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My electrician buddy and fellow audiophile is going to help me get a dedicated AC line run to my system. We're wondering about wire selection. We're considering something called MC at 10 gauge which is three wires run inside an aluminum flex conduit (I believe it's also twisted inside). Would this be a decent choice? Also we're considering stranded wire and not single strand. Does this make any difference in anyone's experience?Would sending the wire out for cryo treatment, before installation hold much value?
Follow Ups:
I've been using Belden all-Teflon 12/3 83803 for three years, and am the "mule" who buys this stuff, stabilizes it (so no burn-in curve), and resells it by the foot (only $3.50, or $300/100'+). Clearly superior clarity, top octave extension, blacker background, and soundstage depth layering than cheaper-dielectric dedicated lines.
Hope this helps. Romex simply sounds rolled off and smeared by comparison....
http://virtualdynamics.ca/products/HWS/ABX$6/ft. cryoed.
Still a little spendy but 1/3 of the JPS stuff.
.....but only available in Europe:http://www.russandrews.com/category.asp?lookup=1®ion=UK¤cy=GBP&cat_id=PMAINACCE&customer_id=PAA0469023304570TGYMKUBKTXNUEDCW
What I'm wondering is if you can get the cable yourself similar to Vitual Dynamics and then doing a cryo job on it via one of the labs that does that for a living. I can get standard MC/BX type Romex for around 50 cents a foot. It won't be expensive to ship metal clamp spool of 250 feet to a cryo lab, but it may turn out to be a lot less than the $6/foot. Just an idea...
....to a review from Enjoy the Music, of JPS Labs a/c cabling:
I've read that review and definitely respect JPS products a whole bunch. But my estimate with that cable would be over a grand to do the wire (maybe even $1500). At that price, I'll try Romex first....although I'm sure it's mightly nice. Thanks for the suggestion.
Although I don't use the JPS in-wall cable as intended, I do have 3 power cords made from it in my system and am extremely happy with them. They are by far the best power cords I have owned (among them the LAT, Blue Circle BC 62 and Cardas Golden). I did notice in the review you posted that the reviewer drew his conclusions on it based on his listening experiences in the first 3-5 days following installation. My experience with this wire used as a power cable is that it takes about a month to fully break in and reach its potential (that might be speeded up by a week or two if the wire is cryoed, which also enhances its performance) and it is noticeably better after complete break-in.
Installing multiple circuits is only marginally more hassle than a single one as long as your breaker panel can accommodate them. I've had the chance to get four circuits installed to my system: two in armored cable and two in plastic Romex. All wires are solid, as stranded wire with some corrosion on the strands will pick up and down-convert RFI more easily.The CD player prefers the armored cable.
The solid-state power amp for the Magnepan bass panels prefers the plastic cable. The REL subwoofer I used to have also preferred the plastic, and wanted to have its own circuit separate from the bass amp.
The Atma-Sphere tube amps for the midrange and treble don't seem to care.
If you install a mixture of types, you will have more flexibility as your system evolves. See if your buddy will route the different types via different paths to the breaker panel to minimize cross-coupling of noise.
Also have your buddy check the breaker panel earth ground, and replace it if it is old or looks marginal.
I used MC for my lines. It is a
better choice than steel shielded
BX or steel conduit. It is also
a good choice if your are going
to do an IG circuit. I do not
know if a cryo treatment would be
worthwhile.
Sony SCD-777ES > > Silver Audio SB 4.0 > > AI M3A > > Silver Audio Hyacinth > > Odyssey Stratos > > Tice 416A Bi-wire > > MG 1.6QR
My friend thinks stranded for whatever reason, but Bob Crump says solid, what is your vote of what you used???
I used solid core, but I do not
know if stranded would be better.
I like solid core when working
with house wiring as you only have
one strand to work with. Stranded
usually requires a crimp sleeve
to contain all the strands and get
a good connection.
Sony SCD-777ES > > Silver Audio SB 4.0 > > AI M3A > > Silver Audio Hyacinth > > Odyssey Stratos > > Tice 416A Bi-wire > > MG 1.6QR
You want to isolate the dedicated lines from the rest of the house so you want inductance so a really mild twist would be best....Run one for digital and the other for analog and keep them on the same phase, + or -, but not + for digital and - for analog....Best to choose the opposite phase where the fridge and washing machine are located......Use solid core rather than stranded and two wires with a third bare wire for ground seems to work just fine.....Point is you want to pass 60hz and reject most everything above that......
Thanks for the advise Bob, I appreciate your input. Just wondering why solid over stranded???
Cause you need a pipe wrench to bend it and you'll appreciate all the trouble you went through much more than with stranded wire. Suggestion is to use metal boxes or ones with metal inserts for the screws or the outlets will pop right out of the wall as they did here with plastic boxes........Oh, to sort of answer your question you are trying to pass 60hz and you stand less of a chance of picking up RF using solid core wire than with stranded.......
I did not go with the solid core wire because did you ever look at Romex. The insulation is so thick. It is terrible for sound. Not a very good dialectric. Make a power cord out of this, it sounds terrible.
Solid core Romex has an absolute ton of inductance and you can use that to roll of the digital backwash and end up isolating your analog from digital with yards of the solid core Romex in the walls. Romex is insulated with PVC and, again I will say that PVC is what you want rather than anything faster as you just want to pass 60hz and attenuate anything above that.....Stranded wire, especially a twisted lay, will pass high frequencies better, exactly what you don't want to do with 60hz AC.......Regarding power cords made with PVC it apparently works pretty well as have sold over 8,000 of them the past 21 years.......
Bob,Call me slow on the uptake, but for the uneducated, could you explain again what type of "twisted lay stranded wire" you would recommend for a eighty foot run from circuit box to dedicated outlet? Thanx for the help!
I don't recommend stranded wire for use from the box to the outlets......I recommend solid core........
Bob,Can you recommend a solid core wire to run 90 feet from circuit box to outlet? Can you give brandname? Do you have such a product? Thanx!
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