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I'm doing renovations at the house and I want to install 4 dedicated 20 amp lines...two for my music system in one room (amp, sub, CD)and 2 for my home theatre system in another room (amp, sub, DVD, TV).Running dedicated lines from the main electrical panel to the music system would be about 85 feet; and from the main electrical panel to the home theatre system would be about 60 feet.
Would there be any sonic OR other benefit if I installed a sub panel about 50 feet from the main panel in order to shorten the distance of the dedicated lines by 50 feet. Or should I go with long lines from the main panel?
Thanks.
Follow Ups:
What is the make-up of your Audio Systems?Jim
Hi Jim,Music system is:
Esound CD-E5 (Class A output)
Cayin 265Ai Class A solid state integrated amplifier
Paradigm Studio 40 speakers and PS1000 powered subHome Theatre:
Sony CD/DVD S560D
36" Sony Wega Flat screen TV
Denon AVR 1403 Receiver
Paradigm Cinema 90 Series speakers and Paradigm PDR10 sub
I notice you live in Canada. From my understanding the Canadian code is simular to the NEC of the USA.Install at least 3 dedicated circuits for the 2 channel system. I would install 10-2 w/grd romex. Install on the same Line in the main electrical panel. L1 or L2 but not on both. 85' run I would install #10awg wire.
HT, at least 3 deicated circuits. 12-2 w/grd romex. Again install on the same line in the main electrical panel. Short run for HT #12awg is fine.
Subpanel, If you have the extra breaker spaces in your main electrical I would not spend the extra money for a sub panel and new feeder.
Main electrical panel breaker installation.
Example if you put the 2 channel dedicated circuits on breakers feed from L1 install the HT circuit breakers on L2.
Thanks Jim! This sounds like good advice.
ynot, I sent you an email. Did you receive it?Jim
Jim, I didn't receive your email. The email address in my profile is incorrect. I have to change it. In the meantime you can mail me at tonywiseman@nl.rogers.com . Thanks.
The main benefit to your audio system is to reduce the coupling of power supply noise from each component to the others. Using a single heavy circuit to a subpanel increases the coupling over the alternative of using separate circuits back to the main panel.I also suggest at least four dedicated circuits for your audio system. The more separation you can achieve, the better the sound will be.
nt
My electrician friend and I debated a similar setup. Do you run a bunch of lines from the main box or a single line of higher gauge and put in the subpanel. It makes a difference depending on which wire you buy and how much you need. We were considering having our romex cryo'ed, but ultimately decided against that (although it's available via cryo-parts.com).It's quite hard to tell ultimately what might sound better unless you did both to see the result. We decided to run 4 gauge from the main panel to a subpanel in my stereo room. The subpanel has four 20 amp circuits in it that run right behind my rack. I bought the nice Furutech copper outlets from Chris VH, which are extremely nice outlets.
Overall I like the flexibility of the subpanel and don't regret doing it. Is it better than 4 dedicated lines of lesser gauge? I'll never know, but I don't lose sleep over it. I'm very happy with my dedicated setup and would do it over again.
Thanks Tommy!
It's the same effective length. If you run say 6 or 8ga to the sub panel it will give you less voltage drop under load and allow for future expansion from the sub. As long as you're doing this I would make it 30 amp lines rather then 20 amp. You just can't have too much.
By code in most areas if you have 20A breakers you MUST run 12 ga. wire for everything on that circuit AND 20A outlets, etc. The same thing applys to 30A breakers. 30A breakers require 10 ga. wire and 30A outlets and plugs for everything on those circuits, which includes your stereo & TV gear. Some states/countys may vary but the NEMA code (Nat'l.) seems to be spreading accross the country. Perish the thought, but if you have a fire involving your wiring and it isn't to code your insurance will probably deny liability and with the losses they're taking from the huricanes the adjusters are using microscopes.Happy Listening !
That's the point. Paying for the difference for 10ga up from 12ga wire and 30A up from 20A outlets amounts to next to nothing cost wise when you're doing the job. As for what you plug into the outlets the only issue is that you don't exceed the 30A rating. You could plug a nightlight into a 30A outlet if you choose to and it's in no way a code issue.
As pointed out in follow-up posts you cannot use anything standard but a 30A plug in a 30A outlet because the 30A outlet is configured in such a way that non-30A plugs will not fit in the 30A outlet. This is Big Brother's way of protecting you whether you want to be protected or not. In actuality it prevents a lot of fires. A fault in a device not wired for 30A could easily start a fire before the 30A breaker/fuse would trip, somewhat analogous to putting a penny behind a fuse. As you certainly know 30A is VERY HOT, and never forget that Murphy was an optimist However, big brother could not prevent the use of an 18 ga. linecord with a 30A plug. If you want to go the distance, and your inclination to use 30A wiring and outlets and plugs suggests that you do, you should certainly consider hi-grade cryo'd outlets and plugs, as well as cryo'd breakers and even cryo'd wire to the outlets. When you reach a certain level of POOGEing EVERYTHING has an effect on sonics.Happy Wiring !
Nema 5-15R or Nema 5-20R duplex receptacles can only be feed from a 20 amp breaker. 30 amp receptacles are designed and configured as such that a 5-15P or 5-20P, plug, will not plug into a 30 amp receptacle. As far as the wire size the min for a 20 amp breaker is #12awg copper. There is not a max size.
I have very long dedicated runs and I don't understand the use of the sub panel. Mine were installed when the house was built.
The sub panel would contain just the four dedicated lines to the music and home theatre systems.
I can understand wanting the fuses for those lines isolated from the rest of the house circuits. But I don't think it makes a difference where you locate it. I don't think the voltage drop would be a difference. If anything having all four lines fed from a single spur 50 feet long and then four shorter spurs could have a larger voltage drop than 4 dedicated spurs of the longer lengths.From my experience I would put a sub panel housing real old fashioned fuses next to the main panel. And to get real tricky I would put them on the phase not being used for the rest of the house.
Good luck.
Thanks Garth.I did a search on this forum a few days ago and one of the posts indicated that a sub-panel might be worthwhile if the dedicated line is quite long (90 ft)....I think it had something to do with the increased risk of ground loops.
I'm about to do install some dedicated lines and would like to get as much information as I can as to which option is more favourable.
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