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Dedicated 20 amp circuit - Electrician laughed!

I brought my electrician out to my house today to show him where I would like to install a dedicated 20a circuit for my system.  He laughed and said that's the stupidest thing he's heard and laughs when people talk about it.  It said, if you're going to do it, you have to have it separately grounded (shoving a new 8 foot rod into the ground) but even then, he sees no way there can be an audible improvement.

Now, he's not just an electrician though. He rebuilds tube amps on the side and tears apart amps and such all the time so he's quite well versed in audio electronics and how they operate.

He basically said anyone who thinks they hear a difference is fooling themselves.  

Personally, I'm still not sure, I'm no engineer, my room's not perfect, and I can't spend hours on end critical listening...  But, he does kinda pull me farther to the "snake oil" side and the "suggestive hearing" side (aka, you hear an improvement because you want to hear it).

I'm not taking a side here but I thought it was interesting how definitive he was that this not only WILL not make a difference but ALMOST CANNOT make a difference. 
dtximages
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,733 posts
 
at least get audio circuits on opposite leg of refrigerator, heat pump, AC..anything with a motor. IF the wizard doesn’t understand that, fire him.
elevick
2,636 posts
 
I agree with the extra ground.  He obviously doesn't own a refrigerator or air conditioner...get another electrician.  Generally I can't hear the difference but with a dedicated grounded circuit I don't have any ground loop, hum or whine issues.
Get a whole house surge protector too.  He will tell you that you are wasting $400.  You still need a conditioner or surge to protect from minor surges but that big surge can really save you from lightning or transformers on the pole blowing.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,733 posts
 
ask him IF he can explain what makes a hospital grade plug different...
canibefrank
406 posts
 
put your hifi on a battery. it don't get any better than that
dtximages OP
350 posts
 
@elevick he actually recommended a whole house surge protector.

@tomic601 he mentioned hospital grade outlets and grounding and all but I really don't remember exactly what he said.  But he did act familiar with high end outlets like those from PS Audio.. 

He said it certainly won't hurt that's for sure.. And IF there's any difference is HAS to be on a totally separate grounded system. NOT another 20 amp circuit ran from your existing box.
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