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AC Power - two circuits better than one?

Reorganizing my system starting from the wall receptacles (rewiring is not a possibility) but quickly ran into a conundrum. Is it better to source power for my audio system from several different circuits or one dedicated circuit?

More info: I have three possible options. Two 15 amp circuits (1 shared with a couple of lights the other with several wall receptacles including a pc) & one dedicated 20 amp circuit (but with only one single duplex outlet). I have mono blocks, power amp, preamps, digital & analog audio sources, & digital HT gear.

Should I distribute my system across these three circuits or try & source them all from the single dedicated 20 amp outlet? If distribute, what kind of break down makes sense?
salmonsc

Showing 6 responses by salmonsc

salmonsc OP
66 posts
 
Thanks again for your input folks! I will endeavor to load as much as I can onto the 20amp outlet & the remainder onto the 15amp outlet. The difficulty is just physical connection - too many things for too few outlets (in the wrong places!). At a certain point daisy-chaining power strips - & running long power cords - starts to get problematic. That's why I was considering connecting the TV & DVR into the out of phase 15amp outlet.

I was planning on connecting the audio gear via a Monster AV2000 SS & the HT gear via a Monster HD3650. I would prefer to connect the mono blocks & power amp directly to the 20amp circuit via PS Audio duets to avoid the power limitation problems of surge protection/conditioning...
salmonsc OP
66 posts
 
Thanks for the advice Elizabeth, but I still am not quite sure how to check that the circuits are on different legs. I should be checking that the voltage on any two of the circuits doesn't total 240V? I'm a little confused by how I would actually do that - measure one at a time or two simultaneously?
salmonsc OP
66 posts
 
Many thanks Elizabeth & Jea48, I will check this out tomorrow. Assuming I can find a second branch circuit fed from the same leg as the 20 amp circuit, I will likely connect the monoblocks (& possibly the power amp) to the 20 amp circuit & the sources to a 15 amp circuit. Does this make sense?
salmonsc OP
66 posts
 
As predicted, apparently not all 3 branch circuits are on the same leg. Unfortunately, the configuration of outlets in the room on the same leg isn't exactly convenient. Hence my next question: If I keep all the audio components on a single leg (20amp & 15 amp), is it a major problem to have video equip (TV & DVR) on another leg - the only connection between the two systems is via HDMI routed through the preamp. I understand this isn't ideal but if they are attached to separate surge protection is it workable?
salmonsc OP
66 posts
 
Actually, I had an electrician in on Friday - but as I wrote in my original post, rewiring is not a possibility. It's a very old house & not mine.
salmonsc OP
66 posts
 
Jea48 Thanks, I don't want to get into the details but it's not possible - the outlet that's most convenient is part of a circuit that extends upstairs. In any event, it's not my house so reorganizing circuits on the breaker just isn't an option. I am going to load up the 20amp circuit as much as possible & divert the remainder to the cleanest 15amp circuit.
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