The Cable Company

There are 5 basic elements to achieve great sound reproduction in your home audio system - components, cables, room acoustics (which we just covered - see our newsletter archives if you missed it), resonance control, and AC power.  This is the first part of a two part article which will cover improving the quality of your AC to get better sound.

One of the best and most cost effective investments that you can make for your system is to have one or more dedicated AC circuits run to your listening system or home theater room. Why?  Because when the AC power for your system uses contains noise created by switches, splices, junctions,  and other electrical devices,  your music reproduction is compromised by the resulting noise. But unless the noise reaches very high levels, it may be difficult to identify - just part of the background. Like many things in audio, when you eliminate the problem (in this case by using dedicated circuits), the resulting improvement in sound makes it quite obvious that you were suffering from AC pollution.

Some of us live in condos or high-rises where installing a dedicated AC circuit is not possible or practical.  Have faith - there are a couple of small things that you can do to get better AC, and there are always alternatives for your power - some of the power regenerators and power conditioners will get you closer than you think.  Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article for a discussion of these choices.

In the meantime, should you not be able to have a dedicated circuit or two installed, your best opportunity for getting a better quality of AC power for your system is to use the outlet closest to the electrical panel as the AC source for system power.  The closest outlet to the panel will have the least amount of AC pollution, and will be the quietest AC source in the house for you to use.  You  may need to run a long power cord from this outlet to the system (this is your dedicated circuit in this case!) and then use a distribution box  (or power strip, or line filter), but this will be well worth the effort in improved sound quality from your system.
 

Installation of a dedicated circuit is a job for a licensed electrician, not for a do-it-yourselfer.  The electrician will know the electrical codes for your area and will be able to make certain that the job is done correctly and SAFELY.  Installing a circuit involves working with some pretty serious current at the panel and we want you to be around for a while.  Another good reason to use a licensed electrician is so that there could never be any question down the road by your insurance company that you as a homeowner did anything that might have contributed to a fire.

The costs of having a circuit run for you varies depending on your location, the distance from the electrical panel to the listening room, whether your existing panel has space for an additional circuit or two, and some other factors.  The average labor cost, assuming that space is available in the panel for a new circuit, is likely to be somewhere around $500.  Sure, it might not be as sexy as a new component, but the aggregate improvement in the sound quality of every one of your existing components will be far greater!

The yellow pages will have pages of licensed electricians to choose from.  Give one or more of them a call and tell them you would like to have an estimate (hopefully, a free estimate!) for the job.  This is always helpful in keeping your costs under control. 

The specifications for your new AC circuits are fairly easy to get a grip on.  I say "circuits" because the cost of running a second circuit is minimal if you are having one installed anyway, and having an additional dedicated circuit allows you to have plenty of good, clean power for all of your components, both for now and in the future.  It is always better sonically to have your amplifier(s) and subwoofers on a separate circuit from your front end components if possible.

Start with the size of the circuit.  There is little difference between the cost of a 20 amp circuit breaker than a 15 amp breaker - always go for the 20 amp circuit rating whenever possible.  Your front-end components will never need the extra current capability, but for the nominal difference in cost, you might as well get the 20 amp circuits.  Let the selection of the brand and model of the circuit breaker up to the electrician - he will know which one will fit your panel.

Electrical codes as to what wire must be used vary depending on location.  In some instances, depending on regulations, conduit or "BX" cable might be required.  More common is the use of plastic-jacketed AC cable, commonly referred to as "Romex".  Romex is a brand name, just like Kleenex is a brand name of tissue, so the proper term to use is plastic jacketed cable.

There are a few superior, audio specific, in-wall AC cables available.  We handle in-wall (CL-2 rated) AC cables from JPS Labs ($24/ft), Analysis Plus ($22/ft) and Cardas ($8.84/ft).  Use of any of these wires will increase the cost of the dedicated circuit installation significantly, and might discourage you from going on with the job.  But it shouldn't!   It is still worth doing with standard commercially available wire for AC without going for the high end wire - but hey, you are only going to do it once - do it right!  The icing on the cake is to have your in-wall AC cable (any level) cryogenically treated - another worthwhile and not all that expensive upgrade that we can organize for you.

