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Power Supply Options - Pre Amp and Power Amp

Hi, I'm looking to upgrade the power supply for my hi-fi setup and wonder where I should start - quality power outlets, power distributor or power conditioner?

I'm considering a 3 to 4 outlets power strip so that I can plug all the power cord into it (instead of using a low grade, household one). My idea is to ground the cords from CD player, pre-amp and power into the same outlets to avoid "hum" noise.

FYI, my front end is Audio Research CD7 tube CD player, my pre-amp is Ayre K-1xe (comes with separate power supply) and Pass Labs XA30.5.

What's the simplest and lowest-cost solution? Can you recommend some high-quality power outlets (4 to 6 outlets would be great).

Thanks.
r0817
r0817 OP
55 posts
 
I checked the markings in the electric panel. My living room has a dedicated 15A line for outlets and a separate 15A line for lights.

I guess I can unplug all other electronics (except modem) from the living room outlets to make it a temporary dedicated line when I play my hi-fi.

Are there any benefits of upgrading an outlet with a high-quality receptacle in the living room? Can you recommend some high-quality receptacles? I know Furutech has some offerings but I don't know about their price or where to get them. Thanks.
Post removed 
p59teitel
314 posts
 
Dedicated lines will make a surprising difference in alleviating noise and increasing dynamics. If your house is like most modern dwellings, it is likely that one 15 amp line services several wall outlets in your listening room (you can test by plugging in a noisy appliance like a hair dryer into the outlets and then shutting down breakers in your service box, to see what wires service which outlets).

If not handy then you will need to hire an electrician to install dedicated lines. Even though you have a stereo amp presently, you may want the electrician to install separate 20 amp lines for amplification of two mono amps to have them available should you upgrade someday - it will be cheaper to do this once and not have to call the electrician back to run another wire along the same route when the upgrade bug bites you. And also a dedicated 15 amp line for your pre-amp and source into a duplex box, with maybe an additional duplex outlet for additional sources like a turntable or computer audio.

If you don't want to do all that, something you may be able to do yourself is install new power outlets. When I installed a dedicated power line for my pre-amp and CD player to take them out of a ten-outlet chain (!), I changed out my stock outlet for a Furutech GTX outlet and found it did improve the sound a surprising amount beyond the initial improvement observed by putting in the dedicated line.
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