Dedicated line question


If a piece of equipment requires a dedicated line/ outlet, is it imperative that that outlet be directly connected to its own breaker, or is it no different than if say one breaker/ fuse impacted 6 outlets but the other 5 outlets had and would never have anything plugged into them?
Ag insider logo xs@2xesthlos13
Correct. If it makes some feel better you could always remove the other outlets from the chain, wire nut the wires together, and put a blank cover plate on the boxes. You could then say it's a long run dedicated circuit.
No, wrong! The whole point of having a dedicated line is to eliminate all those extra connections. This is not theory or conjecture, I know it for a fact. My room was originally wired the normal way, outlet to outlet. The only thing plugged in was my stereo. This was replaced with a true dedicated line that went direct from the panel to just the one outlet. Huge improvement! Nothing changed in terms of current draw or anything like that. Same wire, same breaker. All that changed was eliminating the extra connections. 

The thing to keep straight about audio, the crap we measure is just that, crap. If you want to learn just one thing about audio that will really, really help it is any time you hear any words about measuring anything just tune it out. Not because no measurements are ever any good. But because the vast majority of the time they are a waste of time. 

Like right now, OP is fixated on current draw. Good sound has next to nothing to do with current draw. Because of the way homes are wired, because of code, you can be sure of no problems with current draw. This is like owning a Porsche and being happy it has tires. Which tires? Round black ones. Oh, I see. As if they are all the same.

There is zero- absolutely zero- equipment that NEEDS a dedicated line. The equipment needs nothing but electricity. You can plug it into any darn source, if the light comes on the equipment is fine. It is YOU who WANTS a dedicated line, BUT ONLY if you care about sound quality.  

If you care about sound quality then you want one wire continuous from one breaker to one outlet. If you care about current, why am I even here? Good question!


Tantejuut, where did you get this knowledge from?

A combination of 35+ years of audiophilitis, learning from other respectful audiophiles & manufactures (skipping the as^&(^&*es and knowitalls), EE degree, experimenting/DIY & common sense. 
Woah.....tantejuut....I just asked you nicely where you got this knowledge from, don’t be like all the other hare trigger jerk offs on this forum. 
I had never heard the term star quad before and I was wondering what field of electrical work it was from. Since you insulted me rather than giving me the answer I looked it up and I see it’s from the world of microphones and PA equipment. Could you give an explanation of how it works in a modern stereo system? I didn’t quite follow what you wrote. Thanks, Ray
My apologies Ray, I didn’t get the part where I insulted you. The part "learning from other respectful audiophiles & manufactures (skipping the as^&(^&*es and knowitalls)" is a more general complaint about hate trigger jerk offs in this hobby. I just wrote where I got my experience from. Please don’t get to personal.

Starquad works by magnetic rejection of external fields (self shielding). A good explanation can be found here:

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-whats-special-about-star-quad-cable

The cable salad behind your rack is one big source of external fields. Starquad for low level connections is a must IMO. But it also works on power lines. Some people think it is only useful for long runs and strong external fields, but our systems can reach -90 db easily (at least when you measure it on the test bench). So every step in noise reduction can be heard. (blacker background, tighter/deeper bass, less haze). My starquad power line is hardwired directly from the breaker box to my distribution block, skipping connector junctions where possible. Then I use starquad power cabling to my system components. If I can’t use starquad (like UTP/SPDIF) I use double screened cable.

Keep safe and healthy. Juut