advice on dedicated line

There are many here that are Electrical Engineers and/or Electricians. Remember that any competent Electrician will do the work to "code". People have posted their experiences and "what they would do". For the system that you listed, two "dedicated" lines would suffice. Dedicated means, separate hot, return and ground for each "dedicated" line. make sure you tell the electrician that specifically. Some Electricians will share neutrals and grounds on individual lines. You don't want that. Although it may be to code, it is much better to rune separate hot, return and ground wires per dedicated line. In my opinion, two completely dedicated three wire runs are sufficient for you. Depending on the cost, you might want three for future system expansion sake. In my system, this is what I did. I have raised foundation with crawl space so it is much easier to install new lines (relatively speaking, it is still about 2.5' crawl space, not fun), than if one has concrete foundations. So, I ran three dedicated (three wire) lines from the service panel to the specific locations required (this is important) in my listening room. My low level electronics are all (and I do mean all) connected to a Transparent Audio power conditioner. This includes CD Transport, DAC, Music Server, TT, Pre-amp, Phono Stage, tuner. I have two stereo amplifiers that I use to bi-amp my speakers. Each Amp using its own dedicated line. Here is what I experienced. No hint of a ground loop, no hum whatsoever. My noise floor droped to an amazingly low level. Also, I don't buy the argument that everything must be connected to the same tap on the service panel connection. That is really not true and it is really a violation of code. Any competent electrician will make sure that your service is balanced on both sides. You get ground loops, hum and electrical problems when they "aren't" balanced. I have experienced no problems, quite the opposite. It is dead quiet, no ground loops, no hum, no noise and wonderful sounding. So, definitely two and maybe three (if the cost is low) three wire dedicated lines and you are good to go.

enjoy

Minorl, thanks for your comments, most of which I agree with. However, I would respectfully disagree with the following, especially in a situation such as Margot's where the power consumption of the system is not particularly high:

I don't buy the argument that everything must be connected to the same tap on the service panel connection. That is really not true and it is really a violation of code.

Regarding the sonic issues that are involved, see my post here, and the links provided therein (the main one being the ExactPower link, which Jim had called to our attention earlier in that thread). (Ignore the first paragraph of my post, which is on a different subject).

Regarding code compliance, Jim can speak to that more knowledgeably than I can, but it seems to me that the only way a system having typically modest power requirements such as this one could cause non-compliant allocation of loading between the two phases would be if the existing installation were already marginally non-compliant, and the electrician then chose the wrong phase (i.e., the one that is more heavily loaded) for the dedicated lines.

The bottom line: I agree with Elizabeth's initial statement regarding this issue.

Best regards,
-- Al

Al; Thanks for the response. I can tell you that I have reviewed many home systems personnaly and each with dedicated lines that were run balanced to the panel as I indicated, and they did not negatively impact the system or sound. However, If people want to wire to one side of the panel. More power to them. The most important thing is to have dedicated (three wire) lines. I advocate plugging all low level devices into the same line/conditioner to help to eliminate ground loops. For amps, several things can be of consideration. If the amps are low power amps, then yes, they can be both share the same dedicated line. however, for high power amps, I recommend separate dedicated lines per amp. the problem will arise when talking to a qualified electrician and he/she ask what the power ratings are of the equipment. They will want to balance the loads as per code. Some may do it per the customer's request. Not a major issue for me. The real issue is dedicated (three wire) lines.

enjoy

MANY THANKS to all of you for your careful and detailed advice. I think I am ready to call an electrician!

cheers,

Margot