Getting house rewired including dedicated audio.

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 12:53:17
Rod M Web Geek Posts: 16242 Location: So. California Joined: March 1, 1999 Contributor Since: March 1, 1999	12 gauge for 27 cents a foot. -Rod

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 12:55:57
oldmkvi Audiophile Posts: 10581 Joined: April 12, 2002	Right, more sensible. What about thicker guage for power amp only?

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 13:15:40
Cameraman Audiophile Posts: 396 Location: 33701 Joined: September 25, 2011	I would check the MIT catalog & see what they offer :) Thanx

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 13:34:47
E-Stat Audiophile Posts: 37584 Joined: May 12, 2000 Contributor Since: April 5, 2002	I'm with Rod on the cable used. 12 gauge meets code for a 20A line. I added two separate circuits in my listening room, but should have added at least one more for complete component isolation.

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 14:09:36
oldmkvi Audiophile Posts: 10581 Joined: April 12, 2002	It's good to know it's not super-critical Expensive. Thanks to all. ( MIT didn't seem to have Home Wire.)

I still use aftermarket power cords, posted on April 10, 2014 at 14:13:32
E-Stat Audiophile Posts: 37584 Joined: May 12, 2000 Contributor Since: April 5, 2002	for the first three feet though. :)

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 14:16:26
Rod M Web Geek Posts: 16242 Location: So. California Joined: March 1, 1999 Contributor Since: March 1, 1999	I wouldn't waste my time unless you have an amp that needs a 30 amp breaker. It's more trouble than it's worth to work with 10 gauge, stiffer to fat to fit most receptacles. -Rod

RE: I still use aftermarket power cords, posted on April 10, 2014 at 14:20:13
oldmkvi Audiophile Posts: 10581 Joined: April 12, 2002	Me too- In fact, in order to use the one I want for my amp, I Have to get a good dedicted circuit!

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 14:24:34

abs1

Is the Home Depot wire a major brand name or is it generic Home Depot? The reason I ask is that I once got suckered buying generic Home Depot 12ga speaker cable that appeared to be identical to a big name brand cable (marketed by a handicapped guy named Noel) that they had on a spool next to their cable. The Home Depot brand was less than half price so I bit. Two years later this cable had turned green:-(

Caveat Emptor!!!!

Cheers,
AL

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 14:43:23
oldmkvi Audiophile Posts: 10581 Joined: April 12, 2002	OK thanks, I see what you mean.

LOL !, posted on April 10, 2014 at 15:08:05
unclestu Dealer Posts: 5851 Joined: April 13, 2010	So does the Monster, BTW........

Do a search, posted on April 10, 2014 at 15:08:50
unclestu Dealer Posts: 5851 Joined: April 13, 2010	over on Tweaks. Lots of good advice

Has the Cardas been cryoed?, posted on April 10, 2014 at 15:18:09
Ozzie Audiophile Posts: 3812 Joined: August 1, 2002	Kidding, of course. For the house, what really matters is cross sectional area, and of course, proper grounding.

Ha Ha! I've got the guy who wired Music Lovers' Audio in, posted on April 10, 2014 at 16:53:33
oldmkvi Audiophile Posts: 10581 Joined: April 12, 2002	Berkeley Ca. Going with Romex, Blessed with Holy Water, WereWolf Drool, and UnDead Gore.

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 16:56:18

Vic D

I agree, 12g is adequate. Everybody's issues are different even from house to house.

When I redid my house I increased the service amperage which came with all new and bigger cable from the utilities source up to my main. I had my electrician continued the run into a new sub panel l dedicated for audio and home theater then onto the breaker panel.

Two dedicated breaker lines each for both audio and HT. Everything from the sub panel was metal clad BX 12g with no junction box interruptions. Compared to most things audio this work was economical at just under $1K and the improvement was stunning.

Yep, in about 4 yrs (nt), posted on April 10, 2014 at 17:01:29
Steve O Audiophile Posts: 12359 Location: SE MI Joined: September 6, 2001

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 17:11:45
briggs Audiophile Posts: 1674 Location: Connecticut Joined: April 16, 2002	Don't forget to use Pass & Seymour outlets.

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 18:20:15

Rod M
Web Geek

Posts: 16242
Location: So. California
Joined: March 1, 1999
Contributor
Since: March 1, 1999

I totally agree. Dedicated power is by far the highest reward tweak there is. When we moved to our current home, the main panel was fairly new and only fed the family room addition and an old sub-panel which was the old main and fed the rest of the house. I added two more dedicated 20amp circuits with 4 plugs each and had the bonus of another dedicated line that already existed. And there's not much of anything else on the main.

