Connect 3 High Current Amps to a Power Conditioner
I have 2 amplifiers, 1 for my mains and 1 for my center. I also have a powered subwoofer. I am planning to buy a panamax pc with 2 high current outlets + 4 isolated + 5 balanced filtered outputs. Here is verbiage from a review about the high current outlets: "Here the power is only limited by the main 15 amp circuit breaker and other protection circuitry maximizing the instantaneous current needed by the high current amplifiers found in today's home theaters."
I am trying to figure out how I can connect my 3 high current devices to the pc.
main amp: Acurus a250 center amp: Adcom gfa-555ii Sub: Polk DSW pro 400
Can I connect my main amp and center amp in parallel using a surge strip into one of the high current outlets ? Or is it best to connect sub directly into another outlet in the room and use the 2 high currents for my amps ?
Some addl info: * I will be using the system mainly for movies. * I do not have (nor have the expertize/resources to do) any special electrical work done in my media room.
You say high current drawing. But how high is high?
If you truly have high current or even medium current drawing amps, each amp really should be on its own dedicated circuit/line otherwise the chances are great that each amp (or other components sharing the same circuit) will choke the dynamics right out of the presentation for the other amps. A 26 watt preamplifier is enough to squash the dynamics out of 'high' current drawing amp so I don't know how you can work around that one. Except to acquire dedicated line conditioners and have an electrician install dedicated circuits/lines or get 'low' current drawing amps.
Secondly, and perhaps most important is the quality of the line conditioner. As you probably know many/most line conditioners simply are not worth owning as they do nothing at all, induce their own sonic harm, and/or rob 'high' current drawing amps of the juice they require because the line conditioner is active meaning it's drawing juice to itself and away from the amp that desperately needs it for loud and/or complex passages.
The difference between line conditioning and proper line conditioning is night and day. Regrettably, a good rule of thumb for line conditioning is, if it's a popular name brand, keep searching.
From my experiences,no conditioner should be used on an amp.Even my Audience 6 't' version makes the amp. suffer;reducing dynamics.---Even the Ar 12 I own does that. (Even if it is only to a small degree). They all work great on the source but why would one want to lose what has been gained,by doing this?? My best advice is listen carefully,both ways. The one exception I experienced was when I owned a set of CJ 5 monos. I plugged them both into a Stealth Audio Magic; (early version). "Magic" was the result;--and no sources into this conditioner. Several other conditioners forced me to re bias the amps because the amps sucked up,to much juice.--Proof I could see as the bias lights lit up.
I should add; while I haven't heard every conditioner; I might have owned more conditioners than most. First off, I live in a 95 unit complex (with its very polluted power); and second, I have owned so many conditioners;I can hardly remember all their names; in over 20 years of searching and upgrading. Also, how they respond, using your tv, is a good indicator as to how they do music. "listen and watch"
I agree with Elizabeth that the sub. will be better plugged direct to the wall. Sounds like, knowledge is from first hand experience, like myself. Concise, practical advice from Elizabeth,I could not have worded it any better.
What is the maximum current draw from each amp? Can the power conditioner handle it? can the wires back to your service panel handle all that current/power on one line? this is really not a good idea electrically. I know this is not what you may want to read/see, but you really would be better off electrically and sonically if you have dedicated lines with separate neutrals going back to your service panel. Small signal electronics such as pre-amp, tuner, cd player, turn table can be plugged into the conditioner and that conditioner has its own dedicated line back to the panel. Each amp should have a dedicated line back to panel. Ground loops are eliminated and electrically, your home's electrical system and wires are correct, and also important, sonically, this is much much better.
It really doesn't cost much for a qualified electrician to do this and you can do it yourself if you follow the proper procedures. Regardless of what kind of conditioner you use, the power/current draw on that one set of wires would be not a good idea. Dedicated lines are the way to go.
Thanks all for the wonderful and detailed feedback. I have a lot of fun homework ahead for trying out these different combos laid out. I also realise that the ideal is to have dedicated branch circuits for the amps. A little consolation is that I have a small-medium room with 8 ohm mains. So I wont be powering these guys all the way up and therefore am looking for more clarity in the system.
My 2 fronts speakers have power rating of 250watts (center 200watts) and my thought process is given that resistance and current are inversely proportional (P=IR), I guess I wont draw too much current given that I dont crank up the speakers too high. I am new to all this so what I am saying could be completely wrong.
Also the manual from the adcom does have the following: It is not recommended that you connect the GFA-555ii into a branch circuit on which other appliances are used. Since conventional household branch circuits are often limited to 15 amps, when the gfa-555ii is used in conjunction with other appliances on the circuit, you may find the current available for the amp is insufficient; particularly in systems using very low-impedance, highly reactive loudspeakers
I will try out the sub plugged in to the outlet with the amps in the PC and report on the quality/impact. Also, as FYI, the PC I am using the panamax 5500 with AC regenerator.
I have a 5510 in use for the past 10 years or so. Great unit.
First, the 'regenerator' part of the logo refers to a small isolation transformer. Follow the 'schematic' on the units top plate and connect all your low current and digital stuff to this. I use another outlet for my TV. In years past I experimented with the HiCurrent outlets and found them to stifle an amp. Even my moderately powerful Rotel RB-1070 of 130x2 driving fairly low sensitivity panels of 4ohms was lifeless. This combo never went above about 5 amps on the supplied meter. Plugging the amp straight into the wall helped a lot. These days, my amp goes into its own circuit along with the sub. I have a PSAudio Soloist outlet which has some noise reduction / surge protection features. The Rotel is long gone.
That's exactly it,AUDITION for YOURSELF,then you will know. Home audition is best,your gear and your room. Most audiostores will let you home audition if they know you are going to lay down some coin.
So, would some improvement be expected by taking my 2 amps off the conditioner and plugging them into the wall even when they share the same receptacle??
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.