New Romex wiring to system

B

brushro

Audioholic
I'm writing to ask a couple of questions:
My wife & I are remaking our living room where our A/V System is & I'm considering making some minor changes to the electrical feed to our system.
We currently have 1 duplex outlet on each side of the system which provides all the power to the system...I'd like to ask about "dedicated lines & isolated grounds"....one idea I have is to expand the single duplex outlet on each side to a dual duplex.
Should I have each dual duplex outlet fed by a separate breaker?
How large in current rating should each breaker be?-(we have 100amp service)
I'm not sure what gauge the current Romex wiring is & from talking with an electrician whom I'm considering to do the work would probably replace it w/ a 10 gauge....is there a "better" wiring that would provide increased sheilding?
I was also considering using a higher quality (construction) outlet...does the Belden Company (OR any other company) make one that could be recommended?
Are these isolated grounds more trouble than their worth to install or be concerned with?
Should the feeder breakers be located at the top of the electrical distribution panel?
Any reference reading material that could help me make better decisions would really be appreciated (especially with diagrams to go by)
 
J

Johnd

Audioholic Samurai
You did not state why you would be doing this. Is there and an amperage shortage? Is their currently noise or interference (rfi, emi, ground loop)?

The simplest and most effective way to achieve clean, isolated power is to run a dedicated circuit (preferably 20A, or two of them, as long as your running homeruns) to the main with 12ga romex. You will in this way eliminate any chance of a ground loop except for the possibility of differing ground potentials of separate components plugged into the same circuit. The only way to eliminate this is to have a dedicated circuit per every separate piece of equipment that you connect.

This would fix any electrical concerns that you may have, unless you have dirty power (surges, spikes, brownouts). I only run dedicated circuits via romex on my equipment. The only way to fix problems after dedicated circuits (and dedicated grounds) are installed, are via filters, conditioners and regenerators, if necessary). Cheers.
 
E

Electone

Audioholic
A dedicated, direct feed from the electrical panel is your best bet for clean, noise-free power for your equipment. Isolated ground circuits require 3-conductor cable, plus ground and may be more costly to run.

If possible, I would run two 20 amp circuits with 12 gauge romex. As far as receptacles are concerned, there are many audiophiles that pay big money for hospital grade "audio" outlets.

Look here: http://www.psaudio.com/products/powerport.asp

Is there a difference in sound quality? Probably not. Are they better than the 69 cent receptacles you buy at Walmart? Sure. Find the happy medium. Pass & Seymore and Hubbel make heavy-duty, good quality, tight-gripping receptacles that should give you trouble-free a/c connections.
 
B

brushro

Audioholic
Dedicated lines/Isolated grounds

Electone & Johnnd-Thank you both for your time & input!
 
J

Johnd

Audioholic Samurai
You bet. Let us know what you do, how it works out, and if it solves your issues. Cheers.
 
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