DOEPKE Residual Current Circuit Breaker AUDIO GRADE
- Thread starter Rocoa
- Start date
Yes, when we've noticed it many times, we end up naturalizing it. But there's no doubt it's not easy to understand
I installed a complete new system about 3 weeks ago.
I had ordered the gigawatts and the doepke at the same time but the Doepke was backordered, it only came yesterday.
I installed the lines first with only the gigawatts (but there was still the main 300mA differential behind for protection).
The sound was finally starting to be enjoyable this week.
I just installed the Doepke this afternoon and now it sounds completely plugged.
As reported, the volume is much lower, no bass, lost depth and definition.
What has been your experience regarding the Doepke break in? 2/3 weeks?
They state after 2/3 hours it gets better and then optimal after 50/100 hours. I didn't get a difference yet.
Thanks god I'm going on business trip tomorrow for a couple of weeks, my GF will have to do the break in
View attachment 77278
That looks serious! Congratulations!
Hi, I will be moving into my new apartment in a couple of weeks and planning to install a dedicated line within the existing electrical panel along with a Doepke DFS2 RCCB, and an Isoclean Power 24k gold breaker. Could you please advice looking from the existing panel, how should I tell the electrician? Or do I have to pull a line from the existing panel and install a separate panel consisting of the doepke and isoclean power breaker? I also plan to install the environmental potentials Ep- 2750 and Ep-2050 to isolate the ground (since i cant install a dedicated ground in the apartment) Thank you in advance.
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About eight month ago 1pc Doepke DFS2 040-2/0,03-F Audio and 2pcs GigaWatt G-16A replaced the standard RCCB and CBs in the dedicated ac-supply to our audio equipment. The improvements were huge directly after the installation and have only been better with time. The sonic improvements are as described by previous contributors.
I suspect the next weak point in the power supply to be replaced is the main/isolation switch. So far no luck in my search for an “audio grade” main/isolation switch. Any suggestion appreciated!!!
I suspect the next weak point in the power supply to be replaced is the main/isolation switch. So far no luck in my search for an “audio grade” main/isolation switch. Any suggestion appreciated!!!
I am going to install 4 dedicated lines for my 4 devices (server, dac, etc).
One device per power line.
I am thinking of buying a GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breaker for each line.
The idea is that each element is independent.
So a total of 4 GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breakers.
Are Doepke circuit breakers a better choice in terms if sound quality?
In theory they shouldn't as they are differential circuit breakers.
I see that some of you are mixing the two types of breakers, is there any point in doing that?
I am not an electrician. I understand the differences between 1 pole, 2 pole and differential breakers.
But I don't know anything about the topology of domestic electrical installations.
In Switzerland it would seem necessary to have differential circuit breakers.
So I have two options.
One Doepke differential upstream and 4 GigaWatt non-differential downstream.
Or directly 4 Doepke differential circuit breakers
No idea which option is best…
One device per power line.
I am thinking of buying a GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breaker for each line.
The idea is that each element is independent.
So a total of 4 GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breakers.
Are Doepke circuit breakers a better choice in terms if sound quality?
In theory they shouldn't as they are differential circuit breakers.
I see that some of you are mixing the two types of breakers, is there any point in doing that?
I am not an electrician. I understand the differences between 1 pole, 2 pole and differential breakers.
But I don't know anything about the topology of domestic electrical installations.
In Switzerland it would seem necessary to have differential circuit breakers.
So I have two options.
One Doepke differential upstream and 4 GigaWatt non-differential downstream.
Or directly 4 Doepke differential circuit breakers
No idea which option is best…
Attachments
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The Doepke RCCB Switch and the Gigawatt circuit breakers have entirely different functions within an electrical circuit. The Doepke differential switch measures the difference between live and neutral lines and disconnects power when it senses a differential greater than 0.03A, caused when phase finds a route to ground….which could be via a consumer, who is then protected by the switch. The Gigawatt circuit breaker on the other hand is there to protect against an over-current draw above 16amps, which could cause a fire for example. A typical consumer unit would see a single Doepke RCCB feeding phase into several Gigawatt MCBs.. you‘ll find typical consumer unit layout diagrams somewhere here in one of the dedicated circuit threads.I am going to install 4 dedicated lines for my 4 devices (server, dac, etc).
One device per power line.
I am thinking of buying a GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breaker for each line.
The idea is that each element is independent.
So a total of 4 GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breakers.
Are Doepke circuit breakers a better choice in terms if sound quality?
In theory they shouldn't as they are differential circuit breakers.
I see that some of you are mixing the two types of breakers, is there any point in doing that?
