Back about 20 years or so, put in two twenty amp breakers and 2 dedicated lines from breaker to stereo location. A few years later, split one off to a koi pond and greenhouse. Two years ago went solar and new panel, dropped the breakers from twenty to fifteen amps. Never had a ground problem before or after. Back in the two prong power plug days, hum and noise was a constant problem, hours chasing the source and or fix. I use two Brick Wall surge suppressors and a Monster Power HTS 5100 for sources. With or without using the Monster there is no noise, the Monster looks better than an outlet strip. I like the voltage display on the Monster and it stays constant at 120V, unless it is July & 114 degrees outside.
Lets talk dedicated lines
About a year ago I installed a dedicated 20 amp line for my system...and went as far as modding the whole power structure from the street transformer to my panel to my house...at some fairly major expense. The result was certainly an improvement for my system.
Recently i got to thinking that a lot of us have a system that utilizes the standard 15amp line that more than likely only supplies one other component in our rooms...and that is the lights. While lights can be noisy on the system, particularly if they are halogens, then this is a source of considerable hash and noise. However, since the only other thing shared by this line are the lights...and not the more power hungry grabbing stuff..like the refrigerator, or the Ac etc, then simply playing the system in the dark should essentially allow for a dedicated line effect to materialize on the gear that is attached to this line as well. The standard room convenience outlet( which is what we are talking about here) is 15 amp breaker protected and is only supplying the lights and the convenience outlet in a room....so ( assuming that this is the case--and the lights are the only thing supplied besides the outlet) what is the real advantage to the 'true' dedicated line ? Twenty amps is more than a lot of auto gear needs, so I doubt that is the issue...thoughts?
Recently i got to thinking that a lot of us have a system that utilizes the standard 15amp line that more than likely only supplies one other component in our rooms...and that is the lights. While lights can be noisy on the system, particularly if they are halogens, then this is a source of considerable hash and noise. However, since the only other thing shared by this line are the lights...and not the more power hungry grabbing stuff..like the refrigerator, or the Ac etc, then simply playing the system in the dark should essentially allow for a dedicated line effect to materialize on the gear that is attached to this line as well. The standard room convenience outlet( which is what we are talking about here) is 15 amp breaker protected and is only supplying the lights and the convenience outlet in a room....so ( assuming that this is the case--and the lights are the only thing supplied besides the outlet) what is the real advantage to the 'true' dedicated line ? Twenty amps is more than a lot of auto gear needs, so I doubt that is the issue...thoughts?
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If you decide to run a dedicated line for your system, but you aren't ready to go to the lengths of Millercarbon and his step down transformer and cryogenic treatments, you can get a pretty sizable reduction in RFI simply by using 12/3 romex instead of 12/2 from the breaker box to your dedicated outlet. 12/3 has four leads, one of which remains unattached at both ends. The 12/3 comes with a full twist every 4 inches, and the twisted cable and unattached wire produce RFI shielding about 10x greater than 12/2. You can further improve the RFI shielding by using conduit, but that is more difficult to install. See this article: https://www.smartmetereducationnetwork.com/uploads/protecting-yourself-from-emfs/EMFs--Choosing%20Household%20Wiring.pdf |
It seems to me that the first thing you should do before incorporating any of the good suggestions mentioned above is determine if you really have a problem that needs fixing. If you do not hear any hum, noise, hash, RFI or other anomalies during silent passages or with the volume turned up without a signal, spending the money on dedicated lines, power conditioners, regenerators, etc are all solutions to a problem you don't have. J.Chip |
It seems to me that the first thing you should do before incorporating any of the good suggestions mentioned above is determine if you really have a problem that needs fixing. If you do not hear any hum, noise, hash, RFI or other anomalies during silent passages or with the volume turned up without a signal, spending the money on dedicated lines, power conditioners, regenerators, etc are all solutions to a problem you don't have. Good advice. Well... one problem. Your RFI has to be pretty awfully bad to be heard like that. Not that it can't happen. But that's a pretty low bar. We can do better. Once again: RFI is radio frequency interference. Radio frequencies are everywhere. When they cross a wire, any wire- every wire- they induce a current in that wire. All our power comes to us via wires. Therefore, as a matter of pure irrefutable logic, we all have an RFI problem. So the question is not if, but how bad? That one you can only answer for yourself by listening. Again, here's how you do it: Listen to some music. Flip off all non-system breakers. Listen again. The dramatic improvement is telling you the degree to which you have an RFI problem. Which you do have. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. You will hear it. *Limited time offer! You have 30 days to hear it, or your money back! I have done a lot, yet when I repeated this test myself recently as part of a component evaluation the improvement when flipping breakers was as great as ever. Because all those wires are collecting RFI and channeling it into the system. Whether we know it or not. Whether we believe it or not. Whether we admit it or not. Its just a fact. Go and listen. You will see. |
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