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Dedicated line vs. power conditioner

I've pretty much found the gear for my "keeper" system. Now, I'm turning my attention to the little things that make a system sound its best. Which is the better tweak, running one or more dedicated power lines to my audio gear, or investing in a high quality line conditioner? I've heard arguments both ways. Some say the line conditioner is better because there is "junk" coming in even with a dedicated line. Others say you'll never know true power and dynamics without a 20 or 30 amp line. Any thoughts?
macm
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Macm; I put in a four breaker sub-main breaker box, and from there four 20 amp dedicated Hubbell duplex outlets with dedicated ground and ended up getting rid of my Tice E-4 power conditioner, ie it made music worse. With the dedicated circuitry, noise floor dropped dramatically, but music presentation became too bright-- the cure was high quality power cords. Good Luck. Craig
sean
6,231 posts
 
Craig, thanks for presenting "the other side of the coin". Kind of funny how some things that work so well in one installation can reverse so quickly in another situation. I'm assuming that you still had the same components and were using the Tice in the same manner with the only variable being the dedicated lines. Is that correct ??? Sean
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lwin's avatar
lwin
576 posts
 
I ran 4 cicuts with 10 guage wiring with hospital grade outlets. One 20 amp circut is dedicated soley for my amp.For my stereo system I went with good power cords. On my home theatre setup I am using Chang Lightspeed 6400 20amp which does help. I am considering trying a PS Audio power plant 300 on my stereo excluding the amp. You can never have enough good clean current. Larry
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Sean; yes, for awhile the only elements I was comparing were the dedicated AC/ground system versus the Tice Elite 4. I will note that before the dedicated system, the Tice power conditioner did improve music quality when used with front end components and pre-amp, but it sucked the life out of my big McCormack DNA2DX amp. Craig.
vegasears
1,173 posts
 
Here’s an inexpensive way to hear which gives you the most for your money. Trace the circuit, which provides the source of power to your equipment. Un-plug all other devices on circuit. This will take you very close to having a dedicated line. Then audition a power conditioner. A good dealer will be happy to loan you one.
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