I am not an electrician. I understand the differences between 1 pole, 2 pole and differential breakers.
But I don't know anything about the topology of domestic electrical installations.
In Switzerland it would seem necessary to have differential circuit breakers.
So I have two options.
One Doepke differential upstream and 4 GigaWatt non-differential downstream.
View attachment 90219
Or directly 4 Doepke differential circuit breakers
View attachment 90217
No idea which option is best…
The first option is correct (it is my case, only with two current lines), but in the second one I would have to add a Gigawat after each Doepke. Of course it would be an extreme case of separation of current lines, which I have never seen.I am going to install 4 dedicated lines for my 4 devices (server, dac, etc).
One device per power line.
I am thinking of buying a GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breaker for each line.
The idea is that each element is independent.
So a total of 4 GigaWatt G-16A 2P circuit breakers.
Are Doepke circuit breakers a better choice in terms if sound quality?
In theory they shouldn't as they are differential circuit breakers.
I see that some of you are mixing the two types of breakers, is there any point in doing that?
I am not an electrician. I understand the differences between 1 pole, 2 pole and differential breakers.
But I don't know anything about the topology of domestic electrical installations.
In Switzerland it would seem necessary to have differential circuit breakers.
So I have two options.
One Doepke differential upstream and 4 GigaWatt non-differential downstream.
View attachment 90219
Or directly 4 Doepke differential circuit breakers
View attachment 90217
No idea which option is best…
Actually, neither of the illustrated options are correct….In the first there are 8 circuit breakers….so you’d only need 2 of those dual rail Gigawatts MCBs to install a total of 4 lines
The 2nd photo is just the mis-application of the Doepke switch, which provides no protection against over-current and wouldn’t meet code anywhere. Essentially what’s needed is a single Doepke (to protect against accidental shocks) and either 2 dual rail or 4 single rail Gigawatt MCBs (to protect against over-current and potential fire)
Obviously the whole installation needs to be based on the same phase, but its questionable whether one line per component is the optimum choice. Its often better for hi-fi components to operate off a common supply and ground, which prevents stray currents circulating on ground planes between components, which can happen when they are independently supplied. Its why star grounding works…..all components have exactly the same ground potentials. In my system I have my network LPSs on one supply and my hi-fi on another….cable screens are all star wired to a low impedance ground, to avoid any continuity between components.
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Hi nonesup,
Afraid I don‘t understand your comment. I’ve never used a 2 pole MCB but I believe you would use one for a high power device where you need 240V (120V system) or 400V (230V system) where 2 phases are sent to the device with a shared neutral return. In the event 1 phase shorts, both phases are disconnected. As we are not talking about hi-power devices, there’s no reason to use 2P devices.
BTW, I noticed I used the term ’rail’ when I should have said ‘pole’. Too many power supply posts
Anyway, here’s what’s needed
Afraid I don‘t understand your comment. I’ve never used a 2 pole MCB but I believe you would use one for a high power device where you need 240V (120V system) or 400V (230V system) where 2 phases are sent to the device with a shared neutral return. In the event 1 phase shorts, both phases are disconnected. As we are not talking about hi-power devices, there’s no reason to use 2P devices.
BTW, I noticed I used the term ’rail’ when I should have said ‘pole’. Too many power supply posts
Anyway, here’s what’s needed
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There are technical reasons for selecting one over the other. SwissTom, any particular reason for needing a 2 pole MCB?
4 Gigawatt 2 pole MCBs (as shown in the photo) have the capacity to control and switch 8 inputs and outputs, so that‘s either 4 dual phase inputs to feed 240V (120V system) or 400V (230V system) equipment via 4 core cables, or 8 single phase inputs via 3 core cables.
For 4 single phase lines, which is what I believe we’re talking about here , you need either 4 single pole MCBs or 2 dual pole MCBs. Given that dual pole cost twice as much, occupies twice the space in the CU and switches 2 lines simultaneously they would be the wrong choice for 4 independent lines of the same phase. Why? Because if one of the two attached components became faulty and the resulting overcurrent caused the MCB to disconnect, you wouldn’t know which component was faulty because the dual pole MCB switched off both.
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Hi nonesup,
It just dawned on me that there seems to be some confusion on the difference between an MCB (miniature circuit breaker) like the Gigawatt and a differential RCCB (residual current circuit breaker) ala Doepke.
An MCB is connected only to the LIVE phase and monitors over-current situations. For example a 16A MCB will trip when a value of over 16A is reached. There are different types of MCB to cater for different equipment that may have high ‘in-rush’ current values at switch-on.
