Most Tedius Part of Audiodom Setup/Tweak/DIY ?

Crappy job #1 is running hidden speaker cables for the surrounds in the HT setup. The deal in our house is that I can have as many speakers as I want - just don't let me see the wires. Snaking cable though basement, crawl space, attic and stud cavities rate #1 on things I hate to do. When we remodel I am going to so overwire that I'll never have to do that again. Close second is moving the system ... rack and all. The urge to just slap it together so I can get back to music is unbearable.

WOW !!!! Tom, whether or not your "electrical surgery" made a difference ( and i bet it did ), you are to be applauded just for having the guts to initiate let alone tackle such a major project. Now all you need to do is to have Sol322 stop by and carefully clean and prune all those connections : )

I wish that i had the fortitude to get things done like that. I've got SO many projects backed up right now. Then again, if i got off the puter once in a while... : ) Sean
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Sean, I procrastinated as long as I could, but finally decided to take a couple days off from work to takle this project. I had six dedicated lines before, however I was cheating by doubling up the neutrals as 'hot' on three 12 ga runs to my room, and ran a dedicated neutral/ground back to the panel. I didn't feel comfortable with this arrangement. I hoped for some improvement, but was pleasantly surprised by how much everything improved. The noise floor has dropped dramatically, there are no ground loop problems, and the overall power, control, and resolution has been notched up.

Tom, I had an electrician install about 10 dedicated circuits for me in my listening room, but it only took him about 6 hrs. After reading your post, I fear I got ripped off! I had no idea what to check or look for in his work. I just saw that I had 10 new hospital-grade outlets on my wall and thought all was well. Now, I'm not so sure. Well, I'll just choose not to think about it! Great job, great initiative, great courage. Are you an electrician or electrical engineer? I am an English major, lawyer, and female, and the biggest DIY project I have ever undertaken was to build several tall bookcases w/glass doors and extra shelves for CDs, from Ikea. I too took 2 days off from work to accomplish my project.

tho i've not tried myself to install separate circuits for my audio equipment (like sarah, i had an electrician do that), i have tackled a few jobs i might have done better, in hindsight, to have employed experts to do. the one task that comes most readily to mind involved my purchasing a scientific-grade air compressor to power my airtangent tonearm. i installed the compressor onto a hand-built damping stand and put that in a vented box that was lined with sonex. this box was then moved into a storage area about 40 ft. from my tt/tonearm. that space was also covered with sonex. i ran tubing from the compressor through a finished sofit, which required my using several 8 ft. lengths of pvc to "push" the tubing to a plate in the ceiling i constructed from a solid copper switchplate and various fittings. after installing a remote switch, pressure and flow gauges at each end, desiccant filters and other fittings, i ended up with a very cool air source that's completely hidden from view. once i get my basis debut 5 vacuum (gotta win some more consumer fraud cases that i take on contingent fee bases!), i'll "reverse" the airflow of my pneumatic system, which will allow me to house the vacuum pump where the compressor has resided. (i know this is pretty silly, since the basis pump is very quiet, but i'm not gonna let all my work go to waste). -cfb