Dedicated lines

While it would probably be slightly better to run new ones I don't think you will experence any drop if the splice is done properly. If voltage dropped at every splice it wouldn't get very far. I would go with the splice myself unless I was going to worry about it.

I agree with Stanwal, you already got the big bang going with dedicated lines, a splice will not kill those great results.

I would twist the pairs together and seal with a Scotchlok and rubberized tape to reduce air transfer to the connection. You might notice a drop in performance when you first do this but after the new Romex is run in a bit performance should be where you were.

Goes without saying, stay with 10 gauge on both sides of the spice, don't let an electrician talk you into dropping the 10 to a 12 at the splice.

Last thing, most city code on electrical requires a splice to be a box. You might use your current boxes for the spice (obviously REMOVE the AC sockets there) and run the new. If you ever want to reverse the arrangement you only need remove the blank cover.

When running dedicated lines, should I be using romex single solid core cabling or a twisted pair of stranded cabling? My electrician has recommended a hospital grade cabling that he is recommending I use for running new dedicated lines.

Markus1299, assuming you use the same wire to extend the length of your three dedicated lines, after break-in, I don’t think you will hear a difference in sound or have any type of voltage drop..

Ckoffend, I don’t know what “hospital grade cabling” consists of that your electrician is recommending. I remember reading years ago that 10 gauge stranded cabling with ground twisted (such as put in drill and twist while elongating) is the way to go. This must then be run in conduit. It’s usually easier and costs less to run Romex, and I’m not convinced that you will hear a difference in sound.

The only hospital grade cable I am aware of is type AC or MC (armored) hospital grade cable.

http://www.afcweb.com/pdfs/afc_cable_catalog/afc_hcf_lite_120_0704.pdf

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Thanks guys for your input. Is there a prefered splicing guide somewhere that I might consult or is it just a twist and shield situation?

First in reply to the questions/comments about hospital grade, I spoke in more detail to my electrician. The power cabling was NM/MC, which means it used non-metalic wires (no aluminum, etc. . . purer copper - so to speak). Secondly, the MC stands for metal shielded (everything was run inside a metal conduit for shielding purposes). At least this is what my notes indicate from my conversation, which does not rule out the possibility that my abbreviations may be incorrect.

Secondly, looking for feedback from others who have upgraded to dedicated lines. Did you notice any changes during the burn-in period? When I first hooked everything back up, I found that my sound had worsened actually. My bass lost a far amount of tightness and focus overall was negatively affected. This is what lead me to speak more at length with the electrician. I ran my system for a straight 24 hours (and also moved my speakers slightly) and noticed a significant improvement after just this 24 hour period. Since I moved my speakers a couple of inches, it could be JUST this, but I doubt it.

Is this in line with what others have found?

Thanks guys for your input. Is there a prefered splicing guide somewhere that I might consult or is it just a twist and shield situation?
08-10-09: Markus1299

Markus are you going to do this job yourself or are you having an electrician do the job? I assume from looking at your system you will hire an electrician.

The electrician you hire will have his preferences how he likes to make a splice.

I would recommend he first twist the (2) #10 solid conductors together clockwise.
Then cut off the end of the twisted pair even, leaving about 1" of bare copper showing.
Next install a grey Scotchlok Electrical Spring Connector over each twisted pair of #10 wires.

If you want an air tight connection solder the wires after they have been twisted together and then install the grey Scotchlok over the wires.

The Scotchlok should be turned on clockwise as tight as possible..... tight..... for the spring connector to work properly.

CKoffend, wire/cable cannot be type NM and MC at the same time. You must have misunderstood what the electrician told you. Type NM (non-metallic) is your typical Romex. Type MC (metal clad) is armored cable. The armor may be either aluminum or steel. There is no standard wire/cable with "purer" or "less purer" copper. The only advantage to hospital grade cable is that it has an insulated ground wire which serves as a redundant ground. The metal casing of standard armored cable normally serves as the ground.

What was installed, based on my reviewing the runs, was inside metal conduit (which i believe is code in my area considering how it was run - semi exposed in a "crawl space" ceiling. There were 3 wires + - ground.

You are right though, that I could have very easily been confused as to the NM/MC as we/he discussed both during my conversation with him.

What was installed, based on my reviewing the runs, was inside metal conduit (which i believe is code in my area considering how it was run - semi exposed in a "crawl space" ceiling. There were 3 wires + - ground.
08-18-09: Ckoffend

There were 3 wires + - ground.

Four individual insulated conductors? More than likely THHN/THWN insulation......
Like 2 hots, 1 white neutral, and 1 green ground conductor?
If yes, you have a 3 wire multi conductor branch circuit. Two separate circuits with a shared neutral. Not 2 dedicated circuits.
Not particularly good for audio equipment connected together by ics.
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No, three wires total, one plus, one minus/neutral, one ground.