An MCB therefore requires only a single input for LIVE. An MCB will have a value in line with the current carrying capacity of the circuit it is protecting, for example 16A
An RCCB is connected to both live and neutral and monitors the difference in current between the two lines. If the current finds its way to earth after the RCCB, the return neutral current will be lower. If the differential is greater than 0.03A, the switch disconnects. An RCCB requires dual input for the outgoing phase and incoming neutral. An RCCB will have a value in line with ALL the circuits connected, for example 64A
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Yes I am certainly confused. I am going to attach what the manufacturer says about his own product, although maybe he is also confused:
“The 2P version has two working contact pins, and protects (cuts off) both the phase conductor and the neutral.”
“The 2P version has two working contact pins, and protects (cuts off) both the phase conductor and the neutral.”
Hi Francesco,
So I read the Gigawatt link that you provided and it certainly agrees with what you said, so I guess that now i’m the one who is confused. Why would you need to cut off the Neutral, when you’ve cut the Live? Anyway, according to what I now understand, you can use either single or dual pole to do exactly the same job, so the first photo is indeed correct. I am more than a little intrigued….I don‘t mind at all being proven wrong…it wouldn’t be the first time, but I do hate being left confused so i may ask Gigawatt for more details to see if I can more clearly understand the purpose of their 2P MCB. If I get further information I’ll let you know.
Cheerio!
So I read the Gigawatt link that you provided and it certainly agrees with what you said, so I guess that now i’m the one who is confused. Why would you need to cut off the Neutral, when you’ve cut the Live? Anyway, according to what I now understand, you can use either single or dual pole to do exactly the same job, so the first photo is indeed correct. I am more than a little intrigued….I don‘t mind at all being proven wrong…it wouldn’t be the first time, but I do hate being left confused so i may ask Gigawatt for more details to see if I can more clearly understand the purpose of their 2P MCB. If I get further information I’ll let you know.
Cheerio!
Hi Francesco,
Here‘s the answer from Gigawatt.
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in our products.
The G-16A 1P and 2P differ in protected circuits quantity: 1P - a single circuit, 2P - two circuits, or for two-phase electric power (two hot wires) https://nam12.safelinks.protection....wU3SPqSkUH9zs0I64zjQQA1eisJJ8=&reserved=0
Due to local electric regulations you need to ask an electrician which breaker type should be used in your Country.
Pozdrawiamy | Best Regards | Mit freundlichen Grüßen | ? ????????? | ??
GigaWatt
So we now have the definitive answer. Given that the 2P costs exactly twice what the 1P costs and takes precisely double the space in the CU, the only downside of 2P is that it makes fault-finding more difficult because a failure on 1 circuit will cause 2 circuits to trip, so one wouldn’t know which circuit shorted out without some further specialised troubleshooting.
As far as I can see, the Neutral line is never connected to a Gigawatt MCB, so I still don’t understand that statement in their literature and I believe that is what caused the above confusion….at least it confused me.
Here‘s the answer from Gigawatt.
Hello,
Thank you for your interest in our products.
The G-16A 1P and 2P differ in protected circuits quantity: 1P - a single circuit, 2P - two circuits, or for two-phase electric power (two hot wires) https://nam12.safelinks.protection....wU3SPqSkUH9zs0I64zjQQA1eisJJ8=&reserved=0
Due to local electric regulations you need to ask an electrician which breaker type should be used in your Country.
Pozdrawiamy | Best Regards | Mit freundlichen Grüßen | ? ????????? | ??
GigaWatt
So we now have the definitive answer. Given that the 2P costs exactly twice what the 1P costs and takes precisely double the space in the CU, the only downside of 2P is that it makes fault-finding more difficult because a failure on 1 circuit will cause 2 circuits to trip, so one wouldn’t know which circuit shorted out without some further specialised troubleshooting.
As far as I can see, the Neutral line is never connected to a Gigawatt MCB, so I still don’t understand that statement in their literature and I believe that is what caused the above confusion….at least it confused me.
A 2P circuit breaker is mainly meant to disconnect both live and neutral.
All my circuit breakers, here at home, are 2P.
A 2P breakers offers an additional level of protection.
Hi SwissTom,
Interesting information. I‘m still trying to figure that out. I can see how they are used to control both but I’m not so clear on whether that’s necessary, given you’re controlling the source of current. If you have additional information on how that additional level of protection functions I’d be most grateful. I currently use 2 single pole Gigawatt MCBs for 2 dedicated lines. Remember that feeds to both MCBs come from a Doepke RCCB so any phase imbalance is taken care of there….0.03A differential if I remember. 30 milliamperes