What you DO want to make certain of is that the electrician uses the gauge of the wire and the type of wire that will produce the best results.  The type of commercial wire that you want is called "isolated ground", so you should ask for it.  This means that in addition to the hot and neutral wires each being insulated, there is insulation on the ground wire as well.  This adds very little to the cost above the basic bare ground in the plastic sheath or conduit, but will benefit the end result by giving you the lowest possible noise floor. 

As for what size - you want 10 awg.  The vast majority of the local electrical codes will be satisfied by 12 awg, but again - the cost of going to a larger conductor like 10 awg is minimal.  Like my Dad always said "If you are going to do it - do it right!"

We handle a wide variety of audio grade outlets, all of which have performance characteristics that make them better for your audio system than what you can buy in your local Home Depot.   

For example:

• Acme Audio $45 - cryogenically treated with silver plated contacts
• PS Audio Power ports $49.95- great grip on the power cord ends and isolated ground
• FIM 886GP - $64- gold plated contacts and isolated ground
• Shunyata Research SR-Z1 - $75 - cryo treated and great grip on the plug
• Wattgate 381 - $135 - gold plated with isolated ground and Nylon body
• Oyaide SWO-XXX - $86 - gold and palladium plated contacts
• Oyaide R-1 $125 - Beryllium copper prongs plated with platinum and palladian
  
• + 15% off all AC plugs, outlets and in-wall AC wiring in June.
  

Does having a dedicated circuit mean only one duplex outlet?

If you won't be using a line conditioner for all of the components, you can use a quad box (2 duplexes) or a sextet box (3 duplexes) to give you enough outlets to handle your equipment needs on a dedicated circuit as long as the outlets are housed in the same "box" in the wall.  Plastic is preferred for the box, but again, your electrician will know the rules for your area.  What you don't want to do is to have multiple boxes in different locations on the same circuit.  When you do this, the differential in ground caused by the extra wiring will negate some of the benefits of the dedicated circuit.  Keeping to these rules will get you the best results.

The secret to making two (or more) dedicated circuits the best that they can possibly be for your system is to make certain that the wire from the panel to each of the outlets is exactly the same length.  This insures that the ground potential in both the circuits is exactly the same and you will not have hum issues that can result when connecting components plugged into different circuits together via interconnect or speaker cables.  Again, your qualified electrician will know how to accomplish this and stay within the electrical code for your area.
 

We have extolled the merits of the Quantum Physics Noise disrupters (Large $225) as well as the Shakti "stone" ($230) for a number of years as being a great way to rid your system of unwanted RF and make the system quieter.  You may already have one (or more) of these products in the system that you can try this with.  Find your electrical panel and open the door, just like you would to re-set a breaker.  Get some duct tape and tape the Shatki stone or Noise Disrupter to the outside of the cover.  Close the cover and hear what just happened to the system.  These devices work wonders making the AC quieter and removing some noise that you never even noticed - until it was gone!  Even with dedicated circuits and a power conditioner, this is a worthwhile upgrade, so give it a try and let us know your results!  Don't have one of these "laying around"? - We'll give you 15% off on one or more during the month of June.

OK, so now I have a dedicated AC Circuit - now I don't need a power conditioner and high end power cords, right?

As much as I wish that I could say "Yes" - the real answer here is that the power conditioner and the better power cords will be that much more effective when the AC power is coming from a nice, pristine, dedicated power circuit. Certain components even put noise back on to the AC line, so a power conditioner designed with a bi-directional filter might be the only way to keep the system operating at it's qualitative best.  Click to take a look at a recent article on state of the art line filters.

Once you have heard your system on a dedicated AC circuit, you will also have a greater appreciation for the sonic upgrade that well-chosen power cords can make.  Now these power cords will become as or more significant to the sound quality as interconnects and speaker cables.

The HiFi Tuning fuses that we have been recommending to our customers have just been awarded "Recommended Components" status by Stereophile Magazine in their latest issue under Powerline Accessories! 

This is the conclusion of Part 1 of the Power article - in Part 2, we will cover the best options of those unable to install dedicated AC circuits, power conditioners/ distribution centers, spike protection and power cords.