Equi=Tech Wall Cabinet System; whole system power solution.
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
- Start date
not yet.
we'll see with double the sub amps and the big mono blocks. i'll be really surprised if that transformer ever even breaks a sweat considering the efficiency of the speakers, and the little stress put on any sub driver. my 100 WPC stereo dart does not even go into 'near clipping' at warp 9 SPL's.
as i recall it was approx $13k list price including the Oxygen free copper and three line filters (for my digital player and class D sub amps) to prevent back flow of noise back into the grid.
it was shipped when promised and i had zero issues. my contractor liked all the documentation and said that Martin at Equi=tech was good to work with regarding communication. i expect any big-boy commercial electrical product would have similar type documentation and support.
when you consider the cost of many stand alone conditioners, and depending on the layout of your system you may have several conditioners, the Equi=tech is a no-brainer for a serious system. it may not work for everyone dealing with existing situations and amperage availabilities. but if you have space and an extra 50-70 amps to spare from your service it makes lots of sense.
a slight hum from the unit is only audible with 4-5 feet away. outside that it is dead quiet. this is an area where the NEMA steel case, and the 'Q' transformers separate themselves from alternatives. you get what you pay for.
Ground Rod Safety
Ground rods are only about safety during thunder & lighting storms! Ground rods do not improve audio quality and sometimes diminish it. Power line noise, leakage and interference currents do not flow through the ground rod into Mother Earth and disappear. Power line noise, leakage currents will take all possible paths to return to their sources, if much of this current flows back to the source through the ground rod then your power wiring system has a big problem.
The electrical code and the safety of both humans and your equipment require that all ground rods be bonded together outside the building and only be connected to your power system at the building service entrance.
Ground rods are only about safety during thunder & lighting storms! Ground rods do not improve audio quality and sometimes diminish it. Power line noise, leakage and interference currents do not flow through the ground rod into Mother Earth and disappear. Power line noise, leakage currents will take all possible paths to return to their sources, if much of this current flows back to the source through the ground rod then your power wiring system has a big problem.
The electrical code and the safety of both humans and your equipment require that all ground rods be bonded together outside the building and only be connected to your power system at the building service entrance.
This, to me, is a big part of the Equi=Tech's non-technical appeal. Considering that rack mounted power conditioners can be $5K each or more, from a strictly dollar proposition they are hard to dismiss for suitable systems.
I'm planning on rewiring my listening room in the (hopefully not too distant) future, and like you I'll probably do it in two phases. Phase 1 would be installing the extra spurs and outlets in my room, and have them go back to a new panel with a dedicated feed from the mains. Phase 2 would be replacing the panel with an Equi=tech balanced system like yours. Oh my, the cost of it all adds up so quickly! 8-O
This is an interesting post. Since external grounding is required, what's considered 'best practice' for audio purposes?
You just have to live with the requirement.
Bill Whitlock wrote this 12 years ago.
GROUND RODS: magic noise sinks?
http://svconline.com/mag/avinstall_ground_rods_magic/
Yes, I understand, I was asking if there were any practices in set-up of the ground to minimize the problems you describe.
Right now, with separate subpanel and additional ground rod, my system is pretty quiet, with very high efficiency horns, but I also own the E=T wall cabinet, which will be installed in my next place. Thus, if there were any approaches for reducing rather than increasing noise as a result of the grounding rods, I was interested in learning your thoughts.
The importance of the ground system to the audio system is from the service entrance / main breaker box (panel-board) and inward inside your building. From the service entrance outward to the ground rod is about thunder storms.
Everything that you need to know about AC power wiring and Audio/Video system is in these papers:
The Bill Whitlock of Jensen Transformers Seminar paper
http://www.jensen-transformers.com/an/generic seminar.pdf
The Jim Brown of Audio Systems Group white paper
"Power and Grounding for Audio and Audio/Video Systems"
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/SurgeXPowerGround.pdf
"Power White Paper" from Middle Atlantic.com
http://www.middleatlantic.com/power.htm
or a different version of the same paper
"The TRUTH" from ExactPower of Middle Atlantic Products
http://www.exactpower.com/elite/wpapers.aspx
(hope all the links still work)
Everything that you need to know about AC power wiring and Audio/Video system is in these papers:
The Bill Whitlock of Jensen Transformers Seminar paper
http://www.jensen-transformers.com/an/generic seminar.pdf
The Jim Brown of Audio Systems Group white paper
"Power and Grounding for Audio and Audio/Video Systems"
http://www.audiosystemsgroup.com/SurgeXPowerGround.pdf
"Power White Paper" from Middle Atlantic.com
http://www.middleatlantic.com/power.htm
or a different version of the same paper
"The TRUTH" from ExactPower of Middle Atlantic Products
http://www.exactpower.com/elite/wpapers.aspx
(hope all the links still work)
thanks, i've read some of these before, but not others, i'll see if they address the issue you raised.
Speedskater; many thanks for the enlightenment.
i read the link; and freely admit to little true understanding of what i read after the third reading. so allow me to ask a question;
my listening room is in a barn which is 75 feet from my house. the electrical service enters my garage about 150 feet away from the point where my panel is in my barn......my electrician added my ground rod where the 70amp line enters the barn for my separate panel when my room was built 8 years ago. then i added the Equi=tech Wall Panel System 2 years ago in the same spot. again; the ground rod is on the outside of the wall from my Equi=tech panel.
since i'm in a separate building quite a ways away from the ground for my main service does that affect the thinking about a separate ground?
Yes, a detached building requires it's own ground rods.
Thoughts on ground rods - from the Jim Brown paper:
Following the guidelines below is generally
enough to satisfy the needs of audio and video system earthing. Also, the earth electrode
system will be in parallel with building steel and the concrete foundation. In general,
the impedance to earth of the earth electrode system will be minimized by:
1. Using more earth electrodes.
2. Making the earth electrodes longer, driving them deeper into the earth. Ten feet
(3 meters) is generally considered to be a minimum depth.
3. Spacing earth electrodes as far apart as practical (spacing equal to at least their
length). Separation is important because mutual coupling between closely
spaced electrodes increases their impedance to earth.
4. Placing electrodes where they will be continuously exposed to moisture (rainfall).
For this reason, earth electrodes should be outside the building footprint.
5. Avoiding chemically enhanced electrode systems. These systems require long
term attention to maintain their chemical balance. Few facilities are likely to
have staff trained to do this.
6. Increasing the surface area in contact with the earth, or by using an electrode of
greater cross-section of greater length, or by means of a Ufer (an earth electrode
buried in concrete). (Fig 12)
thanks. sounds like i'm good on the separate building issue. and the ground rod is not under an eave, so it's outside the building footprint.
and the soil and depth, good. i'm in the mountains near Seattle, so rain.....no problem....more than enough to go around.
i appreciate the information.
One thing to watch out for is interconnects and other signal wires running from building to building. They need ground blocks at the build entrance. A nearby lightning surge can develop thousands of volts between buildings.
other than the actual power lines in conduit, i only have CAT5 and Coaxil cable connecting the buildings.....which was installed in 1999 when the home and barn were built. i'm assuming as it was new construction those type precautions were taken as it was pretty well done throughout the property.
Thank you Speedskater. Very helpful. My next build-out won't be for some months, but I'm pulling together all the info I can. I haven't found a property to buy in our new location yet, but we'll get there. If you are ever in Austin, once I'm fully set up, you have a standing invitation.
best,
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