I'm having a house built. Should I put a dedicated line in the stereo room?

Ahh yes dbl your drywall for the room...

sean

 

Aside from the advice already given regarding noise and such, having independent circuits will give you a breaker and rated amperage for just the audio equipment. If you have the same circuit providing power for lights, appliances, etc then they will decrease the remaining power available to your audio setup.

I once lived in a house where a circuit I had the tv plugged into was shared across different rooms, when the kids turned on a space heater the breaker tripped.

When we had our new house built I had two dedicated 20 amp circuits run to where I have the HT/Music setup located.

Well worth the extra coin.

 

Nice.

OP, please don't skimp on the number of outlets behind your equipment. I installeed eight total, thinking that would be plenty. Wrong. Coulda used six more in my particular setup.

 

Dedicated lines do a better job at isolating the feed to your system from the rest of the load in your house that can add noise to the line (like motors for appliances and noise generated by microwave ovens, etc.).

If you are going all out, the best isolation would involve a separate, high quality subpanel to feed your room balanced power. This is what is done with serious home theater and dedicated listening rooms. This is an example:

http://www.equitech.com/products/wall/wall.html

I don't have dedicated lines myself, but, I do use power conditioners/balance power converters and battery backup add-on devices. The battery back up, in particular, helps to keep my music server from going down from the fairly frequent short-term power outages and instantaneous power dips that are common where I live.

 

Agreed, I have 4 x 20amp. To save space in the box I use double breakers.

 

Everyone should have a whole house surge protector, IMO.

 

wow, your lucky to be able to build your room.

Will you have angled front walls? Will you heavily treat for bass traps behind the walls. I wouldnt worry too much about dedicated line. id concentrate on acoustic.

For great advise, go to gearslutz studio acoustic.

 

This. Unless you wire a TVSS at the panel/service entrance, you're really exposing your entire home to unnecessary risks.

 

For the house I can agree with, not the music room. That needs its own specialty isolation equipment. Personally, I use none at all other than dedicated lines and power cords.

Well, actually I do use dedicated surge protectors for TV / Computers etc

 

Hmmmm....yes of course! And a 75 gallon fish tank! Yes!

 

Definitely provide a chaseway with pull strings for future wire pulls. What is state of the art now will definitely be outdated in ten years or less. Plan for the future now.

 

Yeah - sweet setup dude!

 

I forget to mention that the multiple dedicated circuit breakers should ideally be on the same phase in the main AC Panel Box.

 

In other words, on the same side of the panel?

 

I'm pretty sure it depends on how old and which type of panel you have. My panel is an old Murray type and it was built so that every other position on the same side is on the same phase.

 

Awesome room! Congrats

 

Yes.
Anymore questions?

 

Yes, I had a fluorescent light that put horrible noise through one of my systems. I put a dedicated 20a line and it was gone.

I now have a dedicated 20a line to my 2ch room, my HT and my other 2ch room.

 

Do the dedicated line. So much cheaper before drywall goes up.

 

Yes. I would recommend at least 2 dedicated 20 amp branch circuits.

If possible the wire used should be 2 conductor with ground NM-B sheathed cable for each dedicated branch circuit. (Romex is a trade name of NM-B cable.)

Make sure the electrician does not install/run the new branch circuits parallel close to one another. If possible keep them separated by at least 12". Hopefully the electrician can accomplish this after he gets out of the electrical panel a few feet and then start pulling the runs of cable separated. Chance are he will have to install them separately, depending on the situation. He may charge you slightly more money for the job.
Reason?
This will prevent noise as well as an induced voltage from being induced by the magnetic fields of the hot and neutral current carrying conductors onto the safety equipment grounding conductors of the two branch circuits. An induced voltage onto the equipment grounding conductor can cause ground loop hum in your audio system.

Also IF possible have the electrician keep the cables as far as possible from any lighting branch circuits that will be using dimmers to control lights. Same goes for the branch circuit leaving the dimmer to all the light boxes that will be controlled by the dimmers. I would recommend a minimum of 3' to 4' if possible.
Why?
When ever the dimmer is on the branch circuit wiring, line and load, from the dimmer will emit RFI harmonic noise like a transmitting antenna and this noise from the wiring will be picked up by the dedicated audio branch circuits if they are close in proximity.

Good chance the electrical contractor may ask for a little more money here. Some times you have to pay a little more for peace of mind.

Make sure both audio dedicated branch circuits are connected to 20 amp branch circuit breakers that are fed from the same Line, leg, in the electrical panel. Both fed from Line 1, (L1), or both from Line 2, (L2), of the panel. NOT one from L1 and the other from L2.
This is very important. You want zero difference of potential, voltage, between the hot conductors of the two branch circuits when audio equipment is connected together by wire interconnects.

If one dedicated branch circuit is fed from L1 and the other from L2, then you will have a 240V potential, voltage, when measured from the hot contact of the receptacle connected to one dedicated circuit to the hot contact of the receptacle connected to the other dedicated branch circuit. Make sure when the electrician is done you check using a volt meter making sure the voltage measures zero volts.

Wire size? If the two runs are longer that 50ft, up, down, and all around, I would install 10-2 with ground NM-B cable. Yes the cost will be slightly higher than the minimum wire sized that can be used that is #12awg for a 20 amp branch circuit.
And be for warned the electrical contractor/electrician will try to talk you out of using #10 wire.

Because this is a new house if the AHJ (authority having Jurisdiction) has adopted all of the 2014 NEC code the 20 amp branch circuit breakers in the electrical panel will be AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter) type. The wall duplex receptacles the electrician installs on the two dedicated circuits will be Child Safety Tamper Resistant. The Electrical Inspector will red flag the job if anything other is installed.


http://centralindianaaes.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/indy-aes-2012-seminar-w-notes-v1-0.pdf

 

If you need sound isolation use a double wall with staggered 2X4 studs, inner and outer wall not touching with insulation and soundboard (sound deadening dry wall)

 

I had two circuits run: one for audio, and one for lighting, etc. Something I learned: if the door is in the rear wall, have it open OUT. You may find that the smoothest bass is close to the back wall, and you won't be able to sit there if the door opens IN.

 

I was originally going to respond to the post you are responding to, but it fits here too:

Do NOT automatically embark on a sound isolation attempt without really understanding what you're doing and why. Sound isolation and in-room acoustics can be opposing goals, particularly in the bass department. And sound isolation is very DIFFICULT to do very well (and expensive). Throwing another layer of sheetrock up, and nothing else, is a waste of money and a PITA, and will accomplish nothing except may make your in-room acoustics worse.

If sound isolation is not a serious concern, I would NOT pursue it, and instead pursue excellent in-room acoustical design and acoustical treatments.

Too often sound isolation and in-room acoustics kind of get lumped together into the same kind of thing, and they are not at all the same thing.

 

Yes!

Run more dedicated lines than you think you'll ever use and have them run 10 gauge regardless.

 

I had a dedicated line made, and did give some improvement, but the real benefit in my case came when I also got proper grounding, with a metal rods driven into the soil. That is one of the best hifi investments I have done.