[DelsFan]

Last week I had my electrician come by to (finally) install a dedicated circuit for my headphone system. He was working me in, and when he got here he had a “better” idea for routing the cable, and of course he was in a hurry. Which was fine: I’m just glad he came. I thought we would run the wire up to the attic from the circuit breaker box, and then down into the interior wall to facilitate the new service in my Study, where the (recliner and) headphone setup will be. When he got here and had a look, he said we would go from the circuit-breaker box down to the crawl space (where there is 3’ clearance or more, so, by crawl space standards, lots of head room) and back up through the floor plate and out the wall in my Study. Which we did. Had he had a little more time I would have had him install the new line in the left corner of the box, further away from the 100 Amp mains line servicing the house – and also install the new line in a 3/4” flexible conduit. See Photo below for how it stands now, and how I propose to make it "better".

A question specific to the installation, as it stands now:

At my circuit-breaker box, my electrician ran the new wire up through the bottom and near the center, where it was quick and easy for him – but now my new line is only 4” from the mains service which also comes up from the bottom. I wouldn’t have done it this way, I would have brought it in from the side, or at the least brought it up more to the left, in the corner… In addition, he didn’t want to go to the extra trouble of putting the new wire in a conduit in the wall (and I only had a 2’ piece; he didn’t have time for me to go to the electrical supply store and get a 5’ piece, long enough to go from the circuit-breaker box, through the floor plate, down to the crawl space).

QUESTION:
It can still be done,
1) would it be better if we moved the new service 5 inches to the left, in the corner of the box, to get it further away from the mains power line?

2) Would it be better (for audio quality) if the new line, the portion in the wall under the box, was in a flexible non-metallic conduit until it exits into the crawl space?

Under the house, attached to the joists, the 100 Amp mains power comes in from the right and we ran the new 12/2 circuit out to the left, so there is no co-mingling under the house.
My guy has to come back to install (re-do) the old Ethernet lines under the house, and install a new Ethernet outlet/port in my wife’s new (re-purposed) Home Office - so it would be quick and easy for him to move the new 12/2 mains line over to the corner where there is another knock-out-plate, and also install the conduit in the wall for the wire to go down to the crawl space.
Maybe I’ll have him move the new wire/service over to the left regardless, and put the part of the line in the wall in non-metallic conduit, if for no other reason than to make me feel better; but, for the edification of others, should I expect the separation from the mains power, and the addition of non-metallic conduit, to be beneficial to audio quality? OR, in my circuit-breaker box are there already so many wires so close together that my two suggestions above would likely offer no improvement in sound quality?

For your viewing pleasure, I’ve added a second photo showing the other end of the dedicated line, in my study.

 

[iDesign]

There are very few, if any, members of Head-Fi that have made extreme modifications to their panels and wiring but there are other forums and resources. My observation is that you need to work with your electrician and power company to ensure that you have complete and proper grounding (preferably double grounds) which will have the largest impact before you go farther. There other crucial modifications such as whole home surge protection and power conditioning devices that are installed at the panel which you should consider because they make a profound impact in EMI and RFI filtering. I also would recommend good metering devices to make sure you're on the pursuit of the perfect sine wave. In fact, I'm in the process of making major changes to the way my home is wired to have the best power/performance possible.

 

[wuwhere]

I did this once. I wired two dedicated 20amp ac wires from my circuit breaker panel to my listening room. I use 20amp rated stranded wire, 3 conductors, double insulated. I had a 150a main. I also had to move some wires to free two 20a circuit breakers. I used hospital grade 20a ac outlets. One outlet was for the Krell monos.

 

[mulder01]

Can I ask why you specify non-metallic everything?
Is that isotek power board thing one continuous lead running back to the board?
Is it shielded?

 

[DelsFan]

Can I ask why you specify non-metallic everything?
Is that isotek power board thing one continuous lead running back to the board?
Is it shielded?

From people who know - or are fuller of $hit than a Christmas Turkey - you decide:
Well, anything metal (or plastic or man made, like nylon) will disturb the power going to the conditioner, and on to the streamer and headphone amp. Don't use any kind of conduit unless you have to; I'm looking for some teflon tubing to surround the few feet of in-wall wiring I have - two feet on one end and five feet at the other.
This is why you see some people (fools, you decide) putting their speaker cables and, when necessary interconnects and power cords, on bamboo tepees, in an attempt to get their wiring at least 8" off their nylon or acrylic carpeted surface.

The mains supply line to the IsoTek power conditioner/surge protector/strip goes directly to its own 15 amp breaker, without interruption. The Wattgate IEC connector plugs directly into my power conditioner.

There is no shielding on my 12/2 with ground mains cable, it is like a regular cable with a plastic cover. At the end that comes out of the wall there is a decorative/protective cover, as found on most overpriced - I mean audiophile - power cords.






This is what a high-end rack system is supposed to look like, right?