15 amp circuit VS. 20 amp Circuit


Hello,

I’m in a situation where my audio room has one ( three outlets ) 15 amp circuit. It appears to me that the 3 outlets in this room are connected in series , meaning drawing current from one outlet will drain the other two .

For 2 channel audio , I have connected my C12000 pre amp, McD12000 and through MPC1500 conditioner and to one of the 15 amp outlets . This should be okay? However, problem could arise once I connect the McIntosh 1.2k power AMPs to the other 2 outlets.

I would like to know if I need any dedicated circuit for my equipment . It appears I need more power than 1400 watts ( 15 amp circuit can provide ) when I use my home theater Where I will have Four 1000 watt woofers and 3 additional AHB2 amps.

 

 

Question :

howmany dedicated 15 amp or 20 amp circuits do I need to ensure smooth power without dimming the lights around the house / prevent possible fire ?

Please provide your suggestion based on the below equipment .

 

DAC: McIntosh MCD12000

Power Conditioner: MPC15000

preamp : McIntosh C12000

AV Processor : Marantz 7015

power AMP: Two McIntosh 1.2k

power AMP: Three AHB2 , one used in MonoBlock

Streamer : One Streamer

 

 

 

128x128joshziggie2021

invalid

Sorry to agree to disagree. What you are referring to is the instantaneous peak load response and what you would call droop in that particular measurement, measured in microseconds. To some extent effected by wire gauge and contact resistance in the power delivery circuit, source impedance etc. My point was you would need a great deal of that differential to notice a 15 or 20 amp circuit difference. This can be verifiable if you want to take it to that level. Sometimes sound science and engineering are good things so people aren't wasting their money on snake oil. Again no disrespect to your opinion.

joshziggie2021

In your particular case, I am indeed puzzled by the specs you are stating. 4kW for subs and 3.4kW from other amps? This represents a truly incredible amount of energy and, in your case if you are experiencing anywhere near these load values, that would best be served by a minimum of a 60 amp circuit at 120VAC, (30 @ 220VAC)Running 6 or 8 AWG cable. Those load values would be similar to a sound reinforcement system for a small stage. Please guys, I do this for a living. I'm very much all about a solid power supply system, but science and math should dictate, not guesswork. 

I feel we often confuse the Watts rating of our equipment with the real world power they use.  I have two Hegel H30 mono amps rated at 1150 watts each.  In theory, I require 19 amps just for these.  I can tell you that they only draw about 5 amps combined when I am running them.  With all the equipment the OP is using, I can see the need for more than one 15 amp breaker.  I could be wrong but I would bet the sub amps are D Class and don't draw anywhere near 8 amps (1000/120).  Your dimming lights suggest another breaker is required but the fact you're not constantly tripping the current 15 amp breaker tells the tale.  

bigtwin

Exactly correct, wattage rating for a particular appliance is a UL/CE requirement based on very specific tests and results. As I mentioned, those power levels (continuous) are unheard of in home audio. The dimming lights is another issue altogether, and the breaker size isn't going to help that. This is a source power issue, and could be poor connections in the primary feed, under-rated house/apt current supply, generally lower than normal voltage at source, or even an under rated/over utilized transformer at the pole. You have to id the problem before you can fix it.

PS

Some equipment is designed to run on 220 VAC; I recommend that for any high power gear as it minimizes the IR losses (voltage drop) in your feeds.

And also presupposes a dedicated feed for your audio gear, as I was alluding to in my original post.