I am planing to replace the AC circuit breake box with a more audio friendly box for the whole house.
First I know that I have to hire a certified electrician who can remove the old junction box and put the new one in.
My question is : What's the best box to buy to fit my needs?.
Thanks for any help.

A "Junction Box" only contains wires and wire connectors. What is often called a "Load Center" or maybe a "Sub-panel" has the circuit breakers.

You're correct sir, I should have said circuit breaker box that distributes AC to every outlets in the house.
Yes, I need to change that box. I need to know what box is recommended which is audio and video friendly. I hear hospital grade stuff is good but I am not too sure.

Who said you need to change it? If your circuit box is up to code and you haven't run out of circuits, no need to change it. You don't want low voltage anywhere near it any and there isn't a circuit box you can buy that would change that.

And "hospital grade" circuits are a form of snake oil. Don't get ripped off.

Are you looking to upgrade for more circuits or more amperage or because it's old? Need more info, What exactly is better ac for audio?

Are you looking to upgrade for more circuits or more amperage or because it's old? Need more info, What exactly is better ac for audio?
I am upgrading an old one and I want 20amp for all circuits..Would that help?..

If you change the main load center the city building inspector will have the final say on some requirements! If your turnpike is in the USA, then NEC rules will guide that building inspector. The NEC released 2008 rules, but many cities and/or states still use NEC2005.
If you do replace the main load center get what-ever mfg. higher quality level panel with 40 full-size breakers. Then I would add a good 6 breaker sub-panel in the A/V room for only the A/V equipment. Have the electrician run oversize cables from the main panel to the sub and from the sub to the power amplifiers outlets. This will keep all the equipment on the same safety ground and neutral for as long as possible which will help reduce line noise and hum.

I am upgrading an old one and I want 20amp for all circuits..Would that help?..

Are these 20 Amp circuits you want new? Because if they are currently existing, you can't upgrade the fuse without upgrading all of the wiring.

If you change the main load center the city building inspector will have the final say on some requirements! If your turnpike is in the USA, then NEC rules will guide that building inspector. The NEC released 2008 rules, but many cities and/or states still use NEC2005.
If you do replace the main load center get what-ever mfg. higher quality level panel with 40 full-size breakers. Then I would add a good 6 breaker sub-panel in the A/V room for only the A/V equipment. Have the electrician run oversize cables from the main panel to the sub and from the sub to the power amplifiers outlets. This will keep all the equipment on the same safety ground and neutral for as long as possible which will help reduce line noise and hum.
Wow, that's what I needed. Thanks Kevin, I am in NY.

And "hospital grade" circuits are a form of snake oil. Don't get ripped off.

I'm actually surprised that I don't hear more about guys building equipment rooms with "hospital grade" recepticles. There is a difference, believe it or not. They grab cord blades much harder. Whether or not it would make a difference, I highly doubt it.

Operating room circuits are handled differently as well. There's a form of balancing transformer that prevents electrical shock. I completely agree though...hospital grade within a home is snake oil.

Are these 20 Amp circuits you want new? Because if they are currently existing, you can't upgrade the fuse without upgrading all of the wiring.
The box is not that old, when I bought my gear I added separate 20A and run HD wires to Meridians and the PJ each separate, but the box still contains 15amps as well , they are mixed. Now Kevin tells me I should add a separate circuit breaker for the audio and video coming from the main box, which's what I want to do. I am open to any other suggestion you good people might have.
Thanks to all.

I'm actually surprised that I don't hear more about guys building equipment rooms with "hospital grade" recepticles. There is a difference, believe it or not. They grab cord blades much harder. Whether or not it would make a difference, I highly doubt it.

Operating room circuits are handled differently as well. There's a form of balancing transformer that prevents electrical shock. I completely agree though...hospital grade within a home is snake oil.

I agree green dot hospital grade recepticals are a waste in a home but they aren't grossly expensive either. That is you can get them for under $10 and a decent non hospital grade will cost at least $3.

Now if you want the good snake oil be sure to stock up on a house full of these! http://www.dedicatedaudio.com/inc/sdetail/124

15 amp lines are PLENTY for almost anything we normally run. Large amps/subs can be placed on their own dedicated lines....but running 20amp lines/breakers for everything is slightly overkill and adds significant expense.

I'm currently wiring my entire basement and put in a 100 amp subpanel running 2g wire from the main. It is oversized (slightly) for what I want.

This way I can have multiple dedicated breakers for amps, subs, etc. I also need to wire a ton of lighting, a bathroom I'm working on, and a bar/kitchen.

I don't understand why anyone would suggest changing out an entire breaker panel when what you need for high performance AV are dedicated lines. Unless there is a problem with the existing panel (i.e. out of space, overloaded with half height breakers, drawing too much current, etc.), changing out the panel is an exercise in futility. Another poster mentioned very wisely that the breaker panel is one component in a system. If you have 14 gauge wire coming from the panel to the branch circuits, it would be a violation of code to install a 20A breaker on those circuits. Realize that in many cases the internals of a 15A and 20A breaker are the same except for the rating at which the breaker interrupts. Often there is no benefit to changing from a 15A breaker to a 20A breaker assuming the branch wire is the same (ideally 12 gauge). Your money is best spent running dedicated lines to your equipment which it sounds like you've already done. You may want to look at isolation transformers or dabble with "balanced power". There are other ways to blow your cash on AV. Finally, there is nothing wrong with installing some high end Hubbell outlets. They needn't be hospital grade to have superior blade holding properties.

There are other ways to blow your cash on AV. Finally, there is nothing wrong with installing some high end Hubbell outlets.

I'll reply by simply flipping your above quote... :)

"there is nothing wrong with installing some high end Hubbell outlets"....but...."There are other ways to blow your cash on AV."

They needn't be hospital grade to have superior blade holding properties.

Couldn't be more true, but how do you know without concerning yourself about grade...? I've never seen blade holding specs on anything I've put in on a job.

Now if you want the good snake oil be sure to stock up on a house full of these! http://www.dedicatedaudio.com/inc/sdetail/124

WOW...:eek:

I don't understand why anyone would suggest changing out an entire breaker panel when what you need for high performance AV are dedicated lines. Unless there is a problem with the existing panel (i.e. out of space, overloaded with half height breakers, drawing too much current, etc.), changing out the panel is an exercise in futility. Another poster mentioned very wisely that the breaker panel is one component in a system. If you have 14 gauge wire coming from the panel to the branch circuits, it would be a violation of code to install a 20A breaker on those circuits. Realize that in many cases the internals of a 15A and 20A breaker are the same except for the rating at which the breaker interrupts. Often there is no benefit to changing from a 15A breaker to a 20A breaker assuming the branch wire is the same (ideally 12 gauge). Your money is best spent running dedicated lines to your equipment which it sounds like you've already done. You may want to look at isolation transformers or dabble with "balanced power". There are other ways to blow your cash on AV. Finally, there is nothing wrong with installing some high end Hubbell outlets. They needn't be hospital grade to have superior blade holding properties.
Thank you all , it's a great place to come in and ask questions.