2. misc-audio
  3. 156719-128813

Dedicated 20 amp circuit - Electrician laughed!

I brought my electrician out to my house today to show him where I would like to install a dedicated 20a circuit for my system.  He laughed and said that's the stupidest thing he's heard and laughs when people talk about it.  It said, if you're going to do it, you have to have it separately grounded (shoving a new 8 foot rod into the ground) but even then, he sees no way there can be an audible improvement.

Now, he's not just an electrician though. He rebuilds tube amps on the side and tears apart amps and such all the time so he's quite well versed in audio electronics and how they operate.

He basically said anyone who thinks they hear a difference is fooling themselves.  

Personally, I'm still not sure, I'm no engineer, my room's not perfect, and I can't spend hours on end critical listening...  But, he does kinda pull me farther to the "snake oil" side and the "suggestive hearing" side (aka, you hear an improvement because you want to hear it).

I'm not taking a side here but I thought it was interesting how definitive he was that this not only WILL not make a difference but ALMOST CANNOT make a difference. 
dtximages
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Actually, amazingly, he's right. While the DC from a battery is as clean as clean can be, all our equipment uses power supplies designed to run on AC. So the DC must first be converted to AC, and it is very hard to have this be better quality than regular old utility AC. 

The exception is components designed to run on DC. Usually these are limited to components that need really clean power but not a lot of it. Phono stages, turntable motors. That's about it.
Post removed 
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
What you said tvad sounds perfectly reasonable but its not like that at all. You’re thinking the electrician works for the customer. In reality the electrician works for the government, in the form of the functionaries who came up with all the codes, and in particular the inspector who is the one who has to sign off on his work- or he never gets paid. Its just the average person never learns enough about how any of it works or sees it in action to understand that’s really the way it is.
fast
92 posts
 
I had a dedicated 20 amp line installed about two months ago, along with hospital grade outlets. All I can say is that it made a significant improvement in my system. The electrician also installed a whole house surge protector.  
geof3
1,129 posts
 
If I had a dedicated listening room, I would put in a 20 amp circuit first thing. Period. If for no other reason than to isolate the system. Not just from noise, but other unneeded current draw. Big monos pull some real current. It DOES make a difference. Audible? Possibly somewhat subjective, but definitely worth it for a dedicated room.

I was just talking to an electrician the other day about a full house surge unit. He suggested just doing that myself, they are pretty easy. When I asked about a circuit he said in a room, great idea, but the way my system is setup (whole house system) not the best. Certainly agreed that a power conditioner and outlet upgrades were a definite improvement. I use a Furman Elite Linear 15. It draws little power from the "wall" and basically has an "amp" to fuel the electronics. Very worthwhile and noticeable addition.
More to discover