Only parts and wire because I did it all myself. But I'm guessing thats not the answer you are looking for.
Dedicated power circuits... Huge improvement!!!
One would think spending money on dedicated lines to your audio gear is foolish and the last thing you want to spend money on but I would recommend it to be first inline. Sure it’s easy to purchase cables and whatever else imaginable and I’m certainly in the same league. But what I can say is after chasing what’s going to make a difference, I found you have to start with the source. If your gear isn’t happy with a good feed, you’ll never notice any other changes you make(at least to a lesser degree). I just had an electrician run 2 dedicated circuits with solid copper awg10 and I connect it to Maestro outlets and initially I thought it was a waste of money. Well, it took about an hour before the new circuits started to settle in and that’s when the magic started to happen. There was more separation between the instruments, everything sounded more real and lifelike and dynamic. It appeared as though the overall volume was a bit less but really what I heard is less background “hash” which makes for a more enjoyable listening experience. Certain instruments have more attack and separation. Bass is tighter and seems to dig a bit deeper. I know this sounds crazy but I think my amp is now very happy with a good solid power source and now I think changing cables may make more of a difference.
Rick
Rick
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randy-1112-19-2017 3:47pm how much have people had to pay to add a dedicated line to an existing house?The labor can be as big a cost factor as the materials, and the cost of labor hinges on a few factors, including the complexity of the project. For example: Does the wire have to be fished through walls? And as with all of the trades, not all electricians are created equal. The one I use is a real craftsman, but many will do the job as quickly and cheaply as possible. Nor are all dedicated lines built to the same spec. If you want to derate the wire and use 10 ga. wire, that's obviously going to cost more than 14 ga. wire. The choice of receptacles also affects cost. If you're interested in dedicated lines and you don't want to DIY, I'd suggest calling in an electrician or two for for an estimate. As with any contractor, have them explain exactly how they plan to do the work and what materials they would use. |
@wig- there are some threads where @jea48 has weighed in with some excellent tips, all in keeping with Code. This summary won’t do the subject justice, but: look for the quieter leg if you are in the States, the one with fewer noisy appliances, like refrigerator compressors, HVAC, etc. use a separate breaker box if you are tight, with a copper buss bar; oversize the gauge of the cable runs don’t bundle the in wall cable runs use hospital grade receptacles- the Porter Port is a good modestly priced unit meant for audio have your electrician pull a permit consistent with local code have the electrician double check your existing grounding while the work is being done. make sure the receptacles are in phase. newer installations may require Arc-fault breakers and possibly, child proof receptacles. I’ve had much better luck with commercial electricians. I’m sure there’s more, this is what came to mind off the top of my head. |
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