Now we beat speaker cable ...
Anyone want to share AC power wire , from the electrical panel to the wall outlet , experinces ?
With speakers we run 0.1 to 10 volts on the line ,
With an 8 Ohm load , 8 volts is 1 amp and we use # 10 AWG up to 18 AWG.
So what do we need in the wall ?
Don
Romex in the wall - 12 gauge.
Works for me!
My living room and my basement listening area both have two dedicated 20A circuits using 10ga romex in sub 50 foot runs terminated with hospital grade receptacles for amplifiers only. Worthy of note, in either room each of the amplifier receptacles draws from opposite legs of the incoming AC mains.
While i am turned on by many of the attributes of high efficiency speakers driven with low power, i'm not faithfully married to the concept, and as of late seem to be drawn more to the "other side".
A couple of my amplifiers are capable of over 50 volts RMS and 140 volts peak to peak output with essentially unlimited current. I also have some speakers(my current favorites) that are a very low impedance load, i promise my wiring is not overkill.
Not all vegetables make good leaders.
I run 12-2 just standard . But it's actually 220 to the listening room then splits there.
A couple of Tripplite sine wave backups (the guys who rent my old warehouse are a computer recycling operation). Probably not necessary and wouldn't be there if I had to buy them new. But a supposedly even a direct lightning strike to the lines outside won't come thru those. Tripplite is good stuff.
Your neighbors called. They like your music.
Well to be more candid - my listening room has 10 gauge 220V from the main breaker panel. This hits a subpanel in the room and then fans out. And one 20A dedicated circuit that was put in for a freezer. I use that one for noisy stuff.
I run an isolation transformer from the subpanel to my "audio" outlets. It works well for me.
Hmm, for sure some folks here either have the requisite system efficiency and/or listen at low peak SPLs, but I imagine that most of us need a lot more volts to please us.
Regardless, we ideally need to size the protection device, wire for a 'worst case' current requirement at an acceptable voltage drop in accordance with any applicable national and local building codes to ensure that our home's wiring isn't a fire/safety hazard and doesn't void our insurance (making us legally liable for all damage) if an electrical failure turns out to be the cause of a fire.
Consequently, due to my current gov't/legal/insurance system's 'attitude' to 'pass the buck'/'spread the blame' whenever there's any option open to them, this is a subject best not discussed in any way that leaves a legally liable 'paper trail'.
GM
Loud is Beautiful if it's Clean! As always though, the usual disclaimers apply to this post's contents.
You guys don't think 10 awg isn't Overkill.It is rated at 600V - 30A.It's 12-2 for me that works fine stranded wire.My old Vo-tech teacher Mr. Wismer (Electrical Construction) always said that stranded wire carries the current better the more strands the better.You really only need the thicker wire for long runs to the circuit that is being used.
Well then I'm glad I grabbed all those rolls of used #8 and 10 and 12 and 14 from the dumpster at Vo-Tech
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