Dedicated AC Line or Upgrade Equipment?


I am wondering how many of you out there have dedicated ac line for your audio system. I have heard that getting a dedicated ac line does wonders for your system.

By dedicated ac line I mean either having a sub-circuit totally dedicated to your audio, or in some cases, running a separate 20-amp ac line with its own electric meter. In the extreme case, I have heard that people have bought power generators (no - not the PS Audio kind) to power their entire audio system so that they can get the optimal audio performance.

I am thinking about upgrading to a class A amp on my system. However, I am concerned that without a dedicated 20 amp line, I may never get the optimal performance out of the class A amp. For example, I currently bi-amp my main left/right speakers with a Krell KAV-1500 5 channel amp (class AB). In the owners manual, Krell advises using a dedicated 20 amp line to get the optimal performance out of the amp.

So is it a moot point to even think about further equipment upgrades when the source of my audio system is not optimized - that is, when I don't have a dedicated ac line.

I like to hear from people who have experienced with dedicated ac line and whether they think it is worth getting a class A amp before one has a dedicated line.

Thank you for sharing your insight.
avguy

Showing 1 response by garfish

Hi Avguy; I have 5 20 amp dedicated outlets and consider them the foundation of my system. Because of the number of outlets needed, and the distance, I did have to go with a sub-main panel (with space for 8 breakers) from my main breaker box. The ded. line (to sub-main) comes off a 50 amp breaker in the main. The sub-main is fed by a 6 ga. stranded cable-- overkill I know, but I had it and it was pretty much in place.

My sub-main has 4 20amp breakers, and BTW, I tried using a box with glass fuses, but it really sounded excessively soft, dull, and boring. Redkiwi (A'Gon) member said ceramic was much better, but I couldn't find ceramic fuses.

I also had the sub-main grounded to 3 six ft. copper rods driven into the ground within a few feet of my ded. outlets. The main house ground is still active of course. I use 4 Hubbell audio grade outlets ( from www.fatwyre.com ), and one FIM (also 2 silver plated Acmes on speaker subs to nonn-ded. outlets). I replaced all stock power cords with good quality custom cords.

The benefits of this ded. system were huge, and initial cost was only $900. (not including power cords). Noise floor dropped dramatically, dynamics improved a lot, and silences (blackness) became much more silent. A good ded. system should imrove your existing system much more than an amp could. I had my system installed by a licensed electrician, and recommend that approach unless you're totally confident in doing the work yourself. Good Luck. Craig