House Wiring Does Make a Difference!

[toddalin]

I just finished rewiring the audio/visual system onto it's own breaker with a continuous run of dedicated 8-gauge wire run from the electrial panel closest to the street (we have two panels). This gets it off of the old 15 amp breaker with old wiring from the old panel that is shared with much of the house, including the HVAC blower motor.

The run is 121 feet to a 30-amp locking recepticle located inside of my entertainment center cabinet. (My surge protector is rated for 30 amps with a 30 amp plug and 10-gauge wiring and has standard wall outlets on it.) From there it goes about 2 feet to two 20-amp hospital grade (green dot) outlets located just outside the cabinet, still using 8-gauge wire. (I purchased 125 feet of wire.) The ground wire is continuous to the three outlets with no breaks.

I also put in six audio (RCA) connectors that will allow me to access the Oppo 95 directly (for my tube amp that sits outside of the cabinet) as well as the CD-R inputs and outputs. Not only does this allow access to the Yamaha, it allows me to bi-amp if I so desire.

Sooo, what is the difference???

The Yamaha SACD has always seemed a bit gritty/digital signature, especially compared to the Oppo 95. This took the grit/grain/roughness out of the Yamaha and now it sounds more like the Oppo. This actually makes a lot of sense when one considers all that goes into the Oppo 95/105/205 power supply when compared to other brands/models.

I was listening to Abbey Road "She's so Heavy" and I always thought the voices sounded a bit rough and strained when they alternately come in "She's so heavy," but the roughness and strain are gone and this really smoothed out.

I still haven't listened to the Oppo yet with the new wiring.

"Don't It Always Seem To Go, That You Don't Know What You've Got 'Til It's Gone...?"

 

[RVT1K]

Glad it all worked out for the best for you.

A while ago, I had my bridged Adcom GFA555II's trip a 15A breaker while I was trying to shake some paint off the walls.

 

[hendertuckie]

I put 4 dedicated outlets in my room. Why, I'm retired and had nothing better to do. The only change was the a intermittent hum from cable ground. Did it sound better, not that I could hear. My runs were 25' so I used 12AWG and industrial grade outlets.

 

[sKiZo]

Ditto here ... I put a dedicated 20a circuit in here for the monster to play with ...

(an isolated ground is a nice touch as well)

 

[Capitol C]

In 2005 Bordeaux met all the conditions for a great year and has gone down as a triumph for many, which means it is well worth considering smaller-scale estates alongside the top names. After tasting many of the the wines en primeur, I concluded that the combination of a dry growing season and mild autumn led to a decided lack of grit/grain/foughness.. Cabernet wines are especially noteworthy for their excellent ripeness. Oh, wait, wrong web site--how do I erase, oh, damn...

 

[E-Stat]

I've used dedicated lines for 25 years. In current home, have a pair of 20A dedicated lines into the music room and one to the HT downstairs.

That before using shielded aftermarket power cords.

Reducing RFI noise from other devices in the house is always a good thing as more musical information is retrieved.

 

[Catmanboo]

Very well- executed! One can't go wrong upping the wiring size & minimizing connection points & distance of runs. Enjoy the benefits/results.

 

[toddalin]

Reducing RFI noise from other devices in the house is always a good thing as more musical information is retrieved.

Where the cable comes out of the electrical panel, I put a big ferrite bead over the 8-gauge Romex. Couldn't hurt, especially with a proximate solar inverter.

 

[twiiii]

When we remodeled the kitchen and laundry room I had 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits installed direct to the Sound system and Display. It does make a difference. They are all on the same Phase, too.

 

[El Rubio]

Ditto here ... I put a dedicated 20a circuit in here for the monster to play with ...

(an isolated ground is a nice touch as well)

What do you mean by isolated ground?

 

[sKiZo]

Bury a couple or three copper rods and use that instead of house wiring for your grounding requirements. I've also been known to add ground lugs to equipment if I felt the need.

 

[toddalin]

There was a ground stake added right next to the box for the solar system.

 

[twiiii]

My electrical panel is tied to and 8 ft long copper ground rod in earth that mostly stays damp. My house is built on the down slope of a mountain and with the type of earth we have its important for good grounding that the earth have moisture content. The sound systems and the plasma display are wired directly to the breaker box and with the lines being appox the same length they are all at the same potential and with good wiring hum and noise are not a problem. Further the computer is connected wirelessly to the HT system as well to the Stereo system, so no noise there and the plasma uses direct TV so there is no connection to an outside ground as there would be if I were using cable. I could now use use Spectrum or AT+T as they both use fibre optics now with out a ground connection. Further my systems are grounded to copper pipes, but it isn't necessary now.

 

[KingBubba]

Large wire size, as you have used, can almost guarantee that you will have little if any voltage drop over that circuit. It was a good choice to make and it really does not cost that much more. I live in a mobile/manufactured home so I had to work with what I got. Luckily, I have had no issues since we moved here 10+ years ago.