dedicated curcuit question????

Q. Should I run 2 seperate lines from 2 dedicated curcuits?
A. Absolutely. In fact, you should have a minimum of 3 dedicated circuits. One 20 amp dedicated circuit for the amplifier, one 15 amp dedicated circuit for your digital cd player, and one 15 amp dedicated circuit for your pre-amp. This is the only way to ensure max. power draw to expand the dynamic headroom of the amplifier, as well as keeping the digital noise generated by a cd player back into the power line from entering your analog components i.e. preamp and amp. Not to mention keep AC noises from entering your equipment via every other electrical thing in the house like dimmers, vacuums, microwaves, blowdryers, etc..

Q. Should I use a 20 amp breaker?
A. 15 amp breakers for the digital and preamp circuits. 20 amp breaker for the amplifier's circuit.

Q. What about an isolated ground?
A. The best sounding ground is no ground. Grounding has a way of generating noise into the lines and eventually into the sonics. There are those here that would vehemently state that you should never lift or float the ground, but the best sonics are achieved only when that is down. The next best thing would be to have all of your audio components except perhaps the digital source sharing the same isolated ground.

Q. I was going to use the PS Audio power ports for outlets. Are these worth 50 bucks apiece or is it overkill?
A. It depends on what another had already stated. If you've already got an extremely revealing, high-end system, then yes, and at $50 a pop, why not? I am using the PS Audio Power Ports on each of my dedicated circuits. The main thing you want is to ensure that good strong grasping contact is made between the outlet and the plug. A hospital-grade $10 20 amp outlet from Home Depot will also provide this same taught grasp between outlet and plug. In fact, most $2.00 20 amp outlets generally will grasp a plug much tighter than a $0.59 15 amp outlet.

An audio-grade wall outlet removes doubt that you could do better. However, if you install an audio-grade outlet, 10 gauge 99.95% OFC romex straight from the service panel with no breaks, etc. (like I've done), you would still have that cheap middle-of-the-road poorly crafted service panel to deal with. I have a friend who installed a new $1200 service panel to eliminate that as a potential problem. Most service panels would cost you about $100 to $175 at Home Depot. And that service panel you and I are currently using probably cost $8.00 back when our houses were built.

IMO, -John

Stehno, that’s some pretty good information though I still do not agree with lifting the ground. I guess I've been hit to many times by every type of electricity known to mankind.

If you insist on cleaning up the ground how about dedicated grounds? One per I.G. receptacle. You know I damn near installed them myself in my home :^) but after bouncing the idea off a few of my friends at work and thinking seriously on the subject for a few days I finally passed on the idea. Though theoretically it almost seems feasible.

This is the part of the forms I enjoy the most. The sharing of good information. I couldn't agree with you more on the Commercial grade service. I trust your using bolt on breakers? Oversized the rating of the panel? Pure copper bussing? I personally would have added the Opt. I.G. ground bar and surge suppresion on the mains but that's just me.

The point I always try to stress is that lifting the ground posses an incredible safety issue. Did you know if your gear blows up and there is no reference to ground the breaker will probably not trip? Not until the receptacle burns up enough to short the hot to the neutral. THIS STUFF REALLY HAPPENS!! I know first hand, I've seen more than a couple dozen fires caused by faulty electrical wiring. When the insurance investigator finds out you lifted a ground wire which prevented a breaker from tripping guess what YOUR SCREWED!

Of course this is only my two cents. Lift the ground if you'd like. Leave your gear on when you’re away from the house or sleeping. Sweet Dreams :^)

Glen, could you elaborate on some of the real experiences you've encountered or heard from non-grounded environments?

I shut off all components if I'm not in the house and when I go to bed.

If I hear a storm is coming or go on vacation, I unplug all equipment.

What are some of the possible situations I could encounter with my non-grounded application? And what is the possibility of such events occurring?

I do have a whole house surge protector installed by the electric co.. Also, most outlets are non-grounded anyway since the house was built 42 years ago.

Also, my Sony SCD-1 SACD/cd player came with a cheater plug. If things are so scary, why would they provide that as well as plenty of mfg'ers supply permanent 2 pronged power cords?

I'm asking because perhaps I really don't understand the risks I may be taking.

Thanks much,

-John

I guess the most obvious scenario would be a lead wire coming lose in one of your components and touching the casing or anything bonded to the casing. The odds of this happening are probably pretty slim, but if it happened while your ground was lifted you could get a severe shock when touching the equipment. With the ground attached your breaker would trip instantaneously and would not reset.

As far as real life experiences go. I've been an electrician all my life. I've seen lots of burned up stuff. (As in whole buildings /houses etc.)

I myself have been injured by electricity on several occasions. Therefore I respect it. I don't toy around with it.

In the old days people didn't realize how important and effective grounding was. Today they do. That's why everything associated with electricity is usually grounded.

When appliances have a two-prong cord cap and a UL listing that usually means the product is double insulated and will not transmit voltage to the outer casing should something become defective inside the product?

As far as the two-prong cheater plug. I have no idea why manufacturers supply it. Sounds like a law suite waiting to happen.

I know all my gear warns against disconnecting the ground and voids the warranty should you choose to.

I acknowledge lifting the ground to be a quick fix for ground loops, amp hum and a few other problems, but personally I don't agree with this solution. In the trade we call it a band-aid. It does not solve the real problem.

I basically agree with everything you've said so far on the subject except the grounding comments.

I run six dedicated circuits with dedicated neutrals one isolated ground and a dirty ground to my gear. I connect one ground to an I.G recptacle the other to the box(If metal) I never compromise the ground when doing electrical work.
What I end up with is very clean power and no noise. My noise floor dropped so low I sold both my power conditioners.

I hope this helps. It seems to me you are asking some valid questions politely so I don't mind addressing them. Even though it is my day off :^)

Thanks, Glen. Much appreciate your answers to my questions especially on your day off. :)

In the future, I think I will refrain from mentioning lifting the ground.

And, yes, there certainly is a risk anytime one dabbles with electricity.

It scared the cheese out of me when I moved a couple of breakers around on my service panel from one phase to the other.

BTW, Have you ever thought or tried the balanced power (230 volt) route with your amp?