my best upgrade

[steelie]

Over the weekend, I finally broke down and installed two dedicated 20 amp lines used exclusively by my stereo/ht system. I wasn't expecting anything dramatic, just concerned about the power draw after I added a new 900 watt sub into the lineup a couple of weeks ago. The system was running on the house's regular wiring.

What I got was the best upgrade I've ever done, bar none. For the price of 12 gauge wire, I improved the performace of every single component I use. I feel like I got a brand new system.

At fist, I thought the improved detail in my Sony Wega was all in my head just trying to make myself feel better for all the work, you know. Then I noticed that the volume bars at the bottom of my screen were crisper. I started watching more critically and found everything was sharper. The background and difficult details were easy to see and well defined. The color seems much stronger and more natural.

The difference with music was obvious at first listen. I didn't have to stop to listen critically to hear that the soundstage and imaging was much MUCH more defined. I can finally move around the listening area and still hear the center image, strongly idenfied in the center. Before, a shift in the seating position would allow the weight from either one of the speakers to send the image off balance. Music has a beautiful three dimensional quality. It's not like I've got my dream system now but I never knew that my two-year-old Denon receiver could sound as musical as it does now.

I'm just so pleased with all the improvements, especially because they were such a surprise. I never expected or believed that power could make that much of a difference. Sure, I knew it would make a difference. It's just much more than I ever thought.

Anyway, no real question here. I was so surprised I felt like sharing the information with you all.

Thanks for reading

[thebes]

Congratulations! Sounds like a very nice suprise. You may want to look over a thread in General last week, I think it's called "Monster Power" about line conditioners. Most of us could tell no little or no difference in audio. Maybe the deal is to wire directly like you did. Very interesting.

My lord, a 900 watt sub, can't even imagine what that sounds like when it's cranked up.

[Klipschfoot]

If you are like a lot of us, you probably have/had several "power strips" sharing the same circuit throughout your house. I installed a dedicated line for three outlets on the "power wall" when I remodeled my basement. 'Can't say that noticed a difference since I started from square one, but it is nice to hear your discovery.

Say, do you use, perhaps, "Compact Precision Stranded High Resolution Speaker Cable with Magnetic Flux Tube and LPE Dialectric" speaker wire too? I am glad to hear a real testimony of an upgrade. I suppose your work will be emulated by other board members.

[steelie]

I've only ever had one power conditioner. It's a Monster power strip and I've always felt a little suckered by it. I bought it under pressure from a salesman about three and half years ago and never heard a difference. I still use it, hoping that it does provide surge protection.

Speaking of which, I have several components hooked directly into the dedicated outlet, just like I did before I added the dedicated lines. I'm a little queazy about the lack of surge protection and am considering adding a whole-house surge protector but I may have a professional electrician do that job.

I wasn't trying to advocate upgrading power systems in other people's homes. Just relaying an experience that, in my case, helped my system. I was particularly happy that, for me, it was a really simple and cheap thing to do while the improvement was noticeable and unexpected.

I use standard 12-gauge cable wire for my front speakers.

EDIT

BTW: This project cost me approximately $50: $36 for 100 feet of 12 gauge cable, $8 for two orange isolated ground receptacles, $2 for a cable stripper (yeah, I splurged to get the right tool for the right job) and some change for a pamphlet with circuit diagrams. I already had the circuit breakers. For all that, I got visual and audible improvements that go way beyond anything my $200 power strip ever gave me.