Dedicated line which wire?

Great posts, Sean and Glen.
Following previous advice from several of you (inc Bob C) I installed two simple 10AWG Romex lines for my 300w idle (3 amps?) Aleph monos, and two dedicated 12AWG fancy Teflon/braided Belden 83802 for analogue (tuner and pre: less than 50w) and digital (CDP: 18w). I used ACME's silver-plated duplexes mounted in those separate "outdoor" junction boxes so I wouldn't have to dig up any walls.
I then made PCs with the leftover 83802 (like those DIY Vansevers?) with Schurters and Pro-Leviton, and am VERY happy with the improved dynamics...especially at lower listening levels. Seems that here's more BREATH in the air without having to increase gain.
As the lines are only 25' long from panel to junction boxes, I imagine that 10AWG was overkill for the Aleph 2s, but I decided to save bucks there rather than use the fancier Belden 12AWG 83802.
I'm considering getting another 100' roll of 83802 and selling off lengths of it ($2.50/ft+$5sh) if any of us want to use this excellent stuff.

Referring back to the high-current example used for voltage drop calculations: is the use of 15 amps continuous current draw (1800watts!) really necssary?? Can anyone REALLY justify using any wire bigger than 10AWG? I had a helluva time using 10AWG to gang together duplexes in a junction box. Semms nearly impossible with 8AWG, and I think that 12AWG would've been sufficient. I understand vaguely that "musical peaks demands" and all that may require temporarily high current draws, but isn't it the purview of power supply caps and/or Class A operation to limit the power available anyway? IOW would anyone ever really see that 8% voltage droop with real-world amplifiers and 12AWG?
1800 watts is a lotta consumption!
I remember that my decade-old NAD amp boasted 370w/ch for 20 millisec from its 100w/ch steady-state rating, and remember that it sported a 16-18AWG PC! So what's up...I don't remember the PC getting at all warm, even on sustained organ pedal.
Sorry to drag on, but I wanted to ntroduce a real-world example into this discussion.
Thanks. Ernie

My thinking is much like Sean. When I chose to do runs for my stereo system, I contracted 14 dedicated 20 amp circuits. This allows a dedicated run, with its own breaker, providing power to a single duplex. Often with only one male plugged into it. As Sean says this is a bit over the top, but Romex is cheap.

I sometime wonder if I should have used heavier gauge, my runs are 6, 10 and (minimum) 12 gauge, depending on the location.

The 6 gauge runs supply two 240 volt lines. These have option of 120 volt phase one and 120 volt phase two inside the same box. Consists of a Hubbell 240 Volt female twist lock plus two Hubbell 20 amp hospital grade.

The runs are all less than 30 feet, most are supplying a single device. When discussing "bang for the buck" this kind of overkill is a bargain. Between marginal and the ultimate, there is less money spent than the price for a single audiophile AC cord.

Although I personally don't know the differance, when I was previously reading up on dedicated lines, it was suggested to use S00W 10/3 wire. Hope this helps.

Paul W

Ernie, you have to remember that some amplifiers are not very efficient to start off with i.e. pure Class A or very rich A/B, so they pull a lot of power. Especially if we are talking a couple of hundred watts output. Couple this with in-efficient speakers, music that sounds best when played "loud" and you now have to stand on the throttle. Power consumption can go WAY up REAL fast. Having said that, i think that you did a fine job of selecting what was appropriate for your system. I see no problems with what you did and think that it is probably quite sufficient. The fact that you seperated your digital and analogue can only help things out.

As to your "real world" comments, they probably apply to the mass majority of end users. Most people are enjoying basic systems that are fine under normal operating conditions. However, i am speaking from first hand experience and i know that more than a few others can relate. Try running an entire system with a BIG amp and "thirsty" speakers from a standard 15 or 20 amp outlet and watch the lights on the equipment ( and possibly in that and other rooms ) flickering to the beat.

Keep in mind where i am coming from though. I have 6400+ watts RMS feeding my HT system, 4800+ watts RMS coming from a mono-blocked tri-amp system, 1600+ watt mono-blocks driving some very inefficient full ranges in the computer room, 200+ watts driving some monitors in the bedroom AND a "whopping" 30 wpc tube amp driving some horns in the basement. Hardly a "normal" installation, but then again, i've never been "normal" : )

As you can see, being able to deliver enough power to all of these was a major concern of mine. While Albert has me beat by a long-shot, he too has come to appreciate the differences that "add up". I know that Bob Bundus and a few others have installed similar systems and have noticed definite improvements when all was said and done.

THANKS for the spiff responses. Haven't been able to find two conductor twisted solid core 10AWG copper. Have found stranded 8AWG two conductor twisted silver plated copper w/ teflon insulation (don't know if its FEP or TFE). Not sure if the 8AWG will connect to a Hubble 20amp outlet properly tho'.Also would like to know why twisted is better and if stranded is okay. The proposed 20amp ac line will only be for one (2 plug) outlet for a Coda 11 (100/100 pure class a) and a Classe cdp.5. Not sure if an 8' buried isolated ground rod can safely eliminate the need to share a ground w/ all the other circuits on the breaker box. If the 8AWG is(safe) overkill that's okay, eliminating the AC as a potentially weak link will be a big relief....hmmm, do fuses really sound better than breakers?