@lak I definitely will post the update....
Replacing generic RECEPTACLES
How important is it to replace your generic receptacles with audio grade receptacles . I already replaced my stock power cords to high end Shunyatas. Would it still be necessary to still change my generic receptacles to audio grade?
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Just started to burn in my Furutech GTX d - r by putting it on my refrigerator freezer . I will let it burn in about 350 hrs or 15 days. I was not going to burn them in at all and let the components burn them in but that would really take forever or never burn in at all especially on my CDP.. In about a week or so i will put the refrigerator plug to the bottom outlet of the Furutech and will leave it there for the other week. Then i will repeat for the other 2 Furutechs. |
@tecknik.........First of all i the power cables (Shunyata Sigmas HC and Digital and King Cobra CX are 8 awg wire and not sure if they would fit with the Furutech. Second i paid about 6 k for the 3 power cables, why would i want to alter those? And if i ever wanted to sell them im SURE people would want original Shunyatas. |
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Thank you guys ....... I will have my electrician see what he can do about moving the audio breakers or appliance breakers while he adds the new dedicated 20A line. So you are also suggesting the audio breakers be on the top of the leg and high current appliances below ..... This is exactly what I mean about people on this forum, who really do not know what they are talking about, giving out very questionable advice about "gimminks" and "tweaks" that can cost serious money and accomplish virtually nothing vis-a vis audio performance. |
@elizabeth @lowrider57 ...Thank you guys ....... I will have my electrician see what he can do about moving the audio breakers or appliance breakers while he adds the new dedicated 20A line. So you are also suggesting the audio breakers be on the top of the leg and high current appliances below ..... |
First, you're lucky to have all new wiring giving your panel clean connections. Mine is old, that's why I have a new subpanel. The best position for the audio breakers is away from the high current appliances such as refrigerator, furnace, A/C, hot tub. I think you should try to have some space between the audio circuits and these appliances. Since it's newly wired it should be easy to relocate a breaker or two. My electrician moved some breakers to install the subpanel. Imagine your amp, preamp breaker sits next to the refrigerator or A/C. Those appliances are always running, sending noise down the line to their connections plus your audio breakers. In this case, you would either move the audio breaker or move the appliance breaker. |
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@elizabeth @lowrider57 ............Thank you both very much for all you replies... It really helped me see and understand so much more about electric wiring and breaker boxes.. Now when i looked at my breaker box my quad 20A breaker for my amp and preamp is on the bottom of leg 2. When my electrican comes and installed my other 20A dedicated line for my CDP should i tell him to relocate the 2 20A dedicated audio lines to the top leg 2 of the breaker box ? |
@elizabeth is exactly right. To take this concept further, the ideal setup of the service panel for cleaner audio would be to have your dedicated audio breakers grouped together at the top of the panel. Or at the bottom, if that's where the wiring enters. So, if the lines enter at the top, your audio lines would be in the first breakers, same leg. Then the heavy duty appliances that you listed would be far away near the bottom split between Legs A and B. The theory being that the noise introduced into the panel would not be close to the audio breakers. But, since the grounds and neutrals are shared, noise will still contaminate the rest of the panel to a lesser extent. To take noise reduction even further, many audiophiles use a subpanel for their audio lines. This is a smaller dedicated circuit box attached to the main service panel. When I expanded my system (which is very modest), I received step by step advise from our most experienced members on how to do this in my house. Now that I have a subpanel which has it's own ground and is tied to the service panel, the noise floor at my audio setup is extremely low. It helped in my case because I live in a prewar row home with a mix of old and new wiring. If you had all new electrical installed in your home and the distribution of current draw is laid out well, you will be in very good shape with 2 dedicated lines. If you run that 2nd line, move it close to line #1 on the same leg. |
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@lowrider57 ........ I understand what you are talking about now.... You explained it very well.. And yes the CDP is on the same leg as my dedicated 20A line for my amp and preamp. I understand them now going on the same leg but like you mentioned both legs should be evened out. Lets say leg A has the Refrigerator, Jacuzzi, AC , TV.Microwave, and leg B has a tanning bed , big screen tv, and 2 ACs. Now both legs have appliances , so explain to me what that matters then. I understand u want to keep all the audio components on the same leg but if there are appliances on both legs why would it matter. Curious.... |
