Help with my amps

[MichaelandKlipsch]

Sooo Youthman and others I see you use separate amps, projectors, dual subs with each having separate internal amps on each sub. What Im getting at is you are using a lot of power as am I and I wanted to know if you had more than just 1 15amp or 20amp circuit breaker for your system. I was going to call my electrician who built my home and have him install 2 more curciuit brekaers for my theater room since my theater room literally is a single room on the 4 th floor the cirucuit breaker actually is directly below it in the laundry room and I figured it would be easy to run 2 more 15 amp breakers. The reason im doig this is because I am pretty confident I has wayyy too much power on one breaker. I havent even turned everything on yet to watch a movie but with (2) KA-1000 amps and now the Anthem A5 and Pioneer elite (which only is powering 2 channels so not too much power draw there especially since it is the surround backs) I want to add 2 more breakers so there is one for the anthem, and 2 for each of the KA 1000s. sorry for the long post just want a detailed answer from you and others. So with (2) KA 1000 amps im drawing 2000 watts or 16.6 amps at maxed out since they are connected too 4 KW-120s. The Anthem A5 is 1800 watts with all 5 channels driven or 15 amps. If Im correct. Then Im only using 2 channels on the Elite SC-55 so at max power maybe 140 watts per channel highly doubt that it pushes that though but not concerned for the moment. I just thought it wise to add breakers and run each amp on a separate breaker. I have 2 voltage stabilizers and 2 Uninterruptible power supplies so at the costs of everything in the room I thought it necessary to get more breakers and circuits up there? Right now I can turn everything on in the room but. Im sure when I crank the volume up on those THX speakers it is going to trip the breaker.

[Youthman]

We purchased our home when it was 1 month from being completed so much of the work was already finished so we did not have the opportunity of providing input during construction. The "Media Room" was wired with a 15 amp circuit. I wish it was a dedicated circuit but it is not. I too like it loud (sometimes very loud) and I have yet to trip a breaker in the HT with my setup. I'm not sure what amps each of my devices pull but apparently, it's under 15 amps total?

[Vital]

You would be surprised how few amps everything pulls. I run two amps, an XPA-2 and XPA-5, a UMC-1, two subs, a blu-ray player, TV, Xbox, EQ, Squeezebox, you name it and I have had it plugged into my Panamax 5400ex and I don't think I've ever seen it showing more than 6-8 amps being used and that was at louder levels than you can stand for very long. I have yet to trip a breaker on my 15 amp circuit.

[MichaelandKlipsch]

I do have a dedicated 15amp breaker for the room.

Hmm Im wondering what I need Im going to look up the specs on your RSW-15 and Velodyne HG-s15 and Parasound. Technically if you think about it we are running somewhere around the same amount of power. Maybe Im running a little more since with 2 KW-120s Per KA-1000 that is 1000 watts into 8ohms and or 3025 watts dynamic power which I know doesnt matter. But if we are both running about the same I wonder if im ok. I have only tripped my breaker a few times. When I first turned on my Anthem A5 last night it tripped the breaker but of course my amp stayed on because it was connected to the UPS and Voltage stabilizer so when I went down stairs and flipped the breaker back on I had everything on with the exception of the two sub amplifiers. I know I can put everything on without it tripping but my worry is when I crank the volume up if it is going to trip during a loud spike in sound such as the boulder chasing Indiana jones out of the temple lol. Anyone else have any feedback please let me know if you guys are using lots of amps and have added ciruit breakers.

[Youthman]

A separate circuit definitely is a good thing, I just cannot tell you if it is "necessary" and of course, only you can decide if the amount it will cost is worth the money.

[chisoxpurdue]

My Father has a dedicated 20 amp service run to the outlet for the home theater. That outlet has two Furman's plugged in, one that has the amplifiers and gets turned on and off, and one that stays on all the time for the source components. He has never tripped the circuit. That is with 3 Carver M1.5ts, 1 Carver 753 and one Carver 760x. That is only 3610 watts into 8 ohms continuous. So the added dedicated 20amp service has served him well. I do not know if a basic 15amp would not be able to handle it. I do know its nice to have a dedicated circuit for the home theater components and to have the lights and everything else on a separate circuit.

