What type of wire for dedicated 20A AC lines?
I’m about to have two 20A dedicated lines installed. What type of wire should I use? I know there are differences of opinion on whether to use 10 AWG or 12 AWG, however the link below makes a great case for using even 8 AWG solid core copper on longer runs like mine will be (50 ft), to ensure a lower resistance, lower voltage drop over the long run, and therefore more access to instantaneous current for my Gryphon Diablo 300. The wire would need to be stepped down to 10 AWG to connect with the receptacle. The article actually states that the thickness of the wire is more important than the fact that it is dedicated…
Assuming I want to follow this advice, which again makes sense to me, where would I find such wire to give to my electrician?
@cleeds Since the OP simply stated he was running two new lines and did not mention any special conditions, I have assumed this is standard in home/wall wiring. Yes there may be other considerations if this not the case. I always assume the local building codes will be followed. Other than that I stand by my comments. Cheers. |
Most of what is published about increasing ampacity is rubbish. Joe AudioPhool installs his hifi in the last socket in a room with daisy chained quick connects. Then installs a direct big ass line and writes about it. The real problem is the daisy chained quick connects. My 10 year old home had a ≈5v no load drop across a dozen q/c on about 75 foot run. All quick connects removed and same, cleaned wire attached to screw terminals. Drop? 0.5v. Same problem exists in older homes with old worn and oxidized sockets.
See http://ielogical.com/Audio/CableSnakeOil.php#ACWiring for all the difference big ass wire will make. What AudioPhools don’t ever seem to comprehend is the peak amplifier current is supplied by the power supply, not the A/C line. Musical peaks are completely asynchronous to the AC line Hz. A 15A breaker can supply about 45A for a couple seconds, long enough to fry your amp and speakers. See https://www.c3controls.com/white-paper/understanding-trip-curves/ |
See? Tons of opposing but well-informed opinions whenever this topic comes up! So weird that gauge of wire could be such a polarizing topic. There are so many variables that I’m not sure the physics can fully inform the nature of sonic effects of gear. For certain cabling, including power cords, I can blindly identify which cable is connected when comparing between two cables. And more expensive doesn’t mean better. I recently discovered that the generic USB cable that came with my USB reclocker sounds better than the AudioQuest Diamond USB - go figure (AQ Diamond sounds better when connecting my streamer directly to the DAC and bypassing my reclocker however). Didn’t mean for this thread to go down that path, but oh well! Again, it’s not as if it’s a big cost to get my electrician to go to 10AWG, so if I’m going through all this trouble, that relatively tiny cost in case it does help is definitely worth it. Peace of mind. Boy people seem to be passionate about shooting down any need for 10 AWG! I wonder why that is.
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I agree! |
