New Dedicated Line - Almost No improvement
Hello,
Newbie here and electrical idiot. Just moved to a new to us house in Tampa. Before we moved in I had an electrician put in a dedicated line (has it's own breaker switch) which is 10 gauge and two Furutech GTX-D outlets - Rhodium.
When I hooked up the EMI meter in my old house, which didn't have a dedicated line, the reading was usually around 26 or so IIRC. At the new house the outlets are 89 usually and the dedicated line is usually around 82 - so not much help for the cost of the "project" and pretty noisy.
Also, when the ac /hvac is running the meter reads about 100 points higher (!) for both the regular outlets and the dedicated Furutechs. Not good.
Thoughts? Does the dedicated line need it's own breaker box?
I'm also considering a line conditioner but wanted to see what could be done here. Thanks.
@theaudioamp You're new here. What an insulting statement. @jea48 's knowledge and advice is above reproach. Jim's interest and expertise has helped solve the issues of many members over the years. In order to troubleshoot, one must ask questions. I wholeheartedly agree that the receptacles have not had breakin time. A Rhodium duplex takes 200 to 400hrs. of run-in time. Manufacturers such as Furutech state this requirement. |
Tomic is correct. Before putting the blame on the power grid, separate the noise producing appliances and devices in your home. Opposite Leg of your audio and placement of those breakers away from audio, ie, audio on top of panel, A/C, fridge at bottom of panel on opposite Leg. This may help.
The problem is dedicated lines will never be free of noise, all electricals share a common ground and neutral. |
I agree with @ghdprentice including the adding of another line (same length cable as the others). Regarding power conditioners, I have (2) 20A dedicated lines and use power conditioning to lower the noise-floor. I live in an old neighborhood in Philly. EquiCore + DeepCore have been very effective. A very important point about power conditioners is not to use them for your amp, unless specifically designed for high-current components. The sonics of an amp can be affected. Only my preamp and sources are plugged into mine. |
Get a new electrician. As stated in this thread, there's more to it than the power grid. I guess he thinks it's ok to daisy-chain your audio system on the A/C and refrigerator line. |
Just to review; you have one dedicated 20A line to the service panel. The audio system used the last available breaker (if it's one line, the electrician would have used a standard breaker). Look at the panel, are there any breakers for high-current appliances close to the audio breaker? And are there any on the same Leg (phase) as your audio? Phase will usually be indicated as A or B. Breakers 1,3,5 would be phase A. Breakers 2,4,6 are phase B (in most situations). Heavy-duty appliances such as A/C, fridge, washer will introduce noise back onto the mains.
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Electricians when installing a panel try to even the load on each Leg. IOW, They’re trying to achieve close to equal current-draw on each leg. When installing an audio system on one leg, some sacrifices have to be made, such as moving a high amperage appliance which may cause noise to the opposite leg as the audio circuit. |
Yes, that's how my panel looks.
If I provided misleading information, I apologize, it was very late. I didn't realise breaker space #39 and breaker space #40 share the same breaker connecting bus tie. Thanks for the correction. Jim |
That’s true, but it has to meet code. It would be so nice to have an extra drop from the power company. |
