“In one of your past Tech Tips I read that you recommend plugging all your studio gear into one electrical outlet to help minimize ground loop problems. What is the best way to distribute that power throughout my studio? I assume gangs of power strips and extension cords are not ideal.”
You are correct, and this is a good question. Quality power distribution should not be overlooked, and if done right can help protect your gear from potentially problematic electricity.
Depending upon where your studio is, and the surroundings, AC (Alternating Current) power can be quite unpredictable. It can vary in the amount of power delivered to your equipment in short bursts called spikes and surges. These spikes and surges can cause damage to your equipment or, at the very least, cause your equipment to perform erratically. Most power strips sold these days have some ability to protect from spikes, but you generally get what you pay for. Often the devices in these cheap strips either can’t act quickly enough or can become overloaded themselves. In either case they can still pass harmful electricity on to your gear.
AC can also vary in the amount of power delivered over a longer period of time. Much of your equipment doesn’t perform optimally outside of a range of line voltage from 100 volts to 125 volts. In many instances your line voltage may vary. In fact it can vary significantly over the course of a day or an hour, especially if you’re in an industrial area. It is always wise to know what the line voltage conditions are before you plug your valuable devices in. Having a line voltage monitor allows you to see how much voltage is coming from the wall prior to exposing your equipment to it. Many professional power distribution boxes have voltage meters built in, and most of those let you switch on the power to your devices after you’ve checked the voltage from the source. You can also get into units that will actually regulate the voltage for you. This can be handy if you know your voltage is varying a lot (Who wants to shut their studio down every time they start running a job on the printing press down the street?). There is a limit to what voltage regulators can do so make sure your problem and goals are consistent with the abilities of the model you buy. Again, you tend to get what you pay for.
Certain types of noise can also be induced into your musical creations through your AC power lines. Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) occurs when another device on the same electrical circuit causes noise. Refrigerators, ice makers, and air conditioners are frequent offenders. Just about anything with an AC motor in it will cause problems. These can be maddening to track down because the noise will come and go. Right when you can least afford it, a buzz or hum suddenly occurs because the tenant in the apartment three floors up turned on his air conditioner he bought in 1956. Most professional quality power distribution systems have pretty good EMI filtering in them, but this is a feature you will not find on cheap power strips.
A specific form of EMI is called Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). Frequent offenders of RFI are rheostat lighting dimmers. Many common lighting fixtures can cause untimely hums, buzzes and clicks. Again, filtering on the AC line helps alleviate this. Noise can also be induced through the air and can get into your signal through improperly shielded or connected signal wires, and even directly into the gear itself (especially when it isn’t grounded properly). The EMI/RFI protection in your AC distribution doesn’t help with this type of interference.
Generally our recommendation to folks putting together a studio (especially if it’s in an existing building) is to devote at least a couple hundred dollars to a decent power distribution system. You can plug it into the wall outlet and then feed various devices and power strips from there. You need to use high quality, heavy gauge cord, but as long as the runs aren’t real long there’s very little downside to running everything from the one point. Of course you do want to take precautions about where you run these AC cords. It’s a good idea to keep them some distance (6 to 12 inches) from any of your audio or data cables.