An unconventional approach to POWER MANAGEMENT


Hi All,

Not too long ago I started a thread on power cords that led to a discussion of various approaches to power management that was very informative. That thread then prompted some experimentation that netted some very impressive results. If you're interested in learning more you can read about that here:

https://www.thebrokenrecord.net/power-management-suggestions-and-results/

Now I'm interested in hearing from those of you who have installed dedicated breaker boxes for your systems, particularly those who did not have them at some point and then added one later. What were the results? I'm considering this approach and am hoping to hear a variety of experiences.

Thanks, as always!


thebrokenrecord
I appreciate your input MC. Thank you! Hopefully you've left some room in the discussion for others to weigh in as I'm interested to hear about their experiences. I expect there are a few out there who have added panels at one point in building their systems and have heard the effect it had on the sound of their systems.

Thanks again!
MC has a beautiful, well thought out system, but there are audiophiles with electrical backgrounds on the forum. 
My electrician installed my dedicated power with the advice of a couple of members and I'm loving my system.
 I have a subpanel with two dedicated 20A lines and it's working very well; one line for digital, one for analogue. No ground faults.
 The work started outside at the drop from the pole, to the meter, then into the basement replacing the old service panel.


not specifically what you are asking but as part of a 1930's condo renovation I ran a new power feed from the main building panel replacing a 6 circuit box in the garage with a new 23 circuit panel in my 3rd floor unit with along with much of the original wiring.  Afterwards there was a noticeable improvement in sound quality in my system, more focus, separation, darkness, etc.  Since other work was done including a new floating wood floor and  appliances I can't say it was all due to the power upgrade but does seem like the electrical work played a significant role.
If you are looking for a novel approach to power management consider ADD-Powr. 
I am an Electrical/Electronics Engineer with experience in analog/digital design, amplifier design, computer design and also a state registered power engineer.

So, yes, I'm one of those.  Rattling of code is not a negative.  people that ignore local building codes are just stupid. Sorry, I can't be more polite.  These are people that do what they "think" instead of realizing that the codes are there for pretty important reasons.

That said, my house is on a raised foundation with a crawl space that when I was younger, wasn't a problem.  Now, it sucks having to crawl under my house to repair plumbing, wiring , etc.  But, oh well.

years ago, i installed four (yes four) dedicated circuits from the panel to my listening room.  One for each amp (I have three).  two mono amps, one for each lower bass panel on my Martin Logan Monolith III speakers and a stereo amp for upper panels.   The other outlet is for a really nice power conditioner where all the low level electronics (pre-amp, phono  stage, turn table power supply, electronic crossover, music server, cd transport, DAC, etc.) are plugged into.  No noise!  ground floor .....  it worked very well for me.    Of course to me a dedicated line means that the hot, neutral and ground all go back to the panel and are not shared with any other circuit.

With a crawl space instead of having to go into an attic and down walls, it was much easier and made sense to run as many as reasonable.  Since I did the work myself and it was to local building code, I'm good.

Also, my house is the very first house load on the pole top transformer, I'm good.

Dedicated breaker boxes are a good idea if you don't have enough room in the main breaker box for additional circuit breakers.  Running a separate breaker box if you don't have room for the other can't hurt and should not violate building code as long as it doesn't exceed the mains capacity limit.

However, it is always safe to check with the local building code. 

Can't tell you how many times I've read about house fires where the owner had or did work that was in violation of building codes and if the insurance company finds out about the violation, you may not be covered.

anyway, dedicated lines do help.  At least they did for me.  Also, I compared four or five really nice power conditioners before purchasing the one I have and I really did hear differences.  Believe it or not.  

enjoy and be safe