All of the outlets in my living room are on the same circuit. Does it make any difference, if I plug a noisy component like the TV, in a different outlet than the audio system? By putting it farther away into another outlet, is it better than plugging it into the same outlet as the audio system?
Also, my electrical outlets are 15 amp. Is this 15 amps total for each outlet on the same circuit, or 15 amps total for the circuit?
Many thanks!
1 Like
I am not an electrician, but my take, for the first question, probably not a question a normal residential electrician will have any idea about. They wire up electrical circuits, they wouldn’t typically know about the different impact of noisy devices on the circuit. Probably someone who plays with/designs electrical devices/electrical engineer would have a better idea. One would think if the noise is on the circuit, it probably wouldn’t make much difference if it was 5’ away or 15’.
On the second question, each outlet is physically rated to be safe at pulling the 15amps but its the complete circuit that has a 15amp limit. So on a 15amp circuit, you have outlets that are rated for 15amp, wire that is rated for 15amps (14/2) & a 15amp circuit breaker.
2 Likes
Is that they are 3 round pin plugs, the smaller pair of pins about 0.6 cm in diameter (from memory)? If yes then each plug can feed up to 15A in isolation. But what is the circuit fuse or breaker rating? That determines the max at any one moment on the whole circuit, including anything else connected.
I see you are from Montreal, in Canada the sockets are the same as USA, two flat blades for live & neutral, plus a round pin for ground(earth)
I’m not sure that TV’s are that ‘noisy’, but if that really is a concern I would look around for a power strip with a C&D (Common & Differential) mode filter, this should isolate some degree of noise.
Try it to power the TV and/or the audio & listen for any differences or what sounds best on the audio.
As to what power strip, I have no idea about Canadian/US products
1 Like
I would have thought most tv’s have cheap SMPS’s & their typically regarded as evil when it comes to audiophiles? (though it seems some audio companies are now designing good ones but these aren’t likely to be in other devices). Anything plugged in the same circuit with a wall wart power supply, is probably noisy, dimmers & LED’s are usually bad as well. There are a number of companies who make products that are supposed to clean up the noise on the line (how well they work/if they work is probably another discussion).
1 Like
A lot of outdated assumptions about modern SMPS’s. Regulations and design improvements have moved them on significantly.
2 Likes
Judging by your reply, I assume you are in the industry/know this for a fact? Only asking because you always hear the exact opposite, things are worse then ever with all the electronics we have around the home, but some audio brands are now using good quality ones. When did standard grade consumer products start using quality SMPS’s that won’t cause issues?
I’m not saying they (consumer grade) are perfect, but they are a lot better than the mythology around the audiophile market believes.
The designed for purpose performance units can be exceptional.
Chord DACs and amps, lots of Linn stuff, and Cisco Catalyst switches are examples of stuff powered by high quality, low noise switching supplies.
Consumer grade electronics tend to be of lower quality, although the fact that they emit some interference doesn’t necessarily mean that it will find its way into your HiFi in such a way as to affect the sound.
Of course it’s still good practice to keep such network equipment, servers, computers, lighting etc. as far away as possible to limit any negative effects.
The solution to this as recommended by Naim always used to be a dedicated mains spur for the hi-fi. This means you can put all the Naim stuff and other quality hi-fi gear on that spur and use a different spur for anything with a SMPS. That’s the advice I followed and so my mains spur terminates in a good quality Crabtree unswitched socket pair. That’s obviously not enough sockets for the hi-fi so I use a couple of Graham’s hi-fi 6 gang star earthed medical grade mains blocks. As these are Naim sanctioned I hope that a link is permissable:
The total cost of this - mains spur and Graham’s blocks is very modest by the standards of audiophile mains blocks and power conditioners.
Brg,
JonathanG
3 Likes
I wish I could do a dedicated mains spur, but I cannot for the moment.
This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.