Power Supply Options - Pre Amp and Power Amp

One thing about room outlets.. They almost always are wired from one to the next.
Sometimes the neutral wire is not cut, but is looped to inset a screw from the middle outlets.
The weakest point in the 'outlet to outlet' conenction is "IF" the duplex 'strap' connnecting the two halves of a duplex also are where the next outlet gets it's wire from.
So the wires is from panel to outlet #1 top, then the current has to flow down to the bottom half of the duplex through the little strap where the wire going to the next outlet #2 takes its power from.. etc.

A typical living room with five wall outlets (like my apartment) would thus have four of these complicated connections by the last outlet.

Sometimes this is complicated by the outlets being added in on the other side of the wall (in the next room)

So folks who ust want to add an aftermarket duplex to improve the AC service might want to check annd find out how the wires run through the room to the outlets and between them.
You may discover your choice outlet IS the #1 outlet.. or thee last in a series..

When I move into a place, I replace the outlets anyway,, and find out what outlets are on which breaker, and label them.. and how they are arranged.

It is possible to just run a wire around bypassing all the other outlets to get cleaner power to just your favorite outlet. (without a lot of tearing stuff up.)

I checked the markings in the electric panel. My living room has a dedicated 15A line for outlets and a separate 15A line for lights.

I guess I can unplug all other electronics (except modem) from the living room outlets to make it a temporary dedicated line when I play my hi-fi.

Are there any benefits of upgrading an outlet with a high-quality receptacle in the living room? Can you recommend some high-quality receptacles? I know Furutech has some offerings but I don't know about their price or where to get them. Thanks.

Dedicated lines will make a surprising difference in alleviating noise and increasing dynamics. If your house is like most modern dwellings, it is likely that one 15 amp line services several wall outlets in your listening room (you can test by plugging in a noisy appliance like a hair dryer into the outlets and then shutting down breakers in your service box, to see what wires service which outlets).

If not handy then you will need to hire an electrician to install dedicated lines. Even though you have a stereo amp presently, you may want the electrician to install separate 20 amp lines for amplification of two mono amps to have them available should you upgrade someday - it will be cheaper to do this once and not have to call the electrician back to run another wire along the same route when the upgrade bug bites you. And also a dedicated 15 amp line for your pre-amp and source into a duplex box, with maybe an additional duplex outlet for additional sources like a turntable or computer audio.

If you don't want to do all that, something you may be able to do yourself is install new power outlets. When I installed a dedicated power line for my pre-amp and CD player to take them out of a ten-outlet chain (!), I changed out my stock outlet for a Furutech GTX outlet and found it did improve the sound a surprising amount beyond the initial improvement observed by putting in the dedicated line.

I needed the help of electricians but I am no DIY type. A dedicated line is an electrical circuit that is used by your audio equipment only. The Idea is to ensure that no other outlets or appliances share that line.
If you want to upgrade it to 20 amps it would be wise to do it while installing your dedicated lines.

Thanks for your feedbacks and suggestions. I can start by upgrading the outlets (receptacles?) but I'm not sure if I will able to allocate a dedicated line.

What's a dedicated line anyway? My house was newly built a few year ago so the power lines are relatively new. I think they're 15A lines. BTW, my hi-fi system is in the living room. There're two wall outlets that I use for both my hi-fi systems and TV, cable, telephone, etc. Not sure the two wall outlets share the same line. Or, they are on the same line with other outlets throughout the living room.

Any suggestions how I can re-wire or allocate a dedicated line from the fuse panel? I'm not that handy with wiring. Shall I need to hire an electrician to re-wire for a dedicated line?

Best results are to make your own 'powerstrip'.
Get a plastic home cu=onstruction outlet box from Menards or Home Depot.
A variety of types are available.
I like the heavy grey plastic ones..
Get a pair of Pass & Seymour heavy duty outlets and some wire, a plug.

I would advise adding a wire bypass to add to the strap across each half of each duplex.
And better to plug the amp in the first one. The one the wire into the box attaches to.
Make a small label or use a marker to mark the box with which one is the #1 outlet for future reference.
This type of device also allows for changing duplex to some of the aftermarket audiophile types in the future.

I have several such boxes

The only 'flaw' is the AC wire going into the box is not clamped to the box. (the wire is only screwed to the duplex outlet) So an accidental hard tug on the box vs cord should be avoided. This can be alleviated with some sort of scheme (like epoxy or Uethane caulk.. some sort of glue at point of entry). But it does not worry me.

I use a product called: Furutech E-TP60/20. It's a 6 outlet case with 12 ga wiring and 20 amp receptacles, even comes with one of their nice power cords. (Google for more details). They make similar units less in price that may work for you also.

I plug my Pass XA.5 amps into the wall, my preamp and tuners (have several) into the Furutech.

For digital, you could use one of the Furutech outlets and hook up something with a "digital filter" but I'd try it without and see what happens.

I agree with Tls49, dedicated lines with upgraded outlets should be the first step on your power upgrade list.

I concur with ZD542, especially on the power amp. The fact is that any better quality power amp will already have adequate filtering and such built-in and connecting straight to the wall will allow it to draw as much amperage as needed...

-RW-

I would plug the Pass and the Ayre directly into the wall. Then just get a line conditioner for the CD player.

The first step should be dedicated lines with upgraded outlets, at least one for analog, and one for digital.