Studio electrical wiring

[Chipotle]

Not directly related to recording acoustic guitar, but I finally got some monitor speakers for my small home studio (Presonus Eris E5 fwiw), and when I plugged them in, the noise induced in them from all the other computer equipment on the same outlet was horrible.

It's an old house--like ungrounded knob-and-tube wiring old. Only two outlets in the room, on the same circuit, already handling a bunch of gear: computer, monitor, printer, external drives, router, computer speakers, humidifier and humidistat. What a racket!

For now, problem solved by running an extension cord from another room (outlet on same circuit). Peace and quiet.

Aside from the fact that the room needs more outlets anyway, are there any best practices for wiring a studio? Should I run a new circuit from the breaker box? Tips for what gets plugged in together? Thanks in advance!

[Cocobolo Kid]

Running a separate dedicated circuit from the breaker box will give you the cleanest power for your audio devices.

Less expensive solutions would include putting your computer equipment on a UPS (uninterruptable power supply). Unless you are using a laptop, you should have your computer connected to a UPS anyway to avoid file corruption or loss of unsaved work in the event of a sudden power outage. Connect your computer and monitor to the "battery backup" side and connect the printer to the "surge only" side.

To isolate your audio equipment further, you can try a good power conditioner from the likes of Furman, etc. I use a Torus power conditioner that provided better results than a high end Furman.

Good luck.

[Chipotle]

Originally Posted by Cocobolo Kid

Less expensive solutions would include putting your computer equipment on a UPS (uninterruptable power supply). Unless you are using a laptop, you should have your computer connected to a UPS anyway to avoid file corruption or loss of unsaved work in the event of a sudden power outage. Connect your computer and monitor to the "battery backup" side and connect the printer to the "surge only" side.

Will a UPS isolate the noise of the computer equipment even if the audio gear is plugged into the other plug of the same outlet?

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by Cocobolo Kid

Running a separate dedicated circuit from the breaker box will give you the cleanest power for your audio devices.

Less expensive solutions would include putting your computer equipment on a UPS (uninterruptable power supply). Unless you are using a laptop, you should have your computer connected to a UPS anyway to avoid file corruption or loss of unsaved work in the event of a sudden power outage. Connect your computer and monitor to the "battery backup" side and connect the printer to the "surge only" side.

To isolate your audio equipment further, you can try a good power conditioner from the likes of Furman, etc. I use a Torus power conditioner that provided better results than a high end Furman.

Good luck.

What model Torus are you using ? I was looking at some Furman to replace my old Monster here in the next year or so , but am now curious about the Torus

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by Chipotle

...computer, monitor, printer, external drives, router, computer speakers, humidifier and humidistat. What a racket!

I've found that modern PCs and monitors are pretty quiet relative to other devices. Whereas printers, routers and humidifiers tend to induce a lot of noise.

I'm with Cocobolo. Get a dedicated circuit (or two) and use the existing circuit for the non-music related gear. And definitely a UPS for the PC - they provide some filtering and partial isolation along with security from power dips.