Dedicated line

Sonus · Oct 31, 2014

So i am in the process of remodeling a room in my new home to a dedicated listening room for me and my family.
At the moment the room is wired with a 15amp circuit (shared)

I would like to get a dedicated 20amp line directly into my listening room.

The electrician says he will use 12AWG wire for the new 20 amp breaker, should i go with 10AWG or maybe 8? (my room is about 30 feet from the main board)
Also, should i get two 20amp lines? i am thinking one dedicated 20amp line for my amps and one for the front end?

What do you guys think?

Bruce B · Oct 31, 2014

I went as far as dividing the room up in quad (mastering room) and half (post room). That way my mono amps have their own circuits and the front/back of room is separated as well. You don't have to go to this extent, but proper planning should keep your amps from your sources.
A good 10/3 wire should be fine. I use JPS Labs in-wall cable.

Sonus · Oct 31, 2014

Thanks Bruce.

Do you have one 20amp circuit for your mono amps or each amp with his own 20amp circuit?

still-one · Oct 31, 2014

I have one 20 amp line for each mono block and a third for the pre-amp and sources. It may not have been necessary but it was easy for them to do.

Bruce B · Oct 31, 2014

Sonus said:
Thanks Bruce.

Do you have one 20amp circuit for your mono amps or each amp with his own 20amp circuit?

Each amp has its own circuit.
I have an Equi=tech 7.5QW wall cabinet and that's how I split up the lines in that room.

Sonus · Oct 31, 2014

how necessary is to separate the mono amps?

rockitman · Oct 31, 2014

What about ground loop issues possibly occurring with separate dedicated lines ?

Sonus · Oct 31, 2014

rockitman said:
What about ground loop issues possibly occurring with separate dedicated lines ?

AFAIK, all lines should have a common ground.

Bruce B · Oct 31, 2014

Sonus said:
how necessary is to separate the mono amps?

I'm sure it's overkill if the amps do not draw a lot of amperage.

c1ferrari · Oct 31, 2014

Bruce B said:
Each amp has its own circuit.
I have an Equi=tech 7.5QW wall cabinet and that's how I split up the lines in that room.

I remember you showing me the ET. Do all of your electronics in the mastering room run through the ET?

es347 · Oct 31, 2014

Anything larger than 12awg is overkill for your 20A circuit. I ran a dedicated 20A cct to my room. I found stranded 2c-12awg that was shielded...hard to find but worth it IMO. Affix the shield to only one end...the neutral bus at the panel...have fun..

Bruce B · Oct 31, 2014

c1ferrari said:
I remember you showing me the ET. Do all of your electronics in the mastering room run through the ET?

Yup...

amirm · Oct 31, 2014

I would definitely run more than one circuit. Most of the cost will be in labor and incremental cost very small.

12 gauge wire is just fine for 20 amp circuit especially one that short. Have the outlets be split power so that everyone has a different feed.

BlueFox · Oct 31, 2014

Sonus said:
how necessary is to separate the mono amps?

Depends. On one hand it isn't necessary at all. At one point, I had a single 20 amp circuit with a Shunyata Triton attached to it, and all the gear was plugged into the Triton. Sounded great, but at high volume levels the circuit breaker on the Triton would trip. I added another 20 amp line, along with a Shunyata Cyclops, for both amps, and it sounded even better. Except now the circuit breaker in the panel would trip at high volumes. So, I added another 20 amp line a Cyclops. Now each amp has its own circuit, and it sounds even better. However, now the tweeter and mid-range fry at high volume levels.

Sonus · Oct 31, 2014

BlueFox said:
... However, now the tweeter and mid-range fry at high volume levels.

amirm · Oct 31, 2014

BlueFox said:
Depends. On one hand it isn't necessary at all. At one point, I had a single 20 amp circuit with a Shunyata Triton attached to it, and all the gear was plugged into the Triton. Sounded great, but at high volume levels the circuit breaker on the Triton would trip. I added another 20 amp line, along with a Shunyata Cyclops, for both amps, and it sounded even better. Except now the circuit breaker in the panel would trip at high volumes. So, I added another 20 amp line a Cyclops. Now each amp has its own circuit, and it sounds even better. However, now the tweeter and mid-range fry at high volume levels.

Hehe

.

wbher · Nov 23, 2014

lol..

GaryProtein · Nov 23, 2014

If you are running one line, RUN TWO.

Pulling two lines won't take much more time than one to pull and won't cost much more either.

amirm · Nov 23, 2014

GaryProtein said:
If you are running one line, RUN TWO.

Best advice ever

.

Today I wanted to automate our front light so that if someone rings the doorbell, the lights come on and automatically go off after a while. The doorbell is part of a smart intercom system. The intercom has relay output to indicate the door button has been pressed. Being the smart guy I am

, I had run a second cat-5 cable to that same location that is currently unused. 10 minutes later and we have full automation. Life is good!

Speedskater · Nov 24, 2014

Better to run one 40 Amp circuit, then at the audio room, have a small breaker box to split it into two 20 Amp circuits. Try to reduce the length of the runs from outlet to outlet and component to component. This means start at a central point in the room and star-out the circuits and runs.

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