Dedicated 20 amp circuit - Electrician laughed!
Some Laws are meant to be broken. I broke two this morning and it’s not even lunchtime yet. But some theories have passed from theory to Law. To whit, the Laws of Thermodynamics. We also have F = ma https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_thermodynamics |
We are in the early stages of building a home, one with a "bonus room" above the garage for my "man cave". Since we had all sorts of options to customize, I decided to have the builder install a dedicated 20 amp circuit to where my component rack with live. I'm not sure it'll make a difference, but what the heck, it can't make things sound worse. I have an "all digital" source system, and I have found that the better control of the AC power, the better my DAC's perform. I upgraded my power conditioner from a PS Audio P10 to a P15, when the P15 became available, and the result was and immediate and significant improvement in the clarity of the bass, improvement in the sound stage and the sound seemed a little more "relaxed"...both with my PS Audio DirectStream DAC and my Mytek Brooklyn DAC. So, I wouldn't discount the wisdom of installing dedicated AC lines, though I can't "prove" they make a difference, my experience with power conditioning was pleasant and unexpected. |
I like the added point that Dimorra made regarding separation of components onto separate legs at the breaker box. When I did my setup, we specifically put the dedicated 20A "analog" circuits onto the second leg to keep them separate from the computers, servers, and LED lights. It has also helped to have three separate panels with all kitchen appliances, HVAC, and utility room on the other two panels. In my experience, I got the most improvement by getting as much separation as possible from electrically noisy home devices. |
I had an upgraded home theater power line put in when we bought our 1962 house a year ago. We had to replace the whole electrical wiring system based on age: NOWHERE near current code; age of the wires and the breaker box; size of the wires, nothing but the breaker box was grounded, most outlets had only two prongs, those with 3 weren't grounded!. <shudder> Scary! We ran 20A Romex everywhere for the 110VAC, but used 15A breakers, except the home theater got a 20A breaker. I don't know if there is an audible difference because all the work was done before we moved in last year. But I know the shared 15A circuit we had in my condo wasn't cutting it. I had to make sure the lamps, clocks, everything and anything else was on a different circuit to keep from popping the breaker. Movies or music, no problems. And since it was done as part of the whole house rebuild (power, water, HVAC), the cost of one breaker upgrade is insignificant. |
