Volksigti:
A) Where can I buy retail-since I need it relatively quickly-the Square D Surge protector.
You should be able to find this at any electrical supply house.
B) Is the 10 gauge twisted pair wire available at Home DESPOT or Lowes?
I sincerely doubt it. You will probably have to find a wire distributor or a major electrical supply house for this type of product. I know that Anixter used to carry a 12 gauge twisted pair cable as normal stock, and that they could twist other cables to order with a minimum quantity, but other than that....
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.
Lumping all of the cables together in one PVC or conduit run might be worse than having them all laid out separately. Isolating each run provides further potential for crosstalk between the circuits.
Having said that, this leaving the cabling exposed sounds crazy to me in terms of building standards. Mice, rats & squirrels tend to chew on cable jacketing. Having all of this open for gnawing with the potential for shorting and the resultant fire seems quite hazardous to me.
If you are going to use something to enclose the cabling, you might want to use very large PVC. This would allow you to run more cabling at a later date with great ease. While metal conduit can act as a shield, it can also cause distortion of the waveform and introduce further non-linearities into the system. As i've mentioned before, shielding is ALWAYS beneficial, but it is typically not implimented in the best fashion.
Kdl: The size of the Xentek being doubled means that it can pass measurably more current with far less potential for saturation / core induced distortions. Since core material is costly, the Xentek is probably a much better built / more expensive item.
As far as more hum & noise goes, this is why i stated that it was best to get the iso's out of the listening area. All transformers "hum" to some extent and the more power that you pull through them, the more noise that they will generate. Toroidals can be quieter in this regard, but they don't offer near as much isolation.
It is possible to "damp" and / or "absorb" the noise generated by a transformer, but one has to pay attention to not restricting the ability of the transformer itself to dissipate heat. How effective this can be done will depend on the approach taken. Damping the "bells" or "end caps" is typically okay, but you don't want to "damp" the core itself. Given that the "bells" tend to ring at a higher frequency ( that's why they are called "bells" ), damping them can reduce the overall spectrum of hum being generated.
Another trick is to pay attention to where the transformer is located. Given the low frequency of the "hum" involved, you don't want to place it anywhere that you would normally achieve bass reinforcement in a speaker. That is, not directly on the floor, not in a corner, not up against a wall, etc... Elevating it in some type of "vibration absorbing cradle" with a layer of properly vented sound absorption material over it may work wonders for those that have them in their listening room.
As far as the KVA rating goes, one needs to buy what they will need for their system. If one is going to run very low powered high efficiency amplifiers for the rest of their life, a smaller KVA rating may be fine. Given that most folks don't want to go through the trouble of hard-wiring something into their AC system only to have to re-do it at greater expense at a later date, "overkill" has benefits. On top of that, a larger transformer offers additional benefits in terms of lower distortion, a reduced noise floor, lower source impedance, etc...
Cincy Bob, here are some responses to your questions:
1) "splitting the line" is what i would recommend and is ideal. You can do this by splitting it at the output of the meter or forming a "Y" off the leads that feed the main box. Using the meter connections may be easier and produce slightly better results. It sounds like you've found an electrician that is "on the ball".
This presents a bit of a problem though if you intend to make use of a "whole system" type iso installation with more cost and work involved. That is, you have to have some type of fuse or breaker between the meter and the isolation transformers. This would mean installing some type of fusable link after the meter, a "jumper" to the transformer(s) and then another jumper to feed the A/V breaker box. You shouldn't have the iso transformers connected directly to the AC mains with no form of current overload protection. Given the possibility that a transformer could short out internally, you wouldn't want all the power that the pole transformer could feed into the shorted iso without some form of safety device between them. While a shorted iso transformer could start on fire, you can pretty much guarantee a BIG fire if it did so without any type of fuse or breaker in front of it.
2) The placement of the breaker box is not critical so long as one uses heavy gauge wiring at all points. Either way, you end up with the same length run. The key here is to keep voltage sag / series resistance down to a minimum. You can do so by maintaining high quality connections and a lot of surface area ( heavy gauge conductors ) throughout the entire circuit.
The other factor that could become involved in any long run is the use of a cable geometry that is resistant to RFI, especially if you are filtering at the breaker box itself. Otherwise, you have the potential to filter they system at the box and then have it "re-contaminated" along the run to the outlets. Even with a "low RFI" type of wiring, you still stand that chance, hence my above comments about further filtering at the component level.
3) If i can remember correctly, i think that PS Audio claims a reduction in noise of appr -40 dB's. As mentioned above, a "very good" toroidal design may achieve -85 dB's and a high quality "iron core" transformer will be somewhere between -120 and -145 dB's. If you want to know how much difference there is between the PS UO's and the iron core transformers, look at the comparisons between the iron core's and the toroidals listed above and double the figures. In comparision, the UO's do offer noise suppression, but compared to the "big monster" type transformers, they aren't nearly as effective. This is not to mention that the UO's may introduce other forms of distortion into the equation depending on the specific application that one is using them for.
The UO's might work okay as a "secondary filter" at the system, but they don't really offer any way to isolate individual components from each other.
As one can see, looking at the "big picture" on a project like this can be quite a task. If done properly though, it really will make a very noticeable difference in performance AND be cheaper than buying & trying tons of different AC filtering devices in the long run. This is not to mention that one is assured that each component that they have is working optimally in terms of being fed the cleanest power possible.
With the potential for your local AC provider to pump "broadband computer noise" over your AC lines in the future, i think that such a system will become almost mandatory for those seeking the ultimate in performance. Rather than try to "band aid" the system later with a bunch of add-on doo-dads that are quite costly and less effective, act now but plan ahead. It will be cheaper and more effective, both cost-wise and sonically, in the long run. Sean
>
A) Where can I buy retail-since I need it relatively quickly-the Square D Surge protector.
