Amp and preamp on same outlet?

Incandescent. Usually off when I listen.

;-) sounds good to me!

"If it sounds good, it is good" - Duke Ellington

Thanks guys- I have an LS-17 and HD220 plugged into a 20 amp line, unfortunately, this line is shared with my kitchen. This line also has the high hat lighting on it. The source equipment, is plugged into the conditioner, which is on different 15 amp circuit, around the corner on another wall. I wasn't happy with what the conditioner did to the sound of the LS 17. I tightened up the sound but made it too analytical, and lost tonal bloom.

I might try the extension cord and see what happens. But then the extension Cod may foul up the sound.

Utter nonsense, all of it. Plug those components and listen to music already!

Audiolover, don't worry too much about it. If your ARC were to be plug in to its own circuit , you would hear a slight increase in bass definition and weight overall. But, I would not let it keep me from enjoying the music, if it sounds good, it is good!!

Unless you are set to add additional lines, which the apartment owner will probably allow as long as it is done to code, I would do as Brauser suggested. You should not have any problems with noise or ground loops if you plug your low level components into a decent conditioner and the amp directly into the wall outlet.

enjoy

Plug your amp straight into the wall and the preamp into a power conditioner of your choice along with the rest of your non-amplification components. Then enjoy your system, and consider the many excellent high-end tweaks which do so much more to improve your system than continuing to worry about the item in question here.

Thanks, Jim (Jea48). Excellent points, some of which are further emphasized and explained on pages 31 to 35 of this excellent paper, which you had called attention to a while back.

Wrm, thanks also. Best regards,
-- Al

I will not even read the other post!, NO!, do not ever do that.

I have always had my amp plugged straight into the wall and use a power conditioner to isolate the rest of my gear. I currently use a Furman Elite 15 PFI and it works well with my Audio Research equipment. It also protects my gear from spikes and noise while not having a negative effect on the sound. I don't know what ARC models you have. My Ref 110 has a max of 800 watts and the rest of my gear maybe 400 watts at most. There should be no problem with everything plugged into a 15 amp outlet. An extension cord can effect the sound. The only way to find out for sure is to try it and see.

Using separate outlets, especially if they are on separate runs back to the breaker panel, will reduce the amount of amplifier-generated electrical noise that may couple back into the preamp. On the other hand, doing that may increase susceptibility to ground loop issues, including high frequency electrical noise as well as low frequency hum. If the connection between preamp and power amp is balanced, the likelihood of ground loop issues is considerably reduced.
02-09-15: Almarg

Hi Al,

The late Al Sekela, an EE, used to post on the AA Forum why decoupling the power supplies of audio equipment by using separate dedicated circuits benefited the SQ of audio equipment. Especially decoupling digital equipment from analog equipment.

As for ground loop problems I would say most ground loop problems caused from the use of multiple dedicated branch circuits is due to the choice of the materials and wiring methods used.

Worst wiring method is a single conduit run with multiple single current carrying conductors with insulated safety equipment grounding conductors pulled in the same conduit.

Dedicated branch circuits should never occupy the same conduit, or cable.

Best branch circuit wiring practices for dedicated branch circuits is the use of 2 wire with ground NM-B cable, (Romex is a Trade Name for NM-B cable), or 2 wire with ground MC Cable with an aluminum outer armor. The construction of the two cables cancels the EMF effect from inducing a voltage onto the safety equipment grounding conducting by the magnetic fields of the hot and neutral current carrying conductor caused by the connected load.

When Romex is used for moderate to long parallel runs of the cable they should be separated by at least 6 or 8 inches to prevent voltages from being induced from the hot and neutral current carrying conductors of one dedicated circuit onto others plus the safety equipment grounding conductors. Keeping them separated also, imo, helps prevent EMI/RFI noise transfer from one Romex cable to the other. Especially when one of the Romex cables will be used to power digital equipment.
Jim

As usual, Almarg nails it.

Using separate outlets, especially if they are on separate runs back to the breaker panel, will reduce the amount of amplifier-generated electrical noise that may couple back into the preamp. On the other hand, doing that may increase susceptibility to ground loop issues, including high frequency electrical noise as well as low frequency hum. If the connection between preamp and power amp is balanced, the likelihood of ground loop issues is considerably reduced.

All of this is highly dependent on the design of the particular components, and has little if any predictability. So ZD is right, "there's no way to tell unless you try it." But if, as you say, "it sounds great as is," that would seem likely to be the bottom line.

Regards,
-- Al

IMO; it really depends upon which amp and preamp you are using. You never specifically mentioned that.

Many ARC products are made to be used with a 20 amp IEC power cord, is yours?

I would try plugging the amp into the wall outlet and then run a heavy duty extention cord to your preamp (using whatever connection adapters necessary) and listen for yourself.

As Yogiboy mentioned, if the breaker has not tripped then you should be fine however the system might sound better if the amp and preamp were on different circuits or dedicated circuits.

it's ok as long as you want to listen to tunes.

Not to mention havin his 24K gold plated Audiophile card revoked!!!

That punishment is not severe enough. He should be stripped naked and hung by his toes and stoned to death by the villagers with VPI magic bricks and his remains hauled off for the vultures to feed on!

Onhwy61 funny as hell. He actually make like it.

Tell me you're not really plugging your power amp and preamp into the same power circuit? Do you have no shame? It's a major, no make that mega-major no-no. I'm surprised it hasn't made your system unlistenable. If you continue with this sordid behavior you will be dragged out of your apartment, taken to a public square and beaten with power cords. I harumph you!

The outlet is most likely on a 15 amp circuit that is rated for 1800 watts. If you total everything that is on that circuit it will not come close to that. If the breaker has not tripped then you should be fine. Enjoy your stuff and don't worry. Anything else is pure overkill!

The first step is to be using a dedicated AC line. If not, don't plug into a line that shares use with high-draw items like appliances.
Get 2 20v dedicated lines, then you can follow ARCs advice; one line for amp and pre, next line for components.

There's no way to tell unless you try it. In your case, a good solution may be to plug the amp into the wall, and plug your preamp into a line conditioner that isolates the outlets. With power products, though, there's no telling what kind of results you get. If you call Cable Company, they can make recommendations and send you demo units to try first, before you buy. Its the best way to do it.