Dedicated AC Line or Upgrade Equipment?

I have one dedicated 20 amp circuit/line for my amp and two dedicated 15 amp circuits/lines for my digital source and preamp.

I believe that so long as you have decent to excellent quality equipment, you should realize a significant improvement at both the micro- and macro-dynamic levels.

Therefore, assuming your equipment is decent quality or better, you should consider the dedicated line(s) no matter what you decide about upgrades.

And as far as audio upgrades and tweaks, the dedicated lines are among the cheapest tweak.

I would not recommend a sub-panel. Have your electrician replace the standard circuit breaker with a double circuit breaker.

You may also consider purchasing a roll of 10 gauge 99.95% OFC romex from perhaps partsexpress.com at $100. It's better than the Home Depot standard romex variety.

While you're at it, you could also install some hospital or audio grade wall outlets. Even the cheap 20 amp wall outlets at Home Depot are usually significantly better than the even cheaper 15 amp outlets just in the way they grasp the plug.

-IMO

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

I strongly advocate the use of several dedicated circuits for your system. I use four dedicated 20Amp circuits utilizing Hubbell Hospital-Grade receptacles and 8 AWG Romex (yes, it is harder, but by no means impossible, to get the 8 AWG cable connected to the receptacle). All the KRELL (both Class AB and noe Class A) gear I've ever owned has benefited greatly from the use of these circuits in dynamics, headroom, and speed; and it has allowed me to upgrade to monster amps without worry or compromise. You won't regret it.

I'll add my voice to the roar:
get the dedicated lines.

At least change the outlets!

KP

I have a Krell KSA 150. This is cheap and easy to do to give you a sample. Run one 20 amp line to your amp. You will hear a noticeable difference. Warning it will lead to more dec lines!!!!!