Isolating my new AC line

[Halydean]

I am upgrading to a dedicated 4 gauge ac line. The system already has its own isolated ground (with Puritan Audio default switch for safety to link it to the main ground in the event of a problem), so my new line coming from the panel is just a hot and a neutral. I already have my new cable, which is 50' long at present. I twisted the pair at one complete turn every two feet. My panel has two Heartsound Panel boxes and The Gate from Perfect Path Audio Technologies.

1. Should I have twisted the pair? If not, how to run them? If so, is one turn every two feet for a 50' run going to provide an optimal level of inductance to prevent my line from becoming an antenna?

2. To isolate & lift the cable from the framework of my house, I was thinking of using a combination of little straps made from butyl rubber hose to suspend the cable, and rings cut from lightweight poly-foam pipe insulation.

3. Should I use shielding? Such as a conductive paint or woven metal?

Thanks in advance for any advice, comments, testimonies, and related reports. You guys are awesome!

*All work will be performed by a licensed electrician as required by law.

 

[Another Johnson]

In many communities you would have to pull a permit to add a circuit, and the project would be inspected by an inspector to assure that the work meets current codes.

At the present time the common code requires an AFCI breaker.

Since your asterisked footnote says you’re using a licensed electrician, what does he think?

The stand offs idea may not pass code.

The shielding idea is probably OK.

The twisting idea … the geometry is certainly not going to be much of a choke, but it would seem harmless. Codes won’t care.

I’ve got a pretty normal dedicated 20 amp set up here. I run a PSA P20 Regenerator at the amps and a PSA P12 Regenerator at the sources. I started this when we had some really big voltage swings on our TVA supply last year, from 95 to nearly 140. No matter how big your wires are, they won’t save you from really dirty power delivered by your utility. And a power line conditioner won’t do anything for periods of low voltage. My REF 6SE shuts down to self protect around 95.

 

[MarkusBarkus]

@Halydean a couple of the things you mention don't seem right to me re: NEC specs. Do you know of @Kingrex and his reputation in audio-electric (I just made up that term, it's not real)? It might be worth it to PM him. He has recent posts on another thread too. Perhaps search his posts a wee bit?


Post in thread 'In-wall cable question'
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/in-wall-cable-question.35116/post-883191

 

[Halydean]

In many communities you would have to pull a permit to add a circuit, and the project would be inspected by an inspector to assure that the work meets current codes.

I’ve got a pretty normal dedicated 20 amp set up here. I run a PSA P20 Regenerator at the amps and a PSA P12 Regenerator at the sources.

Yeah code is pretty complex and I'm just going to defer to the electrician!

The power here is pretty dirty but the voltage is always strong. I've got regenerators built into each of my power amps and a slug of different filters, isolation transformers and conditioners-- but no regeneration on anything other than my power amps. If you had it to do over again, what regeneration would you buy for line-level / source?

 

[Halydean]

@Halydean a couple of the things you mention don't seem right to me re: NEC specs. Do you know of @Kingrex and his reputation in audio-electric (I just made up that term, it's not real)? It might be worth it to PM him. He has recent posts on another thread too. Perhaps search his posts a wee bit?


Post in thread 'In-wall cable question'
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/in-wall-cable-question.35116/post-883191

//thanks!

 

[Another Johnson]

Yeah code is pretty complex and I'm just going to defer to the electrician!

The power here is pretty dirty but the voltage is always strong. I've got regenerators built into each of my power amps and a slug of different filters, isolation transformers and conditioners-- but no regeneration on anything other than my power amps. If you had it to do over again, what regeneration would you buy for line-level / source?

I thought our TVA supplied power was quite stable and good … until it wasn’t. A year or so ago my system started to exhibit variability in sound quality that I could not explain by considering my gear. It was subtle, but I could discern it. I never thought to check my power. It had always been good.

Then one afternoon, my REF 6 shut itself down with the message that line voltage was low. I started monitoring my mains, and the grid was going through an extended period of instability, most likely due to a heat wave and the politics of power generation (I won’t rant).

I bought some AQ Niagara power conditioners, but they really were only offering protection against spikes and hash. Brown outs aren’t fixed by a PLC.

I bought a used PSA P12, set it for 117 (which gave about 117.5), and noticed an immediate improvement (the amp was a REF75SE). When I upgraded to the REF250SE, the P12 was too small, so I bought s P20.

They both do a very good job of maintaining clean and stable power. The P20 gets it slightly cleaner. If THD is 4% at the mains, the P12 will typically get it down below 1%, but the P20 will put it even closer to zero.

I do not use the wave altering capabilities of either. Nor do I use their degaussing cycles. There are reports of equipment failures due to these extreme power modifications. I run exclusively with pure sine waves set at 117 VAC, which typically results in 117.3 to 117.5 VAC out of the regenerator. ARC recommends 117.5 VAC as their best voltage if you can control it.

I also tried to run CJ LP275Ms on the regenerators. The start up transients were too great for the P12, and the units hummed like there was a ground loop on the P20. No problem with either of my ARC amp choices.

 

[Halydean]

Do you think the P20 is lower distortion due to the large current draw of your amps?

 

[Kingrex]

Yeah code is pretty complex and I'm just going to defer to the electrician!

The power here is pretty dirty but the voltage is always strong. I've got regenerators built into each of my power amps and a slug of different filters, isolation transformers and conditioners-- but no regeneration on anything other than my power amps. If you had it to do over again, what regeneration would you buy for line-level / source?

I would get one large Torus AVR transformer. It may be cost prohibitive. I would power everything from it. The AVR have sensors that see the output votage of the transformer and change the input taps to keep the voltage at 120. If it goes below 90 or above 130, it will sbut down. It has built in surge protection and is an excellent filter.

 

[Another Johnson]

Do you think the P20 is lower distortion due to the large current draw of your amps?

The P20 is built to a much higher standard. Distortion is lower regardless of load.