AC Power


I have a relatively nice system, but have done nothing with my AC power, with the exception of upgraded PC’s and a cheap iFi plug in power conditioner. My question is multi fold… do I need to do something, and if so what? Dedicated line (15A or 20?)? Quality power conditioner? Both? Which one first? How do you tell?

My system is a combination of HT & 2 channel & I tend to use both simultaneously as I like to watch sports while listening to music.
My amp is (I think) a relatively low draw… Moon 330A, Rythmik sub, BHK pre, Aurender, Qutest w/Sbooster, R11’s. No high power amps are in my future & never listen above 75db. I do currently plug my amp directly into the wall. All my wall warts are gone. For my HT, add a 75” Sony TV, Marantz 7015 AVR & a Klipsch sub (although at zero volume the AVR & sub should not come into play).

I am considering buying the Furman IT-Reference 15i or 20i first as they are well reviewed & are priced very well on Amazon ($1,400 / $1,900). Before I pull the trigger, should I go dedicated power & at what amperage (my nephew, an EE & audiophile thinks I am drawing no more than 5 amps) as that will dictate the Furman model?

Interesting, my nephew thinks neither are worth the investment. His statement: “Do you have appliances on the circuit now? What kind of interference can they inject?...voltage drops would come from current draws...which trip breakers.
Not steady 60hz a good power supply handles. So it all comes back to was the power supply engineer dropped on his head as a child.”

”Personally I think it’s something audio people do when they have run out of gear to buy.”

Any thoughts or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

signaforce

@mitch2 said:

Speaking of voltage regulation, any difference between this and this, other than $1,400? It seems 15A should mostly be enough for digital front end, if not all front end components.

Probably fine. Loads are constant therein not fluctuating like with a power amp playing high dynamic music.

Worth noting. When dealing with the available power from a wall outlet the amount of power available is not necessarily limited to the handle rating of the branch circuit breaker.

Using a 15A circuit, #14 gauge wire, for example... Most people seem to think the breaker will trip when it senses 15 amps of current passing through it. That is a false assumption. UL / NEMA states the breaker must trip at a sustained current of 20.25A, (135% at less than one hour). (15A x 135% = 20.25 amps.) At 30 amperes (200 percent of wire rating) in less than 120 seconds. (15A x 200% = 30 amps).

With quick fluctuating loads, at say 40 amps, the breaker may never trip at all if the load is only for a few hours or so.

So the branch circuit breaker will continue to pass the connected load current well above 15 amps, 1800W for a short sustained duration or quick short fluctuations of current draw. Does VD, Voltage Drop, increase if the branch circuit wiring is #14 gauge and the connected load is over 15 amp? Yes, but how much VD depends on the length of the #14 gauge wire X 2. If the branch circuit wire is #12 gauge the VD is less. #10 gauge even less.

I guess the point I am trying to make is, how well will a 15 amp, 1800W, rated power conditioner available power hold up to the availability power at the wall outlet branch circuit wiring fed from the electrical panel. (Electrical panel... A whole lot of available power.) The wall outlet will delivery well beyond 1800 watts for short intervals of current draw in time. What is the power head room, Service Factor, for short durations of overloading the power conditioner? Maybe 10%? 20%? Maybe 30%? I doubt it.

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@amtprod I do have space for that… good thought! Only problem is 4 new power cords required to work. Considering… Thanks

@mbarrett635 I hadn’t considered they had a smaller unit. You are correct. Be a shame to hide it behind my rack, more money than I wanted to spend, but will work. Thanks

Sorry, the issue with the AR models is not just feet or no feet.  You really need to allow for space to prevent magnetic coupling.  However, I have literally placed these on the floor under my rack before with no issues.  Just a small towel to prevent the screws from scratching. 

I installed a 20 amp dedicated circuit, a ZeroSurge 8R20W power conditioner, a hospital grade outlet, and a 10 gauge power cord.  Also moved my router to a different circuit, farther away to avoid EMI.  None of it made any difference that I could tell.

Balanced power supplys provide exactly 120 volts sinewaves at exactly 60 Hz output irrespective of wall outlet output.