Kirkus,
With all due respect, 12 gauge wire is the required minimum size for the 20 amp circuit(s) Shak wants. National Electrical Code minimums: 14 ga for 15 amps, 12 gauge for 20 amps, 10 ga for 30 amps.
Putting the audio system on one phase is only a good idea if the electrical system remains balanced.
Outlet tester, check. Wire nuts, check. I tested the outlets in my Mom's house and found a group that showed reversed hot & neutral. After looking at (and moving) all the wiring in the affected outlet boxes, symptoms switched to open ground. Turned out to be a lousy connection between ground wires at a green grounding wire nut in yet another box. On the typical neon-bulb tester, a poor (but not open) ground can cause a reverse-polarity indication
Shak,
I don't know if it'll fit your budget (but it may, since the walls are open in a house being built), but I'd go with STEEL-armored BX (or conduit, but don't let the electrician talk you into using aluminum--it won't block magnetic fields).
BTW, be aware that there are a lot of nutty, unsafe ideas floating around among audiophiles. Never blindly accept electrical advice from people who don't state their qualifications to offer it. Mine are that I've worked as an electronic technician (and have been involved in repairing industrial wiring on machines) for almost thirty-five years and was a Building Equipment Maintenance supervisor (which included supervising electricians) for 13 months.
Ask your electrician to confirm that any electrical info you receive from strangers is not a violation of the NEC (not that he's going to violate the rules and risk losing his license anyway. And don't bother asking him which brand wire or outlet sounds better, unless you have an electrician who's also an audiophile).
With all due respect, 12 gauge wire is the required minimum size for the 20 amp circuit(s) Shak wants. National Electrical Code minimums: 14 ga for 15 amps, 12 gauge for 20 amps, 10 ga for 30 amps.
Putting the audio system on one phase is only a good idea if the electrical system remains balanced.
Outlet tester, check. Wire nuts, check. I tested the outlets in my Mom's house and found a group that showed reversed hot & neutral. After looking at (and moving) all the wiring in the affected outlet boxes, symptoms switched to open ground. Turned out to be a lousy connection between ground wires at a green grounding wire nut in yet another box. On the typical neon-bulb tester, a poor (but not open) ground can cause a reverse-polarity indication
Shak,
I don't know if it'll fit your budget (but it may, since the walls are open in a house being built), but I'd go with STEEL-armored BX (or conduit, but don't let the electrician talk you into using aluminum--it won't block magnetic fields).
BTW, be aware that there are a lot of nutty, unsafe ideas floating around among audiophiles. Never blindly accept electrical advice from people who don't state their qualifications to offer it. Mine are that I've worked as an electronic technician (and have been involved in repairing industrial wiring on machines) for almost thirty-five years and was a Building Equipment Maintenance supervisor (which included supervising electricians) for 13 months.
Ask your electrician to confirm that any electrical info you receive from strangers is not a violation of the NEC (not that he's going to violate the rules and risk losing his license anyway. And don't bother asking him which brand wire or outlet sounds better, unless you have an electrician who's also an audiophile).