Least Controversial, Reasonably Priced AC Upgrades

Psycho,
I'm whacked right outta my mind and you know it !
Doo-whacka-doo-whacka-doo......................

Wow...This was a most informative thread to say the least !!! Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge with your other fellow hobbists.

Well, I have to ask for a bit of advice too.
I had recently bought a house and I was having an electrician come this week to install 2 additional outlets in the room where my future audio/video gear will reside(I have no gear as of now). Each of the 2 additional outlets will be on a dedicated 20 apms circuit from the main service panel, wired with 12 Gauge wire. I had already purchased online one 20A Hubbell 8300 GY CryoTreated and a 20A Acme Audio Labs/Pass and Seymour Legrand 688 Cryo outlet from Dedicated Audio (I came accross the posts mentioning Albert Porter stuff after I had already placed my order with Dedicated Audio).

After reading all of the above this is my new plan:
1-Install a whole house surge protector from Square D
2-Use 10 gauge twisted-pair wire instead of the 12 gauge for the dedicated circuits.
In my situation unfortunately I won't be able to use any isolation transformers. I will only have a Monster Power HTPS 7000 Signature Balanced Power Conditioner plugged into a Monster Power AVS 2000 Automatic Voltage Stabilizer.

Since I am responsible for getting all the materials, my questions are:
A) Where can I buy retail-since I need it relatively quickly-the Square D Surge protector.
B) Is the 10 gauge twisted pair wire available at Home DESPOT or Lowes?
C) Is there any advantage to using PVC or Metal conduit for these 2 dedicated circuits, since here in the Dallas,TX area all houses have the wiring widing loose in the attic, with no conduit at all.
Any other suggestions you might have?

Thanx a lot for all your input, GTI.

Hi Guys, I guess it's the right time for me to find this thread. I just received 1K Xentek Extreme Isolation Transformer today, I also got 1K Todd Systems Isolation transformer 2 weeks ago. I run into isotrans due to a tip to use it in front of Lingo and it seems really good (Todd Systems). The problem with 1K Xentek is the hum noise, way too high compared with Todd and size almost double. I bought Xentek in hope of low hum (Todd has some but can't hear it at listening position), it seems I need isolation for this extreme isolation transformer from my listening room.

My question to your guys is do you really need 5kva isotrans? Is it too big and over kill?

Kdl, I think the point is to put your 5 KVA isolating transformer in the service area where you won't hear a hum. For example, mine will go where the second water heater used to be and buck twin-phase 220V down to 120 single. (I may need another tranny to do the buck, if I can't find a 220-in, 120-out isotrans.)The feed from this will come, via shielded twisted-pair, up to my listening room. At least, this is now my dream :o)

Yes, 5 KVA is overkill, but for good reasons, as Sean explained above. Your system may be comfortable with 3 KVA or less, but a bigger transformer has a larger iron core and is less likely to saturate. Saturation is a big no-no, as Sean said too.

If you're in a place where you can't make this kind of mod to your electrical system, my take on what to do would obviously be to find smaller, silent isolating and conditioning devices and use them on individual components, starting with digital. Others may have better ideas.

I am enjoying planning this setup and looking for the gear. Cooking with AC seems a lot simpler than shopping for hi-fi. Sometimes a lot cheaper too ! I saw a tested 5 KVA step-down tranny on eBay starting at $185. It was only that much because it was in a lot with two others.

I am late to this thread, but I could sure use some advice from some of the experts here who know infinitely more about electric than I do. I am in the final stages of planning an electrical upgrade and new built-in component rack for my listening room. I am planning to have a new devoted electric panel installed for my system with separate devoted circuits run with 10-gauge wire for each audio component. I have a few questions regarding this:

1. My electrician has suggested that the best way to feed power to my audio system might be to split the main electrical feed that comes into my house immediately after the meter and before the line enters the main panel. This would allow the installation of a second main panel that would be devoted to the audio system. He seemed to think that there might be some advantages of tapping into the power line before the electric enters the panel that contains all the other household circuits (HVAC system, refrigerators, lighting, etc.). Is this idea better or worse than the suggestion earlier in this thread regarding the installation of a subpanel (which, as I understand it, obtains its power feed through the main panel as opposed to a direct feed).

2. My listening room is located a fairly long distance away from my main electric panel. If the new devoted panel were to be located alongside my existing panel where the electric service enters my house, I would need roughly 40 to 50 foot runs of electrical wiring to reach the various outlets in my listening room. Given this, would it be best to locate an electric panel closer to my listening room?

3. I am currently using separate devoted PS Audio high current Ultimate Outlets to condition the power for each of my audio components. These are the only AC conditioning devices I am currently using for my system. Does a 5 KVA isolation transformer offer advantages over the Ultimate Outlets?

Thanks for your patience with my questions. While my electrician certainly has the know-how to implement just about any suggestion, he has no experience with electrical concerns and issues affecting audio equipment. So, despite my lack of knowledge in this area, the only way I can achieve an optimal design is by gathering information from threads such as this one ane presenting the information to the guy who is qualified to do the work...