After scanning the entire forum and noticing my lights dim when powering up my system, I have decided to get a dedicated circuit breaker for my HT. A couple of question:

1. How many amps? 15? 20? An electrician I ran into at Home Depot said he would go with 30amps. I will have my entire system hooked to it I guess (755, 950, dvd, tv, vcr, sat, ps2 so far).

2. I have seen many stating they use "hospital grade circuit breakers." What does this mean? I have done many searches on google and cannot find any suppliers of these. The Home Depot people looked at me as if I were crazy when I asked for these.

3. What does GFI/GFCI really mean besides the little reset button on it? Do I need this?

4. I am not an electrician or anything remotely close. I will definitely let a professional do this. How much does this cost on average? Is this something the local electrical company typically does?

Thanks for any help.

John

It is perfectly normal for the voltage to sag somewhat for an instant when turning on a power amplifier, as it's filter capacitors charge up. I would have a professional electrician evaluate your wiring to see if there is indeed a problem. A circuit breaker is nothing more than a fuse - it will not effect voltage sags one bit one way or the other. All it does is trip when a pre-determined current flows, presumably to ward off fires. There are electrical codes that have to be followed too, so he would be the best one to give you an answer. The only real limitation is your house wiring gauge. If your house is very old it may be too small. Again seek professional help with such things. House wiring is not something you "experiment" with.

[This message has been edited by soundhound (edited June 26, 2003).]

Soundhound is right about how a circuit breaker works and affects voltage. You should not change a circuit breaker existing in a panel to a larger size!!! This could allow the wiring to overheat and cause a fire. I don't feel the current size of the circuit is your problem. Your not tripping the existing circuit breaker. I feel your problem is a voltage drop issue. What you are looking for is a dedicated circuit fed with a new 20 amp breaker. It's possible your stereo is on a circuit with something else causing a voltage drop when turning it on. The dedicated circuit should eliminate the dimming problem. The reason I suggest a 20 amp circuit is the wire has a larger size diameter allowing less voltage drop to the outlet. I disagree with the 30 amp circuit. Your equipment's plugs wouldn't fit in a 30 amp circuits plug!

A GFCI is a Ground Fault Circuit Interuppter. This is used where an electrical device is used around water. Not usually needed for HT.

I've been master electrician for 20 years, building hospitals and haven't seen or heard about a hospital grade breaker. Usually, hospital, and commercial, circuit breakers are bolt in style. They have a screw that holds them in the panel. Most residences have plug in circuit breakers and bolt in circuit breakers won't fit.

They do manufacture a "hospital grade" receptacle. I feel this would be over kill for HT.

Cost for this job depends on the difficulty and area of the country.

As you have said a professional is your best bet. I hope I have made things a little clearer for you. Good Luck. Jim

Thanks for the help guys.

I guess a was a little vague in wording my situation. I am planning to dedicate a new circuit breaker for HT use and not touch my existing ones. But it seems like soundhound doesn't necessarily agree that is completely necessary...please let me know if I'm incorrect. My house is about 12 years old and I have no reason to suspect any electrical/wiring problems. Oh, by the way the lights dim when I power on my 755 by itself.

I am relatively new to the "higher end" HT equipment. I am tring to "optimize" my system (reduce noise, provide maximum protection, etc) but be reasonable about it. I do feel most of the expensive tweets that are available are very subjective in nature (cables, power conditioners, etc). I have read what seems to be most of the forums discussions here and elsewhere and have been trying to weed through facts from subjective crap, but it is tough.

Both of you seem quite reasonable regarding what seems necessary to provide optimal performance. If you don't mind could you comment on my proposed "upgrades" to my system:

1. get a dedicated 20amp breaker for HT

2. Get an isobar6dbs surge/noise protector for most of my HT equip...I wish they made an 8 outlet one with cable/sat connections. I will probably have to get another isobar soon for other stuff.

3. Not sure what to do with my 755 amp. Connect it directly into the receptacle or get a "basic" surge protector? I read soundhound's previous comments on not connecting it to a noise filtering system due to potential current limits. I'm scared to not have it connected to any surge protector though. Any recs on "basic" surge protectors for it (and my subwoofer). I thought about the isobar 2 or ultrablok428 2 outlet protector but they too supposedly filters noise.

4. Make sure my interconnets, power cables, and speaker wires are well spaced apart and not crossing when possible (I know 90 degrees). I'm using an in-wall capable monstercable speaker wire which is probably overkill but I got it free from a friend. This cable supposedly protects from interference. What do you guys think?

I think that covers it. My system is composed of a 950, 755, dvd, ps2, vcr, satellite receiver, an hdtv, an svs subwoofer, paradigm studio 100's LF/RF, studio cc, and 2 studio 20's as rears. I think I have optimized my speaker placement, so that is not an issue.

I'm usually not this long-winded. Thanks,

John



[This message has been edited by jdh (edited June 27, 2003).]

If you are going to have a circuit installed then my recommedation is to have more than one plug on the circuit. Have the electrician put 2, 4, or 6 plugs on the circuit. As far as surge protection is concerned, you can have the electricain install a surge protector at the panel protecting the whole house. These are around $45 at Home Depot. They are made by Intermatic. Jim

A dedicated breaker and circuit would be a good idea if you can swing the money for it, but I wouldn't break the bank to get it. The Isobar is a good unit; I use them myself, but it wouldn't hurt to get something installed at the breaker panel too. I would plug the power amp into a power strip that only has a surge protector, as the filtered units can limit current.

Thanks.

John

I've got my system running off a dedicated 20 amp circuit ( 12ga wire ). I have multiple outlets around the room all running off the same circuit so I can install my sub almost anywhere and it's ground will be as close as possible to everything else ( trying to avoid any ground loop problems ). I've got another set of circuits in the room for regular use such as lights and lava lamp. I don't want anybody to plug in a space heater on the same circuit as my system.

My entire system (minus the sub) is fed from a Panamax 5100 line conditioner. So, all the systems power is flowing through one standard 15 amp, straight blade plug. Yes, even though it's a 20 amp circuit it all still goes through a 15 amp bottleneck at the end. The voltage does drop for a fraction of a second when I power up the TV or the 770 amp, but the lights in the house don't dim. That's normal, and that's why most systems and line conditioners have power on delays to spread out the startup surges of all those gizmos.

In a case where voltage drop is the issue consider oversizing the wire - it does no harm (except minor damage to your pocket) and will reduce the drop. For instance #10 on a 20 amp breaker would be my suggestion if the run is long or whatever.

Thanks everyone,

John