Not sure i know what you mean by needs to be on the same leg of the service panel as my 20A dedicated line, same phase. And what do you mean by appliances? blender ? microwave? toaster? Im not trying to be funny but i have a dedicated listening room. Its not in my kitchen. The wiring in a residence is called split-phase and is divided into 2 legs. On the service panel you will see Leg A and Leg B. The goal in the panel is to even out the load, half the current draw on A and half on B. If you wire a refrigerator on A, then a second high current appliance such as air conditioning should be wired to B. Simply put, In an audio system, we want all the components on the same leg so there is minimal noise from other devices wired into the panel. And yes, I am talking about toaster, blender, refrigerator; all adding noise and interference down the AC line and contaminating the other circuits. Electricians are only concerned with balancing the current draw in the house, so roughly half from Leg A and half from Leg B. And they commonly will daisy chain several AC outlets onto the same breaker. The kitchen toaster outlet may be combined with the lights in your living room. If some of your audio system is wired to A and some to B, there is more risk of noise from the circuits in the other leg of the panel getting into your audio lines. A test for a shared line is to turn off the breaker to your CDP and see what other outlets in your house lose power. https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/13105/are-both-legs-of-a-homes-power-supply-equally-used |
@elizabeth ...... Elizabeth Thank you for the last 2 replies to me. I still really dont understand what you are talking about. And i appreciate your time writing all that. I will have my electrician in stall a 20A dedicated line for my Furutech GTX-d r for my CDP so i know for sure there is nothing else on that line. also that way if and when do buy a Shunyata power conditioner for my CDP i can use the 20A line too. |
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@elizabeth Just checked the the line with the CDP receptacle. It is not on the same line as the ceiling fans. In fact there are only about 3 other receptacles on that line that is connected to my CDP. So i think i will be ok with just installing the furutech without adding the dedicated line . What do you think? Unless i want a 20A dedicated line for the future. But i dont need it right now. |
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When i had construction done to my 2 bed rooms upstairs in my home back in 2009 , I wanted one big huge room with raised ceiling and 3 sky lights with 2 dormers. New hardwood tongue and groove floor. Fuji split zone AC on wall. Hard wood tongue and groove floor. 2 ceiling fans. 3 ceiling high hat flood lights with dimmer switches. Hard wired smoke detector. And about 12 15 A receptacles. Upgraded from 115v to 220v for home with new breaker box and breakers. Thats why i thought of running a dedicated 15A or 20A line for my CPD. This work was all done before i had any thoughts of putting together my stereo system. Since then i have only added the dedicated 20A circuit double gang box for my Krell FPB 600 and ARC Ref 6 . |
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@tattooedtrackman, No, u don't need to install a 20A line for a CDP. But since your 15A AC line is native to your house, I'll bet there are other wall outlets with devices or appliances tied into that circuit. IOW, it probably is a shared line with noise being introduced from the other devices. And since u now have a 20A Furutech duplex receptacle, it makes sense to run a new 12 gauge line with new breaker. As Elizabeth explained so well, your CDP doesn't care if the circuit is 15 or 20 amps, it only draws the amount of current needed. But, in the future if you add more components to your system, you may wish you had installed a 20 amp circuit. |
@elizabeth ....My digital equipment is on the same 20A line... Do you mean also that it is a dedicated 20A line? I understand that it is also hooked up to a seperate power conditioner. Also you suggested ferrite clamps , i dont they would be large enough to put on my Shunyata Sigma digital AC cord which is 8 awg. . And also that it is a digital ac cord anyway i really might not even need the ferrite clamp. |
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@tattooedtrackman As long as there is already a circuit available where you need it and that circuit doesn't have other devices or appliances plugged into it, why create another circuit. Every circuit in your house is tied into the same ground and same neutral bars, adding another circuit isn't going to change that (for that you would have to add a complete new service and that would be a bit expensive) and you do not need a 20A circuit to run a CDP. Yes you can install a 20A receptacle where you need it, for the sake of getting a much better receptacle (no one will throw you in jail) and your CDP and other components will plug into it....Jim |
jhills In fact lower amp equipment should not be used in high amp circuits. If something fails, something might burn before the breaker trips.That's silly - properly installed 15A and 20A lines are equally safe. In each case, the breaker's function is to protect the line itself, not the device connected to it. Components have their own fuse or breaker for that purpose. There is no hazard in connecting a low-amperage device to a 20A line. |
I should make clear on my previous statement - that is if your home is relatively modern with a good electrical system, or is an older home with a professionally upgraded electrical system. I can see the value in having a dedicated 20A circuit for your high draw power amps and large powered subs, however....Jim |