Breakers

[Joe Pittman]

I have a dedicated music room with three dedicated circuits. Over the years I have migrated to using just one dedicated circuit as I find it more coherent in trading off a slight reduction in overall power... Meanwhile, I have found that switching on/off the breaker periodically, say every 6 months, improves the sound. There is power wiring, 4 duplex outlets, power cables, power supplies, preamp, amps, and sources all connected to just one breaker. Just one black wire (hot) connected to the breaker which is connected to the panel bus powers my entire audio system. This one device is definitely a bottleneck to performance.

It occurred to me that I have not disconnected and cleaned the breaker connections since it was installed many years ago. So I pulled the breaker and cleaned the contacts on the breaker, bus, hot wire, and hot wire input on the breaker, four connection surfaces in total. For cleaning, I use my go to cleaner the Techspray Ecoline Contact Cleaner which is supposedly residue free. Then I plugged the breaker back in, powered up, and OMG what an improvement. So this tweak is now added to my periodic system cleaning and highly recommended. It's almost free and easy to try.



I plan to replace the old breaker with a new one soon. It would be really cool if Furutech made a breaker! Who makes the best breakers currently available?

For more interesting reading, check out my following white papers:
http://www.kosmic.us/KOSMIC%20Poor%2...%20Circuit.pdf
http://www.kosmic.us/KOSMIC%20White%...May%202015.pdf

[MylesBAstor]

Thanks for starting this thread Joe. I've often wondered the same thing. What can someone who lives in an apt. who can't put an Equi-tech in do with their current panel? Maybe Al who does electrical work has some suggestions? Would simply replacing it for most people be an improvement? I know mine have been in the panel since I moved into my apartment back in 2003. That's 13 years. Sure they still work but are they optimal for audio?

[1morerecord2clean]

I had an ordinary breaker zapped by Ted Denny of Synergistic Research in his Quantum tunnel about 7 years ago. It was quite inexpensive then and the process added clarity and blacker background to that line. I don't know if he still will do it or at what price.

[Alrainbow]

Myles you should of asked me lol. I have two views to this
first is my electrical view
cleaning the contact of the bus in the panel is a good idea
but dangerous if the panel does not have a main breaker in or a main breaker you have access to in your basement
serviice room of your building
tighten the wire on the breaker for sure but also the white and ground wire if there is one.
Now what also should be done is the main wires feeding the panel as well again both Hot legs and the Neutral
again in this situation you must shut off the breaker before your panel. Now this is some thing I could do live
but I would not Recomend this.
the wires on each outlet should be done as well.
This kind of method is also used for interconnects as some do.

Now my audio view
installing a new breaker after a few years is a good idea
over time the pressure contacts used Ina plug in breaker panel shown in the photo gets a little loose over time
and removing and re installing it cleans the panel bus well as it's a pressure type contact.
Now installijg a larger amperage breaker has an advantage it has bigger contacts inside as the breaker has tiny contacts inside with high pressure so a bigger one say 50 amps has bigger contacts and more pressure in the panel bus.
Yes its not code compliment but harmless in most cases.
Now for the person who has multiple circuits
if two of the outlets are in one box meaning two outlets
a good idea is to double the wire used
meaning put two blacks to one outlet and the same for the whites
you can use top and bottom of the outlet
this lowers the wire resistance
now this must be on the same breaker only
there is a way to use two but not recommended

in my room i used 10 gauge wire paired to make 5 gauge and on 60 amp breakers
I have 5 circuits like this
I hope this helps explain
please feel free to ask me any questions if I can help I will

Myles take a picture of your panel with the door open.
Aslo what kind of outlets do you have. Do they have a green dot on them. Meaning hospital grade. Most any audio outlet is a hospital grade and some are treated as well. There is some conductive paste some use. For me it's dangerous and not for me.
Inwoukd be happy to do a quick maintenance on your stuff
but i would change the breakers for sure.
They are cheap only about 10 or so each maybe less
I honestly don't look at prices to be sure hahaha.

[MylesBAstor]

Thanks for your input Al! Will do.

[JCOConnell]

careful with that axe Eugene.....

In other words, this can be lethal. You may want to hire a qualified electrician to do the job.