Dedicated power to components

[Mr. Widget]

P.S.
I Googled "hospital grade" and it looks like the main thing is a spec for the amount of force required to pull it out so it's less likely to be accidently pulled out. And there was something about a "more reliable" ground connection. The red ones are connected to an uninterruptable power source. And, I think hospital grade plugs/cords can be pulled-out by the cord without damage,

Hospital grade receptacles are designated with a green dot. They can be ordered in a variety of colors. Yes, they are significantly tighter for both plugging in an unplugging, and the grounding is engaged and disengaged before the live or neutral contacts. I am not sure what the spec is, but due to the design and the firmer grip, they appear to have lower insertion loss.

The versions with the orange triangle or that are entirely orange have an isolated ground.

 

[steve59]

Depending on the forum the some answers can be predicted, I keep an open mind while I gather information

 

[kongwee]

Why not as you will not think as a problem. A peace of mind. As an engineer, peace of mind is important if cost is allowed.

 

[Waxx]

I don't know in other regions, but if you are in the EU and your electricty network is certified (so set to the rules of the IEC and the local rules, in Belgium called AREI), which is obliged when you build, renovate, sell or rent out a house down here, there is no need for power regulation down here. The only time i needed it was in a very old house i lived in for a while, that was not certified and was declared uninhabitable soon after i lived there. I rented that place because at that moment i was broke and unemployed and could not afford more then.

But any house build or renovated after 1 october 1981 down here should be certified by the NBN (national Bureau for Normalisation) that follows the IEC and AREI rules. When certified it should not have any problems like that. If not, it's illigal to live there and the owner can be prosecuted (even if it's someone else who live there). I had that with that house that was not certified and the owner was convicted and spend time in jail for that. In the rest of the EU this should be the same.

So in 99% or even more of the cases, a power conditioner is not needed. And when it should be, a online UPS is probally the best you can get, and those can be had from a few hundred € for low power applications (like most hifi sytems).

 

[BDWoody]

Why not as you will not think as a problem. A peace of mind. As an engineer, peace of mind is important if cost is allowed.

Because if he takes the time to understand this, he won't need to waste his money.

 

[Speedskater]

On hospital grade receptacles:
Disadvantages:
You are paying a lot for safety testing & documentation and for corrosion resistant plating (from harsh cleaning chemicals).
Advantages:
They are easy to identify in the store.
There any many top-shelf high quality (lower price) receptacles. But they are harder to identify.

 

[Willem]

It has been decades since I heard anything sonically untoward coming from the electrical system. Admittedly I have always lived in modern houses that met the Dutch mandatory standards for electrical wiring. Appliences like fridges similarly have to meet all kinds of now mostly EU standards. Don't worry be happy.

 

[fpitas]

Old houses often have very special wiring. Back in the day appliances just didn't draw that much power. But if you need to run a new line, it's not that big of a deal. I agree that hospital-grade outlets are an extravagance. I might use them just to feel good

 

[Willem]

Fortunately appliences are becoming more economical again as well. Even so, I would always replace wiring in a house of, say, fifty years old, if only because of the fire risk.

 

[MAB]

Why not as you will not think as a problem. A peace of mind. As an engineer, peace of mind is important if cost is allowed.

Why not?
Because it is unlikely to fix a hifi issue, assuming you even have one, which you don't. Because it is extremely costly and needs to be done correctly. Just asking means you probably don't know how and are likely to cause a safety issue. You can buy significant hifi for the price of rewiring or dropping another panel.

If a new panel drop is needed to secure peace of mind, I think there are other more enduring ways of getting peace of mind that won't make you poor or cause additional problems. I recommend mediation...

 

[fpitas]

Running another circuit isn't tough or expensive...if you know how to do it. I agree though, it's not a job for an amateur.

 

[JasonWells]

That's assuming an unregulated power supply. Almost all modern audio electronics have a regulated power supply to hold a constant internal DC voltage. As a bonus, the voltage regulation adds additional noise filtering.

You might find a cheap amp or an older tube amp with an unregulated supply.

A 5% reduction in noise is -0.45dB. Essentially no difference. And a change in AC power noise doesn't necessarily translate to a reduction in noise in the audio. Of course, you don't want to hear the 50/60Hz power line at all! Pure noiseless AC is a bad thing if it gets into the audio!

P.S.
I Googled "hospital grade" and it looks like the main thing is a spec for the amount of force required to pull it out so it's less likely to be accidently pulled out. And there was something about a "more reliable" ground connection. The red ones are connected to an uninterruptable power source. And, I think hospital grade plugs/cords can be pulled-out by the cord without damage,

Many, maybe most power amps or power amp sections are unregulated supplies. If an smps it may have better regulation. the circuit will still have high psrr if designed well.
preamps, dacs etc will all be well regulated.

 

[Doodski]

Many, maybe most power amps or power amp sections are unregulated supplies. If an smps it may have better regulation. the circuit will still have high psrr if designed well.
preamps, dacs etc will all be well regulated.

