Dedicated Line, Surge and Safety

After consulting with Ernie (Subaruguru) I installed two dedicated lines, one using 12AWG Teflon-insulated Belden wire, and one using 10AWG Romex (for my amps). The difference was not subtle. Before I installed the dedicated lines, I had my entire system powered using the existing, shared line. My amps had been bordering on clipping when trying to drive my Thiel CS3.6's to even moderate levels. After giving them a dedicated line, I never saw the distortion lights flicker even once, even at loder listening levels.

The nice thing about the Belden wire Ernie sells is that if you have any left over, you can make some very nice power cords out of it.

Good luck, Tom.

Romex is available at Home Depot. Belden is not.

To follow up on what Ernie just said, I ended up having him help me make a custom 4-way box with an in-line switch (60A) using the 9AWG Belden (on the 10AWG Romex line). I used this box for my amps. A simliar box (was that a 40A switch, Ern?) was made for the pre/source components using 12AWG Belden on the 12AWG line. I have PS Audio Ultimate Outlets on each line, so a new extension cord was made for each, using 12AWG and 9AWG Belden wire. Both boxes, the non-high current UO, and all wall outlets use PorterPorts from Albert.

I did not have the luxury of carefully auditioning each component (for one thing, my outlets are behind a very heavy entertainment cabinet), but the overall effect is a very noticeable improvement over my prior setup.

Tom.