Installation of new AC lines......best way to ground to avoid loops and noise


I plan on installing dedicated (new breaker box near stereo) lines. I already have the AC plugs and am most concerned about configuring the best grounding system. I use single ended interconnects. Any advice would be very appreciated.
audition__audio

Showing 4 responses by minorl

Follow the electrical code of your local municipal area.  

It absolutely does not matter is all your circuits come from the same 
Leg or not.  That is factually and electrically false.  And, depending on how much power is drawn from your system might imbalance the electrical load. 

Electricians try to balance house loads on each leg.  

Also since audio equipment convers AC to DC it really doesn’t matter.

in addition,the neutral and ground run back to the panel and tie there. 

In my system I run separate dedicated circuits for each amp and plug the amp directly into the outlet.

for all low level equipment I plug them into a power conditioner which is plugged into its own dedicated circuit.

a dedicated circuit is on where hot, neutral and ground are all run back to the panel. They are not shared. 

Griund loops are typically ally caused by voltage imbalance causing current to flow. Typically by interconnects and or bad internal ground schemes in some poorly designed equipment.

enjoy

Sigh;  Spell check. 

1.  I don't have the NEC in front of me.

2.  My Ground floor noise level is seriously low. 

enjoy

First, let me be clear that my intention is to not, I repeat not, get into arguments about the technical aspects (or non-technical) aspects of having your system wired on both voltage legs.

I am an Electrical and Electronics Engineer, well versed in amplifier/filter design and test.  I am also a power Engineer and a state registered power Engineer.

I don't have the in front of me but it is safe to say that in designing home electrical circuits, the Electrician tries hard to balance the house loads on each phase so as to not overload one phase.  So, air conditioners, refrigerators and equipment with large current load are balanced between the phases.

For high end audio equipment, the low level equipment isn't an issue.  However, for ridiculously large class A amplifiers or some such, that is another issue altogether.  If the Electrician has half a brain, he/she is going to inquire as to average load usage and try to balance that load.

This is a non-issue.  What is the issue is to try to not have audio equipment on the same circuits/legs as noisy equipment, such as particular types of lighting.

Ground loops are created by potential (voltage) differences between equipment on a closed loop, which will cause current to flow in that closed loop.

AC from the panel is converted to DC in most audio equipment, so which leg it comes from is really a non-issue.  As long as the ground and neutral run back to the panel and are not shared.  When you share neutrals or the grounding scheme of your system or worse, of a particular piece of equipment is not well designed, that is when you have serious problems.

This is why I tell people when running dedicated lines to make sure each dedicated line consist of a hot, neutral and ground that is run directly back to the service panel with its own circuit breaker and are not shared.

So, say one has two amps and a lot of low level electronics, then ideally, you would want a minimum of three dedicated lines to the panel.  One for each amp and another for the low level equipment, such as pre-amp, tuner, cd player, DAC, turn table, etc.  That I recommend all low level equipment is plugged into a power conditions (tying the grounds together) and that has its own dedicated line.

My ground flow is seriously low. When I installed the dedicated lines, the ground flow dropped to dead silent.  Playing with various power conditioners for the low level equipment was fun as the sound improved with better conditioners. 

Again, most ground loops are caused by voltage imbalances between equipment and seriously poorly designed grounding schemes within equipment.  most newer equipment has a type of star grounding schemes within the equipment. 

If it isn't a loading issue on your panel, then yes, why not?  go ahead and put all equipment on the same leg.  But, it isn't the end of the world.  That is not a ground loop problem.  Also, it is quite easy to move that circuit or circuits to the other voltage leg within the panel if need be.  But, I doubt it is a real concern.

enjoy