The main is on the back wall, so the runs aren't more than 10 feet. The worst part was patching and painting the holes in the walls to gain access.

-Rod

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 10, 2014 at 21:07:45

jea48
Audiophile

Posts: 6770
Joined: January 5, 2005

Check out pages 31 through 35 in the link below.

Note the test results of the aluminum armor MC cable.

Bill Whitlock 2012 seminar

Be sure to wire up the dog house, the garage and work shed! nt, posted on April 10, 2014 at 23:18:37
Frihed89 Audiophile Posts: 15703 Location: Copenhagen Joined: March 21, 2005	nt

10g is overkill and quite, posted on April 10, 2014 at 23:28:46
kavakidd Audiophile Posts: 20316 Location: Upstate NY Joined: April 15, 2004	un-necessary. Not to mention it is nearly impossible to work with "Man is the only animal that blushes - or needs to" Mark Twain

RE: Getting house rewired including dedicated audio., posted on April 11, 2014 at 00:59:55

Vic D

I'm not at all qualified to comment on the results attained in the article nor do I know the method the contractor used to ground my home VAC system.

Built in the early 70's my home used aluminum cable between the main and the panel. Romex fed both the audio and HT systems before the BX upgrade I mentioned.

Before the upgrade my PS Audio HCA-2 switching amplifier could be heard through two clock radios. It produced a harsh edgy presentation that fluctuated randomly. My Pioneer Kuro plasma also displayed random interference.

After the upgrade the audio and HT very noticeably better. Even my tube electronics worked dead quiet.

As I said most VAC system and their supplies can differ greatly. In my case the Romex and/or the way it was executed was absolute shit. The contractor didn't find anything out of the ordinary with the original Romex run. So if I'm losing something by using BX rather than Romex it's just fine with me.

If the wires are going in the walls ..., posted on April 11, 2014 at 04:55:31
reelsmith. Audiophile Posts: 13131 Location: CT Joined: June 7, 2005 Contributor Since: January 19, 2010	...check with local codes. The wires will likely have to be UL/CL rated. Dean, reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.

RE: If the wires are going in the walls ..., posted on April 11, 2014 at 08:47:03
oldmkvi Audiophile Posts: 10581 Joined: April 12, 2002	I'm getting Permits and it will be Inspected.

Not to mention..., posted on April 11, 2014 at 09:42:49
geoffkait	...the right direction!

You should check then ..., posted on April 11, 2014 at 10:44:03
reelsmith. Audiophile Posts: 13131 Location: CT Joined: June 7, 2005 Contributor Since: January 19, 2010	You'll fail inspection here in CT if wires in-walls aren't UL/CL approved. Dean. reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.

RE: 10g is overkill and quite, posted on April 11, 2014 at 11:07:26

Sondek
Audiophile

Posts: 9621
Location: Fort Worth
Joined: May 17, 2000
Contributor
Since: April 5, 2002

Dave,

You are right. I had a dedicated 20A line put in years ago. As luck would have it, the box is @ 10' from the outlet and the electrician ran conduit from the box to the drop. A couple of years later I thought I'd replace that crummy Romex with some cryo'd 10Ga. I did it my self. I would NEVER do it again. 10Ga is a bitch to work with. If I were an electrician I would charge XTRA for the aggravation of having to contend with 10Ga.

RE: Ha Ha! I've got the guy who wired Music Lovers' Audio in, posted on April 11, 2014 at 12:22:24

Ozzie
Audiophile

Posts: 3812
Joined: August 1, 2002

As long as music lover is still doing just that, the install must have been done right.

Don't know if you are aware of it or not, but you have a few inmates close bye. Robert Lang has a fine surround rig. And I'd bet that Mikey Kueller's 2 channel flies.

Play on tenorman. Tonight for Kathie and I it's an alto guy here that has a tone that is close enough to Paul Desmond's that at times it goes right through me. Haunting.

Check the speaker-wire code, posted on April 11, 2014 at 16:18:42

Alex F.
Audiophile

Posts: 877
Location: Florida
Joined: February 29, 2004

Running speaker cable in and through walls requires a CL3-rated wire.

I see Crutchfield has 14-gauge Audioquest in-wall cable for about $1 a foot (see link below).

http://www.crutchfield.com/g_22112/In-wall-Speaker-Wire.html

General Asylum

Getting house rewired including dedicated audio.

108.220.54.45