Dedicated 20 amp circuit - Electrician laughed!


I brought my electrician out to my house today to show him where I would like to install a dedicated 20a circuit for my system.  He laughed and said that's the stupidest thing he's heard and laughs when people talk about it.  It said, if you're going to do it, you have to have it separately grounded (shoving a new 8 foot rod into the ground) but even then, he sees no way there can be an audible improvement.

Now, he's not just an electrician though. He rebuilds tube amps on the side and tears apart amps and such all the time so he's quite well versed in audio electronics and how they operate.

He basically said anyone who thinks they hear a difference is fooling themselves.  

Personally, I'm still not sure, I'm no engineer, my room's not perfect, and I can't spend hours on end critical listening...  But, he does kinda pull me farther to the "snake oil" side and the "suggestive hearing" side (aka, you hear an improvement because you want to hear it).

I'm not taking a side here but I thought it was interesting how definitive he was that this not only WILL not make a difference but ALMOST CANNOT make a difference. 
dtximages

Showing 1 response by geof3

If I had a dedicated listening room, I would put in a 20 amp circuit first thing. Period. If for no other reason than to isolate the system. Not just from noise, but other unneeded current draw. Big monos pull some real current. It DOES make a difference. Audible? Possibly somewhat subjective, but definitely worth it for a dedicated room.

I was just talking to an electrician the other day about a full house surge unit. He suggested just doing that myself, they are pretty easy. When I asked about a circuit he said in a room, great idea, but the way my system is setup (whole house system) not the best. Certainly agreed that a power conditioner and outlet upgrades were a definite improvement. I use a Furman Elite Linear 15. It draws little power from the "wall" and basically has an "amp" to fuel the electronics. Very worthwhile and noticeable addition.