I strangled my pipe

Greetings,

Brilliant solution and congratulations.

Thanks for sharing, Paul

I ran two dedicated circuits for my system when I moved into my current home. One was just for the amp, the second was for the rest of the system. I ran Belden 83802 to PS Audio outlets and have been very happy with the results. I was surprised that every time I did something with the power, i.e. powercords, outlets, dedicated circuits, the biggest difference was in the bass. Everything was improved, but the bass was the most obvious.
Soundstage, imaging, and everything was better! I don't know why more people don't do this?!?

Nrchy,
Your right on. I reported similar observations some time back about bass prominance and darker presentation with larger supply cables. It is as if the extra masses of copper and insulation dielectric allow a more stable ride on the main wave, absorbing much of the noise ripples maybe not all of it. It's like a dynamic "capacitor" that does not restrict sudden power demand. Our equipment have to be really free of power supply "starvation" before we even try anything else.

Glad you posted your results for everyone to see Brent. You've proven a point that i've brought up in the past i.e. dedicated lines are a step in the right direction, but you still need some type of high quality "filter" in the system. Otherwise, as another Agon member once pointed out, all you end up with is "dedicated noise".

While you did mention that you previously had dedicated 10 gauge lines feeding hospital grade outlets, i think that the biggest improvement was going to 220 and splitting / filtering it from there. While the heavier wire ( 6 gauge ) will never hurt, this would not make as much of a difference with your current set-up as if you would have stayed with the 10 gauge and went the "divided & filtered 220" route. Obviously, this is all "theory" on my part and the results that you are achieving now speak for themselves. The bottom line is that we all know that you can't have too heavy of a wire when it comes to feeding the AC to your system.

Either way, i'm glad that you are now seeing the performance out of this system that you had previously expected but never been able to achieve. It's always great to experience a "major breakthrough" as something like this helps to confirm that it really is worth all of the effort. Sean
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* For 110 volt operation, i've recommended the use of 8 gauge in the past with 10 gauge being the smallest i would shoot for. You can get away with 12 gauge for a reasonable sized low to mid biased power amp if it is a VERY short run. 12 to 14 gauge might be adequate for front end gear, but why bother running this wire when heavier 10 gauge removes all current limitations for future use and only costs a very few pennies more per foot ? Once you hit at least 10 gauge, the laws of diminishing returns comes into play. That is, unless you are pulling GOBS of current and / or you have a very long run.

Obviously, you've now got the quantity of AC handled by using the heavier gauge wiring with sufficient fuses / breakers, the question is, do you have the quality of AC covered ? Once you've reached this point, the biggest differences to be made in your AC supply will be how clean you can get the power without restricting the flow in any manner. This means that unless your "filter" can pass a sustained level of 20 amps or more for each high current circuit required, your filtering is going to introduce some type of negative impact to the system. Obviously, i am talking in terms of "ultimate resolution" here as many systems may not benefit from what i am discussing. Otherwise, one should count on a filter circuit rated to pass 15 amps as being worth 6-7 amps and maybe 8-10 amps at most for optimum performance.

Since most "filters" are built to "marginally" pass 15 amps with some really being stretched out to 20 amps, this is where we run into problems. Due to various levels of core saturation and non-linear distortions kicking in, all filters have been given the same bad rap. The key is to select and use "filtering" that will never be pushed to anywhere near its' limits. By doing so, you'll have avoided 99% of the pitfalls that you see mentioned in most of the "should i use a PLC" type thread.

Brainwater's solution sounds rather pricey. Sean (and others), is there a simpler, budget approach to installing dedicated lines and adding filtering?

Drubin , yes , it is if you go the entire route for sure but I am using a massive amp to drive just the subs. You could bypass the power conditioners and voltage regulator and run straight from the sequencer.The point for me was to get a 220 service . Nrchy , I did not mention the bass and I can say it was a signifigant jump in speed and transient attack . I was so stunned in the soundstage improvement { which I really wasnt expecting as it is the bass that everyone comments on } that i did not fully describe the changes. The Pipedream sub cabinets are massive cylinders housing 2 18 inch drivers in each enclosure and the added power made it relentless in its authority. I added another 20 tonight just for the Gamut as I plan on getting another and bi amp each tower. The Gamut is killer for the money!