sunk.
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At a top level, that makes sense. However, I think the electrician is somewhat bound by principle (and maybe even Code) to keep the two incoming legs as load balanced as possible.

All the noisy stuff on one side could be an electrical problem because, afaik, balanced legs reduce the current in the neutral. From what I recall, Code allows the neutral to be one (or two??) gauges smaller than the hot legs. This is because the balanced load is carried more equally across the larger gauge hot wires, leaving the neutral to feel only the unbalanced portion of the total load.

In other words, if there is 50A load on L1 and 50A load on L2, the neutral feels 0A current. If there is 75A load on L1 and 25A load on L2, the neutral feels 50A load. If there is 100A load on L1 and 0A load on L2, the neutral feels 100A, yet the total power load is the same in all three cases. The sizing of the service entrance conductors may be something like 4-4-6, where the 4ga wires don't have any problem with the full load L1 or L2 current, but the smaller 6ga neutral wire would be overloaded in the third example.
 
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i have a dedicated line but i run my whole entertainment center off of it - tv - sub etc.

would there be any gain in running another one? one for audio and one for video?
 
As noted earlier is not just the voltage you get from your rigs power consumption its your frig, Microwave and other household items that muck things up, will you hear an improvement? maybe.....and that could just be because you know you have done what you can for it but either way there is no downside to doing this other than minor expense and a possible invaluable upside for the serious music lover so by all means go for it. I think my lines made a nice change but again I want them to so it could be as simple as wanting to hear it but thats human nature, either way if your happy then thats worth it right there!
 
Thanks guys for all your input. I both understand and respect the point each of you are making. I had an electrician come out to give me an estimate. He quoted $700-$1200 (I dont consider that cheap). The reason being the layout of my home...relationship of where the breaker is and where I want my dedicated outlets. As it exists now, my living room (4 outlets, 4 sets of lights, 1 fan) are all on one circut. My microwave, dishwasher, W/D, and A/C are all on their own individual circut. So, when I do critical listening All of these things are off anyway......in theory, its a seperate circut. I consider my rig fairly revealing and as it exists now, I dont hear any "noise " in the circut..and as I described in my original post, I'm not getting a significant voltage drop. With all this info, I am now considering just spending more money on an even better line conditioner. What are your thoughts?
 
You probably won't like mine, but if you don't have a problem...

I consider my rig fairly revealing and as it exists now, I dont hear any "noise " in the circut..and as I described in my original post, I'm not getting a significant voltage drop.
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...why buy a better line conditioner?

It would seem what ever you have now is doing a fine job.
 
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