Greetings from Australia! I’m about to have (2) dedicated 30amp circuits run to my listening room. I need clean power for my XPS-DR (powering my NAC272), a NAP250 and a REL T/5x. Out of those three components, which two should share one of the lines and which should have its own?
Thanks for the expertise! Ken
Since you’re doing this, might as well run them
In opposite directions / to see if one direction works better than the other…
When I asked. Naim about this they insisted that I should run everything off a single circuit for best results.
Don’t know the rules in Australia, but what size cable was you thinking of?
Now that’s interesting - something to do with a shared ground? Maybe I’ll put all the Naim gear on one circuit and the other devices on the other.
It’s called 6mm here but it’s equivalent to 10AWG I think. Pretty hefty stuff. What are your thoughts on the matter?
Im in Perth and Im running 6mm2 cable to my HiFi Socket Outlet which is protected by a 16Amp Circuit Breaker for Aus Wiring Rules compliance.
The socket outlet feeds a 6 way Isotek V5 Polaris Mains Block with a 6mm2 cable between the two.
I have six audio devices connected to the block and all sounds excellent with Isotek Optimum and Elite cables.
Normal use is my Streamer/DAC/Pre-Amp and Power Amp (two devices) and worst case use is those two plus the Bluray Player and AV Amp for 5.1 Music and watching movies and no problem sound quality wise with multi device use.
Perhaps - I didn’t give it a great deal of thought. This was when Steve Hopkins was at Naim, and he said they had tested various configurations for their demo room.
I also suggested that 10mm cable was a bit of a bitch to handle and maybe 6mm would be good enough. He made it very clear that he thought I should do whatever it takes to fit 10mm cable.
This, of course, was for a UK installation, so I can’t say how this might best be translated to Austalian rules. There are some long established and very experienced Naim dealers (or possibly ex-Naim dealers!) in Australia who might be worth asking for advice.
All components on the same hifi should ideally share the same circuit to avoid multiple paths to ground. There’s nothing really to gain by having individual components on different circuits but plenty of potential complications.
I have three circuits in my living room but they are divided into stereo, av (zero integration to the stereo) and everything else. The grounding rods and neutrals are all different.
I’ve also done dedicated circuits for hifi in several other rooms but confined it to one circuit per system.
I just had a look at the UK standards and your “size” 10 is equivalent to 10 gauge AWG which is about the same as the 6mm we use in Australia. It’s pretty hefty stuff but my electrician is happy to use it.
I’m in Brisbane mate. After reading the responses here, and learning about the ground issues, I’ll be doing the same. I have a v3 Evo IsoTek board and IsoTek cables for each device.
I meant 10 square mm, cross sectional area, which is more like 7AWG.
I think you will find that 10mm2 cable in the UK is the same size as 10mm2 cable in Aus and ditto for 6mm2 cable.
It appears Naim have suggested to use 10mm2 for their equipment, which I assume is based on worst case of the OC 500 series of amps which were the highest rated amps at 140W into 8ohms.
Im running a 160W into 8ohms Power Amp with a 600 VA transformer and its working perfect, noting that the cable that connects into it from the mains block is “only” 3mm2 rated at 30 amps.
G’Dat Lipper, just like Aus & NZ, UK, plus all the entire rest of the world, is metric (square millimetre … mm/2)
The only exception is USA who use AWG.
Go for 10mm if its allowed, and assuming it can be run OK as its heavy cable
Ive done the multiple runs vs single ( at least 10mm2) many times now ,and trust me MUSICALLY the single heavy duty run wins out evey time .Dont be swayed by extra this extra that its TIMING that is the key to musical enjoyment, and the single run single mcb will sing better.
Sorry but don’t agree I have tried both and prefer multiple spurs. Sound is more open with multiple, more shut in with single to my ears. Why not install multiple then you can evaluate both, the cost difference is marginal and you then have the option of either. Agree on 10mm though. I don’t know if that’s anything to do with the speakers (Obelisks) that have multiple midrange/tweeter arrangements.
Their suggestion to me was based on the system I owned at the time, which was a relatively simple NDX/282/200DR.
G’day Ken,
I am an expat Queenslander now living in Victoria. Industrial Electrician and electrical contractor. Now retired. I only have a single 2.5mm squared run to my music room with no issues. A click on my user name will reveal what equipment I have and connecting power cables and distribution boards. If you have any questions please drop a reply. For me I would keep it simple and only run one circuit to avoid earth loops.
With regards to ISOTEK power cables I stopped at the cables being shielded. I have no issues what so ever with my system. Though not as up market as yours. You will find good help here.
Warm regards,
Mitch.
