[mcallister]

Hopefully this is the right forum to post this. I am having an electrician friend install 3 dedicated 20A lines in my home theater. I'm hoping you guys can help me with what needs to be done to make this really benefit an audio/home theater system.

This will be installed in my theater/2 channel room. One of the dedicated lines will be for two pro audio amplifiers I'm using to power subwoofers. The second line will be used for my earthquake cinenova 7 amplifier (soon to add three Wyred 4 Sound 1000 monoblock amps for front three speakers). And the third line will be for my digital equipment and wyred for sound STP-SE.

Any help would be apprecitated. Or should I even do two 20 amp lines and a 30 or 40 amp line?

Thanks for any help!!

[werd]

Hopefully this is the right forum to post this. I am having an electrician friend install 3 dedicated 20A lines in my home theater. I'm hoping you guys can help me with what needs to be done to make this really benefit an audio/home theater system.

This will be installed in my theater/2 channel room. One of the dedicated lines will be for two pro audio amplifiers I'm using to power subwoofers. The second line will be used for my earthquake cinenova 7 amplifier (soon to add three Wyred 4 Sound 1000 monoblock amps for front three speakers). And the third line will be for my digital equipment and wyred for sound STP-SE.

Any help would be apprecitated. Or should I even do two 20 amp lines and a 30 or 40 amp line?

Thanks for any help!!

Hello

Make sure he installs 10 gauge wire  as opposed to 14 gauge like he might default to.

[gerald porzio]

3 - 20 Amp circuts w/ 10 ga. wire would be the cat's meow for you.

[mcallister]

10 gauge. Okay he had mentioned 12 I'll make sure 10 is used. Any other ideas or tips please throw them my way!!

[werd]

Hello

If you are this serious it might be worthwhile at least looking at some of the transformer driven AC conditioners. You can buy them in 240 volt (bal). This would require a balanced line from your fuse box which is no more difficult to do than a 120 line. Torus, furotech and Bluecircle all make these in 240 volt. They are the cats ass when going dedicated in driving big amps and line gear.... Just a suggestion

[ctviggen]

Hello

If you are this serious it might be worthwhile at least looking at some of the transformer driven AC conditioners. You can buy them in 240 volt (bal). This would require a balanced line from your fuse box which is no more difficult to do than a 120 line. Torus, furotech and Bluecircle all make these in 240 volt. They are the cats ass when going dedicated in driving big amps and line gear.... Just a suggestion

How much are they? 

[ctviggen]

10 gauge. Okay he had mentioned 12 I'll make sure 10 is used. Any other ideas or tips please throw them my way!!

Be advised, though, that he's likely going to have to upgrade the outlets, as most normal outlets don't accept 10 gauge.  So, cheap outlets aren't going to work, although you might also consider buying some nicer, hospital grade (or equivalent) outlets.  (I'm no help there, however.)

[werd]

How much are they?

Hello they are about 3k and up. There might be some that are cheaper  in 240/20 amp. Torus has the rm15 which is a 240/15 amp that is about 2k. I am not sure if the 120v is the same price as the 240.
I think it is though. http://www.toruspower.com/rm_20_bal.htm

[drummermitchell]

You also might want to look into a separate sub panel(small breaker box) that comes off your dedicated lines,especially if your main panels down in the basement.Then if you ever popped a breaker,you wouldn't have to go far to reset it.
I ran 2X240v lines +4 15a dedicated lines(just in case)i might need a few extra pluggins .with the extra sub panel(works great for me) ..

[mcallister]

I'm not rich enough for the ac transformers but thanks for the suggestion.

One thing I definitely want to make sure is correct in the power is ground loops. Curious if the circuits that are installed now, if I've had some ground loop problems, could cause ground loop problems once the dedicated lines are installed? (if you get what I'm saying?)

[gerald porzio]

Even w/ dedicated lines there's no guarantee concerning ground loops. To anticipate problems is to put the cart before the horse.

[Bigfish]

I'm not rich enough for the ac transformers but thanks for the suggestion.

One thing I definitely want to make sure is correct in the power is ground loops. Curious if the circuits that are installed now, if I've had some ground loop problems, could cause ground loop problems once the dedicated lines are installed? (if you get what I'm saying?)

McCallister:

20 Amp circuits require a minimum of 12 guage wire to meet code where 14 guage wire is the minimum for 15 Amp circuits.  I ran two dedicated 20 amp lines this fall and used 10 guage Romex.  The 10 guage wire is a real beast to bend and install behind the outlets and I think the only reason to use it versus the 12 guage is if you have long runs from the breaker box. 

If you have not made the investment yet for outlets here is a link to some that many folks consider to be very good:  http://www.jenalabs.com/ac-products/ac-parts09.html 
I would definitely not run the dedicated lines without installing quality audio quality outlets.

I think the dedicated lines and outlets are definitely the way to go!

Ken