You still have not told us your background and why you are so interested in the metrology of HiFi gear.

 

[Waxx]

Many, maybe most power amps or power amp sections are unregulated supplies. If an smps it may have better regulation. the circuit will still have high psrr if designed well.
preamps, dacs etc will all be well regulated.

These days it mostly regulated, even with tube amps it is often. My Prima Luna Prologue 4 tube amp, that is already a design that is +18 years old is heavy regulated on all parts, the B+, the heaters and even the negative feedback is all controlled by voltage regulators. My class A amp uses a SMPS that is regulated. And even the old Luxman preamp i have from 1982 has a regulated linear psu. It's only some niche, mostly diy and/or audiophool stuff that hates IC's and transistors that use non regulated psu's.

The only thing that is not regulated in my systems, full of what most would call here obsolete tech, is a largely diy tube line preamp (actually a heavy modded cheap chinese thing). But even that has never had problems with current direct from the plug. I did not add regulation because i was lazy and did not feel the need for it when i modded it, and never felt the need in the 6 years i have it now since i modded it...

 

[Doodski]

My class A amp uses a SMPS that is regulated. And even the old Luxman preamp i have from 1982 has a regulated linear psu. It's only some niche, mostly diy and/or audiophool stuff that hates IC's and transistors that use non regulated psu's.

Look to the integrated amps, receivers and power amps that do not have regulated supplies for the mains voltages. They will have regulated supplies for some operations although the main power supply rails are unregulated.

 

[kongwee]

Why not?
Because it is unlikely to fix a hifi issue, assuming you even have one, which you don't. Because it is extremely costly and needs to be done correctly. Just asking means you probably don't know how and are likely to cause a safety issue. You can buy significant hifi for the price of rewiring or dropping another panel.

If a new panel drop is needed to secure peace of mind, I think there are other more enduring ways of getting peace of mind that won't make you poor or cause additional problems. I recommend mediation...

A lot of time it is just a few hundred buck with hospital grade with certified electrician. It is very common to setup 15amp line for Class A 500 watt heater. To me, it is not that bad compare to $1000 cable. The downside is ugly to run addition wire across your house, especially dealing with false wall. In my country, we never DIY on this.

 

[JasonWells]

These days it mostly regulated, even with tube amps it is often. My Prima Luna Prologue 4 tube amp, that is already a design that is +18 years old is heavy regulated on all parts, the B+, the heaters and even the negative feedback is all controlled by voltage regulators. My class A amp uses a SMPS that is regulated. And even the old Luxman preamp i have from 1982 has a regulated linear psu. It's only some niche, mostly diy and/or audiophool stuff that hates IC's and transistors that use non regulated psu's.

The only thing that is not regulated in my systems, full of what most would call here obsolete tech, is a largely diy tube line preamp (actually a heavy modded cheap chinese thing). But even that has never had problems with current direct from the plug. I did not add regulation because i was lazy and did not feel the need for it when i modded it, and never felt the need in the 6 years i have it now since i modded it...

Well yes there are exceptions, but it's not the norm.

 

[DonR]

One trick I learned to free up breaker slots at the panel is to splice together two lightly loaded circuits, like lighting, together to share one breaker thus freeing up the other one. Apparently, this is perfectly acceptable in most places.

 

[CleanSound]

There I found putting all of the AV gear on the same leg of the service with the hospital grade outlets stopped the ground loop issues.

I would be curious how a hospital grade outlet stop ground loops. The wiring is no different, just the the grip is stronger and it's made to take more abuse. I'm not discounting you, I'm just curious to know how that would work.

 

[CleanSound]

I am in the process of installing a whole house surge protector, at the panel. It's a fancy install, flushed with a face plate; hey, I like good looks and not ashamed of it.

Siemens FS140 and it's accompanying faceplate. The damn faceplate cost $100, but like I said, I like good looks, and I'm willing to spend the money on it. Anyway, I knocked off some of the dry wall at the opening by accident, so I am waiting for the spackle to dry and then I can put the face plate on. I'll take a picture of it when I am done.

I also have a dedicated 20A line from the breaker panel directly to my audio gear, it is connected to a hospital grade outlet.

Before I had a dedicated line, when the subs would turn on or when the bass would slam, the light in the ceiling would dim. The old circuit was shared amongst the light fixtures and multiple outlets with bunch of stuff connected to it. I also had DC offset that would make the transformer of my amp physically buzz. The dedicated line didn't do anything to resolved the DC offset, but I ultimately did rectified the issue after some HVAC work.

If you can, meaning spend money to hire an electrician to install a dedicated line without hurting your wallet OR you can do it yourself without too much headache (which is what I did as I did not want to spend $800 to hire an electrician to do it who would likely not do as good of a job as I would in terms of snaking the wire), to me personally, it's something worth while to do and I would recommend others, again, if you have the means to do it.