You should be able to find this at any electrical supply house.
B) Is the 10 gauge twisted pair wire available at Home DESPOT or Lowes?
I sincerely doubt it. You will probably have to find a wire distributor or a major electrical supply house for this type of product. I know that Anixter used to carry a 12 gauge twisted pair cable as normal stock, and that they could twist other cables to order with a minimum quantity, but other than that....
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.
Lumping all of the cables together in one PVC or conduit run might be worse than having them all laid out separately. Isolating each run provides further potential for crosstalk between the circuits.
Having said that, this leaving the cabling exposed sounds crazy to me in terms of building standards. Mice, rats & squirrels tend to chew on cable jacketing. Having all of this open for gnawing with the potential for shorting and the resultant fire seems quite hazardous to me.
If you are going to use something to enclose the cabling, you might want to use very large PVC. This would allow you to run more cabling at a later date with great ease. While metal conduit can act as a shield, it can also cause distortion of the waveform and introduce further non-linearities into the system. As i've mentioned before, shielding is ALWAYS beneficial, but it is typically not implimented in the best fashion.
Kdl: The size of the Xentek being doubled means that it can pass measurably more current with far less potential for saturation / core induced distortions. Since core material is costly, the Xentek is probably a much better built / more expensive item.
As far as more hum & noise goes, this is why i stated that it was best to get the iso's out of the listening area. All transformers "hum" to some extent and the more power that you pull through them, the more noise that they will generate. Toroidals can be quieter in this regard, but they don't offer near as much isolation.
It is possible to "damp" and / or "absorb" the noise generated by a transformer, but one has to pay attention to not restricting the ability of the transformer itself to dissipate heat. How effective this can be done will depend on the approach taken. Damping the "bells" or "end caps" is typically okay, but you don't want to "damp" the core itself. Given that the "bells" tend to ring at a higher frequency ( that's why they are called "bells" ), damping them can reduce the overall spectrum of hum being generated.
Another trick is to pay attention to where the transformer is located. Given the low frequency of the "hum" involved, you don't want to place it anywhere that you would normally achieve bass reinforcement in a speaker. That is, not directly on the floor, not in a corner, not up against a wall, etc... Elevating it in some type of "vibration absorbing cradle" with a layer of properly vented sound absorption material over it may work wonders for those that have them in their listening room.
As far as the KVA rating goes, one needs to buy what they will need for their system. If one is going to run very low powered high efficiency amplifiers for the rest of their life, a smaller KVA rating may be fine. Given that most folks don't want to go through the trouble of hard-wiring something into their AC system only to have to re-do it at greater expense at a later date, "overkill" has benefits. On top of that, a larger transformer offers additional benefits in terms of lower distortion, a reduced noise floor, lower source impedance, etc...
Cincy Bob, here are some responses to your questions:
1) "splitting the line" is what i would recommend and is ideal. You can do this by splitting it at the output of the meter or forming a "Y" off the leads that feed the main box. Using the meter connections may be easier and produce slightly better results. It sounds like you've found an electrician that is "on the ball".
This presents a bit of a problem though if you intend to make use of a "whole system" type iso installation with more cost and work involved. That is, you have to have some type of fuse or breaker between the meter and the isolation transformers. This would mean installing some type of fusable link after the meter, a "jumper" to the transformer(s) and then another jumper to feed the A/V breaker box. You shouldn't have the iso transformers connected directly to the AC mains with no form of current overload protection. Given the possibility that a transformer could short out internally, you wouldn't want all the power that the pole transformer could feed into the shorted iso without some form of safety device between them. While a shorted iso transformer could start on fire, you can pretty much guarantee a BIG fire if it did so without any type of fuse or breaker in front of it.
2) The placement of the breaker box is not critical so long as one uses heavy gauge wiring at all points. Either way, you end up with the same length run. The key here is to keep voltage sag / series resistance down to a minimum. You can do so by maintaining high quality connections and a lot of surface area ( heavy gauge conductors ) throughout the entire circuit.
The other factor that could become involved in any long run is the use of a cable geometry that is resistant to RFI, especially if you are filtering at the breaker box itself. Otherwise, you have the potential to filter they system at the box and then have it "re-contaminated" along the run to the outlets. Even with a "low RFI" type of wiring, you still stand that chance, hence my above comments about further filtering at the component level.
3) If i can remember correctly, i think that PS Audio claims a reduction in noise of appr -40 dB's. As mentioned above, a "very good" toroidal design may achieve -85 dB's and a high quality "iron core" transformer will be somewhere between -120 and -145 dB's. If you want to know how much difference there is between the PS UO's and the iron core transformers, look at the comparisons between the iron core's and the toroidals listed above and double the figures. In comparision, the UO's do offer noise suppression, but compared to the "big monster" type transformers, they aren't nearly as effective. This is not to mention that the UO's may introduce other forms of distortion into the equation depending on the specific application that one is using them for.
The UO's might work okay as a "secondary filter" at the system, but they don't really offer any way to isolate individual components from each other.
As one can see, looking at the "big picture" on a project like this can be quite a task. If done properly though, it really will make a very noticeable difference in performance AND be cheaper than buying & trying tons of different AC filtering devices in the long run. This is not to mention that one is assured that each component that they have is working optimally in terms of being fed the cleanest power possible.
With the potential for your local AC provider to pump "broadband computer noise" over your AC lines in the future, i think that such a system will become almost mandatory for those seeking the ultimate in performance. Rather than try to "band aid" the system later with a bunch of add-on doo-dads that are quite costly and less effective, act now but plan ahead. It will be cheaper and more effective, both cost-wise and sonically, in the long run. Sean
>