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Dedicated line: 10 gauge solid core or 8 gauge stranded

Hi everyone,

I'm having a dedicated line installed for my system. I read recommendations to run a 10 gauge wire, but I thought, why not 8 gauge? It's my understanding that there are no receptacles that would accept the thickness of a 8 gauge wire, so my question is: is it best to run a 8 gauge wire all the way to the receptacle and then bring it down to 10 gauge with a junction box to connect to the receptacle, or, just run a 10 gauge wire from panel to receptacle??
Also, the 10 gauge wire the electrician showed me was solid (just 1 thick wire), while the 8 gauge wire was stranded. Does that make a difference for sound? Which gauge would you go with?? 

Thanks!

Pierre
galpi
jrwaudio
354 posts
 
10 gauge wire, wow that's a 30 amp breaker 
Thats a lot of mojo never mind the 8 gauge
What electrical outlet could connect that gauge of wire?? I'm no electrician, just wondering 
jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,620 posts
 
10 gauge twisted wire is readily available at Home Depot and anywhere that sells electrical supplies.It's normally used for long runs underground.It will barely fit in an electrical outlet.It will be more than enough for your needs.
au_lait
353 posts
 
You can run 10awg on a 20amp breaker doesn’t have to be 30amp. 
rickd1235
7 posts
 
My son is an electrical contractor. He installed 2 x 10 gauge solid lines with 20 amp breakers for my Home theater. 12 gauge is minimum 20 amps.
ditusa's avatar
ditusa
1,907 posts
 
@ jrwaudio, Any 20 amp or 30 amp electrical outlet will connect to, 10awg wire. The point of all that (mojo) is you can not "tax"the circuit out. Now all your audio gear gets all the power it needs. And the cost is very low ..Hope that helps...
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