How many dedicated lines?

Liguy; I had my whole dedicated system installed by a licensed electrician from a reputable business here in Oregon, and they had no problem with grounding the sub-main box. I assume you're referring to my post? Craig.

You can do a dedicated "ground" for your audio system so long as EVERYTHING connected to it is on the same ground. In other words, using a dedicated ground for just the amps and then having your sources, preamp, etc... tied into the common house ground WILL result in a hum and a possible safety hazard. Same thing goes for an audio system that does double duty as an HT system. If the TV, Satellite, DVD, etc... is tied into the house ground and the audio system is on a dedicated ground, once again, you've got problems. In other words, ANYTHING that is connected to the preamp or mode selector HAS to be tied to the same ground to work properly, minimize noise and be safe. Individual electrical codes may have a LOT more to say, so be careful and investigate first. Sean
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Sean and Liguy; Thanks for the input re grounding. I've got a call into the electrical company that installed my system to clarify this grounding issue. Craig.

Good suggestions and comments. I have found three 20-amp lines and making the complete power connection to equipment the best I could was better than the extra costs and grounding issues that getting beyond 3 lines would get me into. Good sockets, power cords and power controllers got me solid results. The DIY types in http:\\audioasylum.com really have shared recipes for getting excellent results for less money. Take a look in the search engine.

1 for two mono block amps (PS 600)
1 for analog front end (PS 600)
1 for the digital stuff connected to a dedicated the Chang or HTS connected to a dedicated Chang Lightspeed 6400 mkII s.

Music and HTS never are on at same time - period. I guess I don't mind switching in the one Chang for the other.

Just for the record: (1) My sub-main box is also grounded back to the main. (2) What Liguy calls an isolated ground is not isolated in my system, it is a secondary ground and is totally acceptable to Oregon electrical code.

Also, just for the heckuva it, I disconnected the secondary ground (the one from the submain) and it made no difference either musically or to amplifier hum-- this indicates to me me that the main (house) ground is good, and there is no safety issue involved.

I actually would not have needed to put in a sub-main ground, but it seemed like a good idea at the time, and was not expensive. In fact I got that ground info. from an Agon thread of long ago. Cheers. Craig