How to hard wire?

100 volts under load, huh ??? That's pretty poor to say the least. Then again, that is less than a normal situation. I don't think that anyone would have ever dreamed that dozens upon dozens of rooms would all be trying to pull 15 - 30 amps all at once, even though each room is wired for that amount of draw. Kind of like inviting someone over for dinner and than saying "Oh, sorry about that. There's not enough left to feed you".

That basically means that the licensed and degree'd ENGINEERS that came up with the industry / nation-wide design specs for our household & business electrical systems did not do their homework. The wiring and mains should be capable of supplying what is needed WITH adequate protection included. If you've got each room set up for 15 - 40 amps of service, your mains and wiring should be capable of delivering ALL of that power simultaneously with negligible voltage drop on the mains. If it can't, something was designed "cut corner" or is running on the ragged edge.

Like i said, what "works" and what is "optimum" are very different things. Sean
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Okay, you've got me. I asked the cable manufacturer of the cables that I use, if they'd terminate the large 240VAC (30 amp?) Hubbell twist lock on my power cords. I'd sent them a pair in boxes and they returned installed on 2 separate power cords. I guess that I'd have to agree with the issues regarding IEC connectors, they are the weak link. I'd love to see something more industrial used, even heavy arc welding wire connectors, but it isn't user friendly. Many of us do us overkill wiring inside their listening room, my electrician thinks that my friends and I are crazy. Oh well, it did make a big difference. Every time I think about home wiring, my memories are drawn back to the old Sahara in Lost Wages where we use to have Winter CES. Everything was done to code, but with all the exhibitors, you were sometimes lucky to get 100 VAC at the wall socket.

Brian, i hear ya and know where you're coming from. My brother gives me a hard time because most of my gear still has all of the IEC's on them ( even though i know better ). He has hard wired all of his components. The big difference between he and i is that he has had the same amps, preamp, etc... for quite some time. I do a lot of buying and selling so making "semi-permanent modifications" is somewhat a waste of time and detrimental to resale value. Then again, if and when i EVER get all of these systems fully dialed in, i WILL hardwire them. Probably won't be anytime soon though : )

As to a product "passing spec", that does not carry much weight with me. I see the spec's for various gauge wiring and how much current it is rated for and i have to laugh. They say that 10 gauge is sufficient for 30 amps of current. Ask any certified electrician and he'll verify this ( Oh Glen, where are you ???? ). I know better though as i measure this type of thing on a daily basis. Try passing 30 amps through even a relatively short run (15') of 10 gauge and measure the voltage drop / feel the heat coming from the jacket of the wire. NO WAY is 10 gauge sufficient for 30 amps in my book, especially in a long run. I can measure a voltage drop using 8 gauge at the same length with a steady 30 amp draw. What is "usable" and what is "optimum" are VERY different things in my book.

With that in mind, what gauge are the connecting pins on an IEC and how much tension is there at their mating surfaces ? It is not a very low resistance connection, nor is there enough surface area there ( in my opinion ). Manufacturers should be using Hospital Grade Twist Locks like Hubbell and other commercial manufacturers make, especially on BIG amplifiers. Not only do these haver larger contact / lower resistance connections, they are seated in place due to the "twist lock" design. FAR superior to anything that anybody in audio is using. Then again, if someone was willing to take this step in manufacturing, you would need to convince the buyer that they needed better wiring in the house to take full advantage of the amp. Talk about going out on a limb and catering to the "esoteric" market.... Sean
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I've heard this before Sean, however, my amplifiers are fitted with 20 Amp IEC's (as many are). They'd have to handle continuous 20 AMP to get the rating, both from U.L. and to get CE rating. Just for the record, my cdp and DAC are both hard wired. I agree with you, regarding the benefits of hard wiring. (I've even considered hard wiring my amps to my sub-panel in the listening room). I suggested installing the IEC, so that ASDF could try various Power Cords on his DVD, making it easier for him to find the optimal PC. (I tried quite a few before I found the optimal one).

IEC's are strictly a matter of convenience. Personally, i find them WAY underspec'd for audio use, especially on power amps. Not only does the use of an IEC double the amount of point to point connections made in the circuit, most are not rated for ANY type of "high current" use. If you are shooting for the best performance of ANY component, a hard wired cord is ALWAYS superior to one that uses an IEC connection. With that in mind, hardwiring a chord is superior so long as you can do it safely. Sean
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there have been previous threads that address this and apparently there is an adaptor out there (Harmonic Technology maybe?) to go from the two prong to IEC if you don't want to modify the back pane. Run a search and you will get info you need.

Maybe installing an IEC connector to the chassis would work as well? Then you could try various power cords. Just a thought.