Room Electrical Wiring Question

R

Rod#S

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Hello,

I have a question regarding wiring up the room. For the 1st time ever I'm going to have the opportunity to properly wire up a new room. Having lived in an apartment never allowed for this. So the room currently has 4 outlets, all 15amp and probably all on the same breaker, if not all then possibly split somehow. I have requested an electrician come and upgrade all 4 outlets to be 20amp and each on their own 20amp dedicated breaker. The electrician asked if I wanted a 120 or 240 setup. Knowing that none of my gear actually requires 240 I said 120.

What would 240 provide if anything?

I have:

Bryston 28B-SST2 x 2
Bryston 7B-SST2 x 2
Bryston 4B-SST
Bryston BDP-2
Bryston BIT-20
Furman IT-Reference
Anthem AVM90
Oppo BDP-205
Pioneer Elite PRO-150FD 60" plasma (will be replaced at some point by either a 77" or 83" OLED)
Paradigm Reference Servo 15a sub x 2
Paradigm Signature Sub 25
various game consoles, a PVR, network switch

As this will be the 1st time I'm able to run an Atmos setup I'm currently looking at potentially adding one of Bryston's new Class D amps, I may get either the BD-225 or BD-325 configured for 6 channels for heights. If my bed layer expands to 7 or 9 channels I would probably look to possibly get another BD amp or possibly a used 3B-SST2 as needed for each pair.
 
You would gain nothing with 240 volts. If you plan on using the existing wire in the walls you need to make sure that per code it supports a 20 amp circuit.
 
Agree with 'Speed' and with that being said my system is configured with two 20 amp circuits, one for the power amps and the other for everything else, 10/2 wiring.

While you're at it you may want to have your electrician re-configure your panel so that all the 'dirty' circuits are on one down leg and your audio room the other. I cannot honestly say this made any real difference but a friend who is a 'sparky' said it couldn't hurt.
 
I once had a room where the circuit for the stereo room was shared. with other fixtures in the house. The result was that when the circuit was fully loaded, If I played the music really loud some lights would flicker. Adding dedicated circuits for the room dramatically improved the sound and the flickering went away. Your Bryston amps will be happy.
Also, the change allowed me to get rid of power devices (I had a Powerplants P10) as I no longer needed it..
 
I had a 20 outlet added to my room, to supplement the 15 amp “loop” that did wall outlets, and lights in the room, and adjacent bathroom. This was done during a garage remodel that features a new outside breaker box to use as a “cutout” circuit to attach a small generator for after hurricane use. Afterwards, when testing some amps, I had terrible hum when using RCA interconnects, none with XLR. I blamed this on the 18 foot IC length. As well, the generator did not work right. After having the generator checked out, I had another electrician take a look…

Come to find out that the grounding on the new box was done separately from the house ground. The difference between these grounding points (within feet of each other) was enough to cause the hum when source and amps were on the 2 different circuits. As well, the difference between these would trip the GFCI protection circuit on the generator. He corrected the grounding, and all is well.

I have come to believe in the one circuit for the audio system. If you are renovating your room, have one, or 2 audio system specific power outlets for only plugging in audio gear. then your lights, and other stuff can be on the current circuit, and your audio circuit can exist on a dedicated 20 amp circuit.
 
As recommended by a deceased shark who was a master electrician and audiphile, the way to add dedicated lines into an audio room is, first add more than you think you need, then insure the wire lengths for each line are the same length. In the circuit breaker box, connect all lines to the same phase.
 
crwilli said:
As recommended by a deceased shark who was a master electrician and audiphile, the way to add dedicated lines into an audio room is, first add more than you think you need, then insure the wire lengths for each line are the same length. In the circuit breaker box, connect all lines to the same phase.
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Not sure how it is possible to have all wires the same length unless they are all going to the same outlet.
If you have the electronics against one wall and the amps next to speakers near another wall, the wires will be different lengths. I personally doubt that any human being can tell the difference between electric wiring that are, say, 20 feet different.
 
nicoff said:
Not sure how it is possible to have all wires the same length unless they are all going to the same outlet.
If you have the electronics against one wall and the amps next to speakers near another wall, the wires will be different lengths. I personally doubt that any human being can tell the difference between electric wiring that are, say, 20 feet different.
Click to expand...
My electrician figured it out. It was pretty easy to find places for a few feet of wire on walls or in my case, in the floor.
 
I had never heard of using same length wire to prevent ground loops. So I asked ChatGPT and the response is

ChatGPT:
No, using electric wires of the same length does not prevent ground loops. Ground loops occur when there are multiple paths to ground with different ground potentials, causing a small voltage difference that can introduce noise or hum into audio and video systems. The length of the wires is not the primary factor; rather, the issue lies in the grounding of the equipment.

To prevent ground loops, it's more effective to:

1. **Use a Single Ground Point**: Ensure that all connected equipment is grounded to a single point.
2. **Avoid Grounding Multiple Pieces of Equipment**: If possible, avoid connecting multiple devices to different ground points.
3. **Use Isolation Transformers or Ground Loop Isolators**: These devices can break the ground loop while maintaining signal integrity.
4. **Check Power Sources**: Make sure that all devices are powered from the same outlet or circuit, as different circuits may have varying ground potentials.
5. **Proper Shielding and Cabling**: Use balanced cables (e.g., XLR) when possible and ensure proper shielding to reduce interference.

Using wires of the same length might help with signal timing in certain digital or high-frequency applications, but it is not a solution for ground loops.
 
Just to add, the reality is that in 99.9 percent of houses, electric wires will not be equal in length.
 
Forget ChatGPT:, forget having all the runs the same length.

Just try to reduce the length of the Safety Ground/Protective Earth wires from audio component to component.

One 20 Amp circuit to a junction box in a central location. Then Star out to the wall outlets.

While it's a bad idea to have lights and appliances on the same circuit as the audio equipment, the eye is very sensitive to lamps dimming.
 
As Craig said be sure if you have more than one circuit that they are on the same phase.
For what it is worth I have 8 separate circuits in my room all on the same phase. Nice to have #10 wire but a pain in the hands to make connections to the receptacles.
 
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