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Power Management Options:Opinions Solicited

Stereo component cabinet is in my living room on a long wall with a large picture window above it. That wall has a pair of outlets centered on that wall, then there is a pair of outlets further down the wall about ten feet. Then there is another pair of outlets on the short wall making the front corner of the room. Now the easiest solution is to install more outlets on the center of the long wall, I get that. But for normal people the front picture window would be a focal point, and I would not want a huge gaggle of outlets out in plain view. So I am looking to solutions to this without taking that path.

I have a pair of AVM monoblock amps that are plugged into that main outlets in the center of the wall, they sound best there. I have a TLP(Blue Circle design) power conditioner plugged into the far outlet that comes down the wall and takes care of the source components DAC, phono stage, and Mac server. I have a second Belkin power center coming from that far outlet that takes care of small doo dads such as USB/SPDIF converter, AC turntable motor, and PS Audio LANRover. Here is the kicker. A Halcro DM8 pre amp sounds better coming off the Belkin than off the power conditioner, it apparently prefers to come straight off the wall also.

Off the front wall is a second power strip for the power supplies for a SOTA Cosmos tt and a Brinkmann TT. Most components are using ZU Audio Event power cords. What I am looking for is the best way to clean this arrangement up since I know what works where the best.

One solution would be to find a way to expand the AC outlets where the amps are hooked up and be able to power the pre amp from the same location. I then can keep the power conditioner off the front wall outlet and perhaps slave a good power center off it for the small components, such as a Furman PST 8. If I can centrally locate the Furman behind the cabinet I could get the components off the front wall onto that strip.

I know the easiest solution is to expand the outlets where the amps go to a quad arrangement, but I am loathe to cut up this wall in my living room and make it look like a crazed electronics person lived here. Which is of course the truth.

Any options come to mind?


neonknight
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,803 posts
 
One thing you might want to consider is that if the Halcro preamp prefers to be plugged in directly into the wall, the conditioner that you compared it with is really not doing you any favors.
You could have the outlets mounted on the floor rather than the wall. You might also consider that adding another outlet on the wall isn't crazy- houses are required by code to have outlets, and people use them, even for stereos.
elliottbnewcombjr
5,378 posts
 
I just got one of these, you could figure out how to get it to be an advantage to you I suspect

ADCOM ACE-515, power center with time sequenced features, 7 outlets total

http://www.adcom-usa.com/userguides/ACE-515-ug.pdf

1 unswitched pass thru outlet

4 switched outlets for accessories

2 time controlled outlets for amps

a. turn on: accessories first, both amp outlets wait 10 seconds, then on
b. turn off: amp outlets first, wait 30 secs for amp discharge, then accessories off

I sketched out alternate routes of power to my system this way and that, waited a day, decided what to where.

It’s a filter and switcher, not a transformer.
rikkipuu's avatar
rikkipuu
273 posts
 
I ran 3 dedicated lines.  I use one each for my mono amps.  The third has a Shunyata Denali for my analog stuff and it also feeds a PS Audio P10 for the digital and power supplies.  The dedicated lines make a difference.  I wish I would have run a 4th to separate the Denali and P10. 
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