home circuit breaker - good idea or not to increase to higher amp fuse?

Its not just the breaker but the wiring as well that would have to be upgraded; doing just the breaker would result in a Fire Hazard.

FWIW, a 20 amp circuit is a lot of power for an audio system and should enough, unless you have a really really big system!

Take a look at the mains fuse rating on your amp and you will see that it's much less than 20-amp. That limits the amperage draw to the amplifier and it would make no difference if the breaker and wiring to the amp handles 20, 30 or whatever amps.

The fuse size will not help or hinder you. In all cases, obey federal and local electrical codes.

AFAIK you may not put a larger sized breaker on a 120V/15 or 120V/20A circuit that uses the common outlets. Maybe this is just tied to wire guage. 12ga = 20A, 14ga = 15A.

At best, consider isolated circuits, or adding a second. Use one for incidentals like cable TV, lights, etc. and another for your fine audio gear.

Best,

E

I am remodeling my home right now and need to have 2 dedicated 15 amp circuits just for my Anthem P5 home theater amp. I have always noticed the picture looks so much better on the weekends when half the businesses are not open. I have even read about putting all your electronics on dedicated circuits that go straight to the pole outside your house to eliminate any stray grounds. Might be expensive but if you are crazy like me you will want to do whatever you can to improve performance. Go with extra heavy quality wire and as many seperate circuits you can afford, and at least 20 amps a piece. And hire a good electrician or a custom installers electrician that deals with alot of audio and theater applications. Good luck and post what you end up doing.

If the rating of the breaker were to be changed to 30 amps or more, in addition to a wiring upgrade the outlets that are fed via that breaker would have to be upgraded, to outlets that are rated to handle that amount of current. Otherwise a code violation as well as a fire hazard would result. And I believe that standard 15 amp and 20 amp power plugs will not mate with any outlet types that are rated at 30 amps or more. At least in the USA and other countries where plugs and outlets conform to NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) standards. So if my understanding is correct you would not be able to plug your equipment into such an outlet.

Regards,
-- Al

Ok sounds like unanimous consensus its a bad idea.  Thanks for everyone's advice.