dedicated circuits & isolated grounds

[brushro]

Dear Sirs- I am writing to ask questions & seek answer's to this above title/topic
I have seen JPS Labs has some really high end power supply/electrical cable & wanted to ask all the experienced knowledgable followers how can I go about locating a knowlegable qualified electrician who fully comprehends & understands this topic & what is required to configure a setup as this?
Thank You

 

[jaxvon]

That is a waste of money. JPS labs is, like 99.99% of cable manufacturers, just pushing snake oil, or BS, whatever you like better. Check out the cable articles on this site, you should find them useful. JPS labs and their Alumiloy, oh man, what a scam. Aluminum is FAR less conductive silver and copper, and slightly less conductive than gold. In fact, it has such problems that it's illegal to use it in house wiring because it caused fires due to the heat it produced (high resistance).

Save yourself some money and just install some heavy-duty romex and a heavy-duty outlet. Running a dedicated line to your system is worth it, as is making the line more hefty than you need. Using their cable? Waste of time. Any self-respecting electrical engineer can tell you that their claims about their stuff is pure BS. Need I rant more?

 

[brushro]

follow up

thanx again!- but then how do i find a knowledgable electrician who understands the terminology & requirments to execute such a project.

 

[JohnA]

thanx again!- but then how do i find a knowledgable electrician who understands the terminology & requirments to execute such a project.

Start at CEDIA to find a designer in your area:

http://www.electroniclifestyle.com/finder/finder_form.php

And then use them to find a good electrician...a local designer will have more experience with electricians in your area then we will. Hope that helps

 

[ronnie 1.8]

Dear Sirs- I am writing to ask questions & seek answer's to this above title/topic
I have seen JPS Labs has some really high end power supply/electrical cable & wanted to ask all the experienced knowledgable followers how can I go about locating a knowlegable qualified electrician who fully comprehends & understands this topic & what is required to configure a setup as this?
Thank You

Hey Brushro, what did you ever do with this? I see your original post is quite dated by this time. Have you seen this article? Note, it refers to power cables, not speaker cables.

http://enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1206/ps_audio_jps_labs.htm

I rather enjoyed it, as it provided significant detail.

 

[RLA]

Hello All,

If you are going to do a home theater pre-wire or hire a pro to do it for you this tech tip may help.

http://www.averagejoeavreviews.com/techtips/ray/0002prewire/techtip.htm

Ray

 

[ronnie 1.8]

Hello All,

If you are going to do a home theater pre-wire or hire a pro to do it for you this tech tip may help.

http://www.averagejoeavreviews.com/techtips/ray/0002prewire/techtip.htm

Ray

Hey RLA. I just scanned this article, and it seems very good. I will read it thoroughly. One thing I caught was, the author recommended a dedicated 20A line for audio, a dedicated 15A line for video, and a dedicated line (probably 15A) for lights. I am in the beginning stages of having a dedicated line installed, and have been going back and forth between having 1 line or 2 lines installed. It really does seem like Ray's suggestion is ideal. I just need to be sure to have the grounds tie into the same place at the breaker box so that voltage differences are not introduced.

EDIT: Hmm, are you the Ray who wrote the article?

 

[RLA]

Hello,

Install at least 2 dedicated circuits for your HT, you will be glad you did. Romex, the additional breaker and the extra labor should not cost much at all. Make sure you use a different circuit for lighting, incandescent florescent lighting and lighting dimmers can cause big problems. Pre-wire routing is important the artical should help you but if you have questions I would be happy to reply here. The Ray Ray deal was a good catch, I be the one

 

[ronnie 1.8]

Hello,

Install at least 2 dedicated circuits for your HT, you will be glad you did. Romex, the additional breaker and the extra labor should not cost much at all. Make sure you use a different circuit for lighting, incandescent florescent lighting and lighting dimmers can cause big problems. Pre-wire routing is important the artical should help you but if you have questions I would be happy to reply here. The Ray Ray deal was a good catch, I be the one

Heh, heh. Very impressive article. OK, so I'll have 2 dedicated lines added, 20A for audio, 15A for plasma. Then my dimmer and lights will be on a 3rd circuit (which is shared by an office, hallway, half bath). I read a great article on JPS Labs 10awg in-wall cable, and am interested in using it for the 20A circuit. What are your thoughts on that?

 

[RLA]

Oh My!!!!

I just read that article, I am going to take it easy on you because you posted in the Audiophytes forum and you complemented me. The short and sweet is that pile of review is so fresh its still steaming. Please don’t fall into the cable hype BS. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy 12-2 Romex with ground for 20 amp circuits, 14-2 with ground for lighting circuits. Use all the sucker cash you saved for something that will improve your systems performance like room acoustical treatment. Look I have a high end HT system and I installed generic Romex and you should too

 

[ronnie 1.8]

Oh My!!!!

I just read that article, I am going to take it easy on you because you posted in the Audiophytes forum and you complemented me. The short and sweet is that pile of review is so fresh its still steaming. Please don’t fall into the cable hype BS. Go to Home Depot or Lowes and buy 12-2 Romex with ground for 20 amp circuits, 14-2 with ground for lighting circuits. Use all the sucker cash you saved for something that will improve your systems performance like room acoustical treatment. Look I have a high end HT system and I installed generic Romex and you should too

Thanks. Yeah, I wasn't comfortable moving forward w/ that JPS Labs in-wall. Well, I won't be adding any lighting circuits. I'll simply be moving my av system onto dedicated circuits, from the 15 amp circuit they are now on. And the same circuit has all my room lighting. You're not suggesting adding a new circuit, only for the av system lights, are you? The $$ I'll save on power cables will be used for the PS Audio power plant premier AC regenerator I'm buying. Thanks for the tips.

