Dedicated 20 amp circuit - Electrician laughed!

I think that some of you guys buying into some of the crazy ideas here need to get a copy of the residential NEC. First: NEC does NOT allow separate earth grounds in any circuit that is connected to your primary service (the service that comes to your home, over head or underground, from your power co. to your main service box). Every ground in every circuit must be connected to the ground buss that is connected to the earth ground rod. Second: NEC requires 12AWG wire for a 20A circuit. It does not require 10AWG unless the run is over 50’ and 8AWG wire will not even properly fit in a 15 or 20 A receptacle. If your amp or any other device requires a 20A service, it is required to have a cord that is designed to plug into a 20A receptacle. If your amp has a 20A dedicated cord, or is required to have a 20A cord, it will only plug into a twenty amp receptacle which is required to be on a 20A circuit. If your amp or any other device comes with the standard 15A cord, then it is UL approved to and required by law to work properly on a standard 120V, 15A circuit
Not trying to be snide, but even audiophiles have rules....Jim

Don't get me wrong, I completely believe that Audio components should not be in a circuit that is shared by appliances. I also believe high current amps usually work best plugged directly into a wall receptacle and on a dedicated circuit, or at least one shared by only a few low current devices. Follow your manufactures recommendations, but generally (unless you have old or bad and not up to code wiring) you do not need to re-wire your house to find a clean circuit/circuits to run your audio gear...Jim 

@jea48 Yep, that was exactly it :-) Not sure when the original house was built, but it was very old when we moved in when, I was a young child, in early 50s.
I believe you're right, it does seem that that old wiring was copper and the wire we replaced it with back in the 60s, was insulated copper plated alum. in a jacket, a bit like the modern Romex....Jim

Back in the old days (I can say that now) in the early 50s, our family home was wired with old stranded aluminum, textile insulated wires; one hot and one neutral with no ground. They all ran under the house from joist to joist through glass insulators. Every time we ran the toaster and about anything else, it would blow one of the old screw in fuses and dad would have to go to the basement with a flash light and screw in a new fuse. Sometime around the mid 60s I helped my father and uncle re-wire the whole house and put in a 30A, 220V (back then actually was 220V) circuit for mom's new dryer  - Thank God and science for Romex....Jim