Really good home electrical wiring.


I am building a new HT room with 9 dedicated 20-Amp circuits and am planning on using WATTGATE's flagship 20-Amp receptacles. The one thing I am still unclear about is what type of electrical wire should be run to the HT room. I am most familiar with Romex because it is the standard for basic electrical wiring. I've been told that THHN Strand is much better than Romex. Finally I just have found out about the 8-gauge AC wire the JPS Labs sells. I am investing a ton of money into this room and want to use the best electrical wire. What do ya'll recommend?
sbearden
I suggest you do not use house ground. Run a piece of 3/4" flat braid from each outlet to a 15' salted ground rod sunk into non sandy soil. If you can afford to do this, this is about as good as ground gets.
I have to jump in and remind you (as Deano did) that while a seperate ground rod may seem like a good idea, it is not safe due to ground potential between the two grounding points. In fact, it is against the National Electric Code to use a ground in this fashion. Driving an additional ground rod is ok as long as you ground the new rod to the existing main grounding point. Using a dedicated ground wire from the main grounding point (ground rod) to your dedicated hospital grade receptacles is the most effective and safe way to go. Be careful, a little hum won't kill you, but an unsafe electrical system will... Good luck & Happy Holidays
Wow! Thanks for all the good info but I must admit that I am unsure of what isolation transformers and line balancers are or why I would need one? Also if I have dedicated circuits on the same phase, why do I need a dedicated ground? Lastly I've been told by a pretty well respected individual that I should use THHN Strand because it is better than Romex; Any comments? Here is a list of my current system (in case it may help with understanding my situation and what I should do with the electrical: HERE IS MY CURRENT* SYSTEM CONFIGURATION- (1) 65" Rear Projection TV: (the new 2001 Toshiba 65H80) (1) HDTV/DSS Receiver: (Toshiba DST3000)* (1) DVD player: (Toshiba SD9200) (1) VCR: (Mitsubishi HSU-82) (1) PVR: (Philips HDR612)* (1) Digital Cable TV box: (GI DCT-2000) (1) AV Pre-amp/processor: (Linn AV5103) (7) AV Amplifiers: (Linn AV5105) -(3) Stereo Power Amps: Front L/R (Aktiv Tri-amped) -(1) Stereo Power Amp : Center (Aktiv Bi-amped) -(3) Stereo Power Amps: Rear L/R (Aktiv Tri-amped) (2) Front Channel Speakers: (Linn AV5140) (1) Center Channel Speaker: (Linn AV5120) (2) Rear Channel Speakers: (Linn AV5140) (1) Front Channel SUB: (REL Studio II) (1) Center Channel SUB: (REL Stadium III) (1) Rear Channel SUB: (REL Stadium III) (1) Dedicated LFE SUB: (Velodyne ULD-18 II) (9) Dedicated 20 Amp Circuits (9) Wattgate AC Outlets* (10) Richard Gray's Power Company (model 400s) * Will be ordering soon.
If I read your post correctly, looks like you still intend to order the Wattgate AC outlets. Is this correct? In response to your question about THHN, I think the insulation (and tightness of same) is perhaps superior to Romex. However, THHN is generally stranded, and when used for AC power distribution, sounds inferior than solid core Romex. I do use the THHN stranded in my system, but it is exclusively for the dedicated ground from each Hubbell AC outlet, to a ground rod. In that case, the stranded offers some advantage in bleeding off microscopic RF, EMI and small current leakages. On the power side of the situation, I avoid the stranded THHN for the same reason, I prefer 120 V, 60 HZ, without encouraging these same artifacts to enter through my systems power supply. I have no comments on the isolation transformers and line balancers, as I have no experience with them. I can say that I have tried dozens of line conditioners, filters and name brand transformers, and in my system, they all degrade the sound. This could reverse if you lived in a building where multiple families share the same electrical service. In that situation, the quality loss from inserting these devices could be less damaging than the gain of removing all your neighbors noise and ground problems. By the way, the name Romex is a registered trade mark, just like Kleenex and Band Aid. This is a brand name for a particular sheathed multi conductor solid core electrical cable. My last word of advice is to use this actual brand name, or another of equal quality. The no name cheap rolls of cable at the discount supply are a poor investment when you consider the cost of labor to install and the price of your components.
THHN is available in solid core, and is used in most commercial buildings for 120 VAC in either 10, 12 or 14 gauge, depending on the expected amp draw for the circuit. The solid core does sound better to me than the stranded, and heavier gauge generally helps the sound. My listening room has a separate sub-panel, with 3/4 inch minimum conduit ran to the dedicated outlets. The nice thing about running conduit is that if you hear about an up-grade, you can change the wiring in your walls without getting into the sheetrock repair. I can't tell you how many times I've tried different wire brands and gauge size on the different outlets, but it has been a few. It all makes a difference.