[MichaelandKlipsch]

Hmm interesting guys. Well so far I havent even listened to my new system yet. I know the Monster 2700 and 3700 as well as the reference power centers and Voltage stabilizers all give me readings of the amperage Im pulling and I know Im not using 34 amps even though if you divide 4050 watts by 120 = 33.7 amps. Last night with the anthem and Pio Elite on only the amperage read 7 amps. So im sure when I turn on the KA-1000 amps tonight and the Elite 70 and Oppo Player Ill see what it reads. initially it just tripped the breaker when I turned on the anthem but once it was on and im leaving it on it was fine and was reading 7 amps. I would of course prefer not to go through the expense but wanted some input on whether others out there have needed more circuits.

[Youthman]

I would of course prefer not to go through the expense

Then my suggestion would be to just try it out. If you rock it out and your breakers do not trip, you are good. If you continue to trip your breaker, it's time for an upgrade.

[MichaelandKlipsch]

Thanks everyone

[MichaelandKlipsch]

Ok got the Anthem, Pio Elite, Both KA -1000s, Elite 70, Oppo 93 all powered up and the amps read 8. So Im sticking with this. Hopefully large power spikes in volume etc dont cause something to trip but I think it will all be fine. Im planning to leave the Anthem, Pio Elite and the KAs on all the time. Only shutting off the Elite 70 and the Oppo when not in use. I like to leave the amps on

[Tremors]

My HT is on the same circuit as my living room. During parties we have both systems running. The only time I've tripped a breaker is when we turn on the space heater in the basement while both systems are running. Apparently that's the threshold for the circuit. Space heaters draw lots of continuous power vs the audio equipments up and down swings.

[Youthman]

The only time I've tripped a breaker is when we turn on the space heater

Now I have tripped a breaker with our space heater and pretty much nothing else running (totally separate room and breaker).

[derrickdj1]

For most HT's the 15 amp circuit is fine. I am looking at my power console and the total amps used is 3.3 amp, 121 volts and 371 watts. The highest peak that I have seen is around 450 watts. Even though an amp or sub amp is stated to draw 600 W or 1200 W, it is rare that any of your equipment is running that hard.

[bhenry]

I have my entire system (200W x5 channel amp, components AND 2 RSW-15's) on one 20A circuit and I have yet to trip a breaker and I do play mine extremely loud for a couple hours at a time. I do have it wired for 1 20A circuit for the amp, 1 20A circuit for the components, and separate 20A circuits for each sub but right now i have all of the circuits tied together and landed on one breaker until I get around to changing my panel. In my defense, I am an electrician so it was no big deal for me to run the circuits but my existing panel is full so I just did it that way for now and it's perfectly fine. Extra circuits never hurt but may not necessary.

[MichaelandKlipsch]

Yeah so far I have the pio elite, the anthem, both ka 1000s. And only at 8-9 amps so no tripping ))

[Rich_Guy]

A dedicated 15amp circuit should be more than ample.

Now if you add a window AC and play your system while vacuuming the room you may have some trouble.

[derrickdj1]

Speaking of AC units, tonight I seen a van on the Freeway with a home window AC unit mounted to the passenger side. Needless to say I was LMAO.

[InVeNtOr]

right after my house was built, i had an electrician run a 12/3 romex wire to a dedicated circuit (20 amp).

if you want you entire system to be able to pull the amps you need, you need 1 item, Furman 20 PFI. with that you get 55 peak amps. with all your gear running you won't have enough amps to power it all. looking at your sig, you have some big boy toys, well you need this to go along with it.

another option, run several seperate 20 amp circuits and divide you gear up between outlets.

just a thought and suggestion.

[MichaelandKlipsch]

Hmm that furman elite looks like an interesting piece does it require a 20amp circuit though? right now I have a dedicated circuit for just the theater room but Im pretty sure it is a 15 amp. I will check when I get home. if I were to purchase this how exactly does it work would it be something I use to connect all my voltage stabilizers and surge protectors etc. to?

[MichaelandKlipsch]

The furman looks similar to what Im using? I use a Voltage Stabilizer and Uninterruptable power supply/Reference power center. The stabilizer keeps the power gig to my amps within 120volts and it stays pretty consistent. I have a separate voltage stabilizer and separate UPS for my 2 Sub amps and Pio Elite Receiver. So far with everything I havent had it trip the breaker or anything in fact last night I was able to turn on my Anthem and all the other equipment after previously disconnecting it all to run wires behind the wall and it all powered right up and didnt cause the breaker to trip etc.