Dedicated line question


If a piece of equipment requires a dedicated line/ outlet, is it imperative that that outlet be directly connected to its own breaker, or is it no different than if say one breaker/ fuse impacted 6 outlets but the other 5 outlets had and would never have anything plugged into them?
esthlos13
My apologies Ray, I didn’t get the part where I insulted you. The part "learning from other respectful audiophiles & manufactures (skipping the as^&(^&*es and knowitalls)" is a more general complaint about hate trigger jerk offs in this hobby. I just wrote where I got my experience from. Please don’t get to personal.

Starquad works by magnetic rejection of external fields (self shielding). A good explanation can be found here:

https://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-whats-special-about-star-quad-cable

The cable salad behind your rack is one big source of external fields. Starquad for low level connections is a must IMO. But it also works on power lines. Some people think it is only useful for long runs and strong external fields, but our systems can reach -90 db easily (at least when you measure it on the test bench). So every step in noise reduction can be heard. (blacker background, tighter/deeper bass, less haze). My starquad power line is hardwired directly from the breaker box to my distribution block, skipping connector junctions where possible. Then I use starquad power cabling to my system components. If I can’t use starquad (like UTP/SPDIF) I use double screened cable.

Keep safe and healthy. Juut




Woah.....tantejuut....I just asked you nicely where you got this knowledge from, don’t be like all the other hare trigger jerk offs on this forum. 
I had never heard the term star quad before and I was wondering what field of electrical work it was from. Since you insulted me rather than giving me the answer I looked it up and I see it’s from the world of microphones and PA equipment. Could you give an explanation of how it works in a modern stereo system? I didn’t quite follow what you wrote. Thanks, Ray
Tantejuut, where did you get this knowledge from?

A combination of 35+ years of audiophilitis, learning from other respectful audiophiles & manufactures (skipping the as^&(^&*es and knowitalls), EE degree, experimenting/DIY & common sense. 
No, wrong! The whole point of having a dedicated line is to eliminate all those extra connections. This is not theory or conjecture, I know it for a fact. My room was originally wired the normal way, outlet to outlet. The only thing plugged in was my stereo. This was replaced with a true dedicated line that went direct from the panel to just the one outlet. Huge improvement! Nothing changed in terms of current draw or anything like that. Same wire, same breaker. All that changed was eliminating the extra connections. 

The thing to keep straight about audio, the crap we measure is just that, crap. If you want to learn just one thing about audio that will really, really help it is any time you hear any words about measuring anything just tune it out. Not because no measurements are ever any good. But because the vast majority of the time they are a waste of time. 

Like right now, OP is fixated on current draw. Good sound has next to nothing to do with current draw. Because of the way homes are wired, because of code, you can be sure of no problems with current draw. This is like owning a Porsche and being happy it has tires. Which tires? Round black ones. Oh, I see. As if they are all the same.

There is zero- absolutely zero- equipment that NEEDS a dedicated line. The equipment needs nothing but electricity. You can plug it into any darn source, if the light comes on the equipment is fine. It is YOU who WANTS a dedicated line, BUT ONLY if you care about sound quality.  

If you care about sound quality then you want one wire continuous from one breaker to one outlet. If you care about current, why am I even here? Good question!


Correct. If it makes some feel better you could always remove the other outlets from the chain, wire nut the wires together, and put a blank cover plate on the boxes. You could then say it's a long run dedicated circuit.
Thanks everyone for the input.  I think I have my answer - basically if the equipment says it needs a dedicated line (purely for power pull), and I have one breaker connected to multiple outlets, but only the component in question is plugged in and pulling power, then effectively, from a purely electrical perspective, the juice should flow / be there the same as if it were on a single outlet to breaker connection. 
You want a dedicated line for separation and less influence of nasty equipment to your system. You also get less contact resistance. If your dedicated line is shielded of (better) starquad wired you also get less antenna effect and less inductance on your line. Combine this with a star wired distribution block, and some nice power cables (Puritan for example) Your system can now pull, "cleaner", current more effectively. The power supplies have an easier time converting AC/DC. Voila, better sound.
No piece of audio gear requires a dedicated line! Who told you such nonsense? A preamp, power amp, streamer, DAC ... don’t draw much current. They are not stoves, refrigerators, washing machines, dryers which suck up a lot of current!
What you are talking is not a dedicated line, which by definition is one breaker one wire one outlet. You can have multiple gangs in the outlet. But the minute you start stringing it to others it is no longer dedicated.
OP, you are thinking correctly.  In that sense, same draw as long as you don't plug anything else in.
Yes. If its on the same circuit as another item then it is not a dedicated line, is it? It's a shared line.
Sorry the question I
is focused purely on electrical draw. I’m aware of all the preferences around noise etc. this is just my lack of knowledge of electrical. I’m guessing if nothing else is ever drawing current on the other outlets and I’m supposed to have a dedicated line that from a pure power pull perspective it’s no different ?
Required or recommended? What is it? 

The primary intent of a dedicated line in audio is to allow nothing else on the line to add noise on the line. Having a separate breaker helps the separation. Also, not having all that extra wire strung all over the place allows less picking up of stray emf. 
Is this a audio noise concern or capacity issue?





At the very least a unique breaker & wire.
On the phase with fewest or no motors.