Dedicating circuits and fancy power outlets


I’ve assembled the following system primarily through fine Audiogon folks like you:

Conrad Johnson Premier 12 mono amps
Conrad Johnson Premier 16 preamp
Conrad Johnson DV 2b CD player
Conrad Johnson EF1 phono preamp
SOTA star, SME IV, Grado
Magnum Dynalab MD102 Tuner
Shunyata Hydra conditioner w/Python cord
Tannoy Turnberry speakers
Stealth PGS IC’s

I’m pretty content with this setup. The only thing I’m considering now is dedicating a 20 amp circuit and buying a Shunyata ZR-71 Audiophile Outlet. I talked with an electrician about doing the work and he said it would make NO difference in the quality of power supplied to my system (and thus no improvement in sound quality). With consideration that the quality of the electricity in my area is good, do you feel he’s correct?

Thank you,
rbschauman
I went through the process in my current house about 6 years ago, and you could look up some of those threads if you want to know some of the ins-and outs i went through. Given that we live in a very old house (1780's) that had been added onto, enlarged, renovated and partially rewired god only knows how many times, I wanted to put any issues over the AC to rest. Did a fairly straightforward job, separate subpanel with high quality breakers, and 4 20 amp dedicated lines to high quality receptacles. (I bought mine from albert porter here, i think they are basically hubbell hospital grade that have been cryro'd and aren't terribly expensive). I use horns, so i can hear every nasty on the AC and the system is very quiet, but it took a long time to sort out grounding issues among the components. Keep in mind that separate dedicated lines create an additional issue- a potential for grounding differences between the outlets, so you might want to explore that with your electrician too. (I solved the problem through the use of one of those Granite Audio Ground Zero grounding boxes, which allows you to create a 'faux' star ground among the components. That said, right now, it's not even hooked up, because a recent switch in a couple of the components seemed to obviate the need for it). But, the dedicated lines are still susceptible to crap from appliances, lighting, etc. that are on the 'regular' household electrical system. And, fwiw, the airpump for my tonearm makes a nasty 'zap' when it cycles, and putting it on its own dedicated line didn't eliminate that problem. I wound up plugging the arm pump into a big stepdown transformer.
It is worth doing, particularly if there are question marks in your house's AC set-up, and I would think most homes do have those question marks, unless newly built, with some attention paid to the electrical at the outset.
BTW, I don't now use any line conditioning on my system, i had my share of that stuff, don't need it, and think if you can avoid it, the system has the potential to sound better. (Of course, if your AC is nasty, you may need to go that route, or a regenerator). I've been curious about the big balanced power systems, not the black boxes, but the full on wall panel system- I'm relocating in the near future, and will have to start from scratch, so we'll see!
My buddies and I have all gone this way: dedicated power lines with armoured cable and audiophile grade wall plugs

The Result: Graphic and dynamic on both the audio and video

I can't comment on the Shunyata ZR-71 Audiophile Outlet plug - we test drove/used several other audiophile brands.

We did find that once you hit at least a hospital grade of audiophile wall plug, the insertion of a super premium $$ alternate brand of wall plug itself was very diminishing (if any dependning on the kit) vis-a-vis improvement in additional audio or video quality improvement

BUT clearly the system was demonstratably improved in having the dedicated power lines installed.

PS: SEPARATE power lines run for video and audio also msde a difference

Cautions

Intuitively, You also need to have high quality audiophile power chords for each piece you are plugging into the wallpligs. The use a hi-end power chord on the TV plasma display was most startling.

based on listening, the INSERTION of a power conditioner sandwiched in the middle between the kit and the wall plugs may have a SLIGHT BUT noticeable deterioration in audio quality versus direct plug into the wall
I put in a dedicated line in with a PSAudio Power Port and it it did lower the noise floor.I believe a hospital grade outlet or "audiophile" outlet simply has a firmer grip on the plug and the dedicated line isn't broken up several times on it's way to my system in other outlets.It's a fact that electricity can leak out into dust and dirt from the bare wire ends in outlets,light switches,and light fixtures.Just makes sense to keep all connections from the breaker box onward clean and tight fitting.
As far as power conditioners,I never found one that didn't cause one or more problems so simple surge protection does it for now.Hope this helps with your decision.
"Generally electricians are not audiophiles.. and his opinion is severely biased."

AND -

"Generally audiophiles are not electricians. and their opinions are severely biased."

Listen to the man who knows about electricity.
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