advice on dedicated line

Would it be workable for me to get 6 outlets instead if 4 in case I ever wanted to plug in a small fm receiver to listen to the news? Or is that pushing my luck?

IMO, a better idea is to use a high quality power strip for your low current components and plug your amp into the wall. Then you won't run out of receptacles and you'll be protected.

a very popular power strip by Furman...
http://www.amazon.com/Furman-Standard-Conditioning-Aluminum-Protection/dp/B0009GI65Q

Thanks again, all. I've reread this, and if I get Al's point, I might be better off with 2 20 amp circuits; but if I end up with grounding issues then I can put everything on one circuit and then I'll be at the baseline of where I would have been if I just started with one. So two is a way to optimize my results...but of course I have to get an electrician who will do this all carefully. And I guess if I hit resistance with the electrician, I can always drop back to one line and this will still be better than what I have currently.

A lot of moving parts!

A few other questions:
-I'm gathering from Al's post above that I should I get around to upgrading power cords, longer is better? Is this also true of interconnects?

-Is it enough to tell the electrician I want 10 gauge wire? Or do I need to supply him or her with it? If so, where would I get #10-2 NMB? (I assume this is what I want.)

I confess that I had a dream last night that I burned down my house!

Thanks again, everyone.

Margot

One other question occurs to me, just so I understand:

If I had a turntable that would most likely go on the dedicated line with the amplifier, unless the amplifier was Class D? In that case, the CDp, DAC, and Class D amp would be on one line, and the turntable would be on the other? (And then of course there is Al's point about experimentation to see if they all sound better on one line anyway, etc.) Is this generally the right idea? Thanks...

Jim, thanks for chiming in. Margot, Jim (Jea48) is the foremost expert on electrician-type matters on these forums.

To answer some of your recent questions:

Would it be workable for me to get 6 outlets instead if 4 in case I ever wanted to plug in a small fm receiver to listen to the news? Or is that pushing my luck?

That may be within reason, but as Lowrider indicated it would probably be simpler and better to expand the number of outlets with a power strip. The one he referenced includes a surge suppression function, as does the more expensive BrickWall device I suggested earlier. If you wanted to further expand the number of outlets provided by a surge suppressor/power strip, you could plug into one of its outlets a simple but well made power strip having no surge suppression or line filtering. I need a lot of outlets for my system, more than the 8 that are provided on the BrickWall, and I use this Hammond power strip for exactly that purpose, plugging it into one of the outlets on my BrickWall. For good measure, I connect relatively non-critical components (e.g., FM tuner, cassette deck) to the power strip, and more critical ones directly into the BrickWall, although I'm not sure that has much if any significance.

The one thing I would not do is to have two power strips that both provide surge suppression and/or line filtering in series with each other. Don't ask me why; just instinct :-)

I am assuming that if I just have one 20 amp line the points Elizabeth initially raised (circuits on same leg, nothing adding to more than 120) are not things I need to worry about.

Correct.

I'm gathering from Al's post above that should I get around to upgrading power cords, longer is better? Is this also true of interconnects?

Generally speaking the standard power cord length of 6 feet or thereabouts is considered to be optimal. In the two-line situation, the benefit I referred to of higher inductance between the power inputs of noise-generating and noise-susceptible components results almost entirely from the length of the house wiring, from the outlet of one dedicated line back to the circuit breaker panel, and from there to the outlet of the other dedicated line. The inductance of the power cords is relatively insignificant.

In the one-line situation, it's possible that having a longer cord on some of the components might be beneficial in some cases, but other effects such as voltage loss might outweigh that.

Interconnects (and speaker cables) are a completely different story. The shorter those cables are the better, if the goal is accurate signal transmission. The one situation in which a longer interconnect cable might be beneficial is if you were trying to compensate for some coloration in the system, such as an overemphasized treble. But a better way of fixing that kind of problem would be to determine and address its root cause.

Is it enough to tell the electrician I want 10 gauge wire? Or do I need to supply him or her with it? If so, where would I get #10-2 NMB? (I assume this is what I want.)

The electrician will supply it.

If I had a turntable that would most likely go on the dedicated line with the amplifier, unless the amplifier was Class D? In that case, the CDp, DAC, and Class D amp would be on one line, and the turntable would be on the other?

The turntable should generally (and perhaps always) be on the same line as the component it is connected to. If I recall correctly you have a Creek 50A integrated amplifier, I presume with its optional built-in phono stage. If so, the turntable and the 50A should most likely be on the same line, with the digital components probably being best located on the other line (subject to experimentation).

I'm pretty certain, btw, that the power amplifier section of the 50A is Class AB, for which fluctuations in AC current draw as a function of the dynamics of the music are mid-way between Class D (very high fluctuation) and Class A (very little fluctuation). See this Wikipedia writeup to get a general idea of what these class designations refer to.

In summary, as you've no doubt gathered by now the life of a dedicated audiophile is not a simple one :-)

Best regards,
-- Al