Oh, and if there is a particular high performance-to-price ratio AC outlet anyone wants to recommend, be my guest. I'm open to having my skepticism regarding them dissuaded ;-).
Sources for information and/or advice on dedicated AC lines desired
I have relocated, and the new house will allow me to at long last have dedicated AC power lines in the music listening room. Halleluiah! I’ve seen the topic discussed over the years, and have a general idea of what is needed, but can I get recommendations of sources of information about the details of what the optimum power and wiring system is, and exactly what to have done by a professional electrician (in the event that is necessary) to achieve it? And/or personal advice on wiring and power sources (excluding power conditioners---I mean just raw power. I already have Shunyata and Bybee units for conditioning) required for optimum sound quality? For instance:
- How many separate lines from the main panel to the room? Separate lines for sources vs. amps, analog vs. digital? My system sources are LP, analog tape, digital, and FM radio. Three tube pre-amps, a couple of tube and three SS power amps. And ESL speakers and powered subs also needing AC, of course.
- Amperage advisable for each line? 20 Amps?
- What to look for to determine if the already-installed wire is sufficient? And if it is not, the type and gauge of wire to have installed? 10g Romex?
- Grounding---metal rod into the earth?
- Anything else of concern not listed above.
Thanks for any recommendations of sources of information. Personal recommendations and/or advice also welcomed!
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- 38 posts total
Hello bdp. We did a renovation of an already finished basement that allowed installation of dedicated 20 amp lines for a music listening area. I suspect what we did is sort of a basic/minimum. Were we building anew "from the studs", as it were, there are a couple of additional things we’d have done. Basically all we did was run 3 separate lines w/standard Romex cable from an existing sub panel. I had 3 duplex Cabledyne (cyro’d Hubbell) outlets installed at the end of each run. That doesn't represent a personal position on the merits of cryo treatment, simply that the Cabledyne outlets were well reviewed and affordable and cryo’ing is what Cabledyne does to them. Ideally, I’d have liked to install a separate panel connected directly to the line from the street and supporting only the 3 new lines. Separate grounding for it as necessary. Not in the budget. Our sub panel does have a few other circuits on it but, fortunately, not the main house power draws. My thought is if you contact a local A/V store (or audio store) you can get a recommendation for an electrician they’ve used to do installations. Pretty sure it is not rocket science and a competent, licensed electrician will be able to give you good advice. Good luck. |
I've had good experiences with a 5kva balanced power transformer. Next move I plan to run a 240V line to the listening room, where a 10kva or larger transformer can be plugged into the wall and output several isolated 120V threads to the audio system. That meets electrical code. (It's against code to put the transformer at the basement panel and run the transformer's 120V outputs through the walls to 120V outlets.) |
Not sure if this is against forum rules or not, but there was a very informative thread on a different forum on this topic http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/dedicated-lines-1-use-isolated-grounds-or-not-2-subpanel-wirin... |
- 38 posts total