 

[jaxvon]

Thanks. Yeah, I wasn't comfortable moving forward w/ that JPS Labs in-wall. Well, I won't be adding any lighting circuits. I'll simply be moving my av system onto dedicated circuits, from the 15 amp circuit they are now on. And the same circuit has all my room lighting. You're not suggesting adding a new circuit, only for the av system lights, are you? The $$ I'll save on power cables will be used for the PS Audio power plant premier AC regenerator I'm buying. Thanks for the tips.

I can say with confidence that JPS labs is complete BS. Their in-wall wire is insanely expensive for no reason. I read a review on it somewhere (maybe Stereophile?), and it was the usual cable review with lots of fluff and no substance. Also, I would put no stock in a company that brags about its 'Alumiloy' wire. Anyone who has gone through middle-school science could tell you that aluminum is a poor conductor compared to copper (remember the horror stories of aluminum wiring bursting into flames?). The only reason for them to use aluminum is to reduce their bottom line and give their marketing department an excuse to make up fancy names like 'Alumiloy'. Stay away from JPS labs and just go get some normal copper Romex from Home Depot or Lowes. Just be sure to use the correct gauge for each circuit.

Also, you may wish to add extra dedicated power lines for the audio (more 20A circuits) in case you ever end up with a bunch of amplifiers driving your system. It only costs a few more bucks for the wiring and outlets now.

 

[ronnie 1.8]

I can say with confidence that JPS labs is complete BS. Their in-wall wire is insanely expensive for no reason. I read a review on it somewhere (maybe Stereophile?), and it was the usual cable review with lots of fluff and no substance. Also, I would put no stock in a company that brags about its 'Alumiloy' wire. Anyone who has gone through middle-school science could tell you that aluminum is a poor conductor compared to copper (remember the horror stories of aluminum wiring bursting into flames?). The only reason for them to use aluminum is to reduce their bottom line and give their marketing department an excuse to make up fancy names like 'Alumiloy'. Stay away from JPS labs and just go get some normal copper Romex from Home Depot or Lowes. Just be sure to use the correct gauge for each circuit.

Also, you may wish to add extra dedicated power lines for the audio (more 20A circuits) in case you ever end up with a bunch of amplifiers driving your system. It only costs a few more bucks for the wiring and outlets now.

Good advice, I do plan on having 2 dedicated circuits added - a 15A for my plasma and a 20A for everything else.

I'm curious, and don't wish to be offensive, but am rather honestly curious. I've heard a couple folks, including you, and the pro installer, RLA, say the JPS Labs in-wall speaker is BS. But I've not seen any facts to support this? Honestly, I don't know either way. What did the Stereophile review say? Are they a valid resource for unbiased av info? Yes, aluminum is not an ideal conductor, but does anyone outside JPS Labs employees know exactly what this specific cable is made of? I do know that I read what seemed to be an unbiased review on the product, that gives me no reason to doubt JPS Labs, or any product under similar circumstances. Yes the cable is expensive, but not insanely expensive. My point is, saying something is BS does not make it BS. What are the supporting facts? What information do you have that allows you to say, "I can say with confidence that JPS labs is complete BS."?

 

[jaxvon]

Why do I say that? Well, first read this review:

http://jpslabs.com/Reviews2/inwall1.htm

Next, think about this situation logically. How could a fancy power cord make a difference? The electricity coming into your home has traveled hundreds of miles through huge aluminum wires, gone through multiple transformers, and then ends up on a cheap buss bar in your breaker box. How is 50 ft of 10AWG cable from the breaker box to the outlet going to make any kind of difference? The same reasoning goes for expensive line cords. Most people still have normal Romex in their homes. How is 6 ft of ultra expensive power cord going to help the matter? Any company that looks for reviews that proclaim almost magical differences with cables, then charges $2000 for a 6 ft pair is pure BS, especially when a company is using an inferior conductor. Add to that there is yet to be a well-documented and carried out scientific study that proves cable changes are audible, provided they are not such a poor design that can actually alter the FR by a decibel or more in the audible range.

Here's another review for an AC cord from Stereophile:

http://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/817/index.html

As for their credibility, I find them useless on cable reviews, but their speaker measurements are good and consistent.

 

[ronnie 1.8]

Why do I say that? Well, first read this review:

http://jpslabs.com/Reviews2/inwall1.htm

Next, think about this situation logically. How could a fancy power cord make a difference? The electricity coming into your home has traveled hundreds of miles through huge aluminum wires, gone through multiple transformers, and then ends up on a cheap buss bar in your breaker box. How is 50 ft of 10AWG cable from the breaker box to the outlet going to make any kind of difference? The same reasoning goes for expensive line cords. Most people still have normal Romex in their homes. How is 6 ft of ultra expensive power cord going to help the matter? Any company that looks for reviews that proclaim almost magical differences with cables, then charges $2000 for a 6 ft pair is pure BS, especially when a company is using an inferior conductor. Add to that there is yet to be a well-documented and carried out scientific study that proves cable changes are audible, provided they are not such a poor design that can actually alter the FR by a decibel or more in the audible range.

Here's another review for an AC cord from Stereophile:

http://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/817/index.html

As for their credibility, I find them useless on cable reviews, but their speaker measurements are good and consistent.

I'll read these links as soon as I can (in the office right now, though).

 

[jaxvon]

I'll read these links as soon as I can (in the office right now, though).

Oh cmon, I read on the clock all the time. You just need to bust out the alt-tab action when you're going to be watched.