Outlets and Wire Gauge? - Please help!

Electrician is fine. He explained that the outlets he's used to have plastic "walls" on either side of the screws and the 10 gauge wire will not wrap around the screws. I too have worked with 14 gauge and found the fit tight on consumer outlets. He never back stabs. 

I read about the cardas and audiquest but also about the Leviton 5362, for example at a fraction the price. I do not need to "cheap out" but if we are talking apples to apples...?

He said it's cheaper to get a single roll of 10awg and run two, 20A circuits. I am going that route.

Thank you for the replies!

I'm left with selecting a worthy outlet. Which do you swear by??

@jea48 Thank you. I ordered two. It is basically a no risk option at $11 each. I know my system and will see what changes. Going this route affords me time I may or may not need, but I strongly suspect I will be happy. 

The funny thing is that there isn't much to outlets. There is no mystery or magic, just materials. Stands to reason that if you find identical materials in a $10 outlet vs a $200 one, it would be questionable to choose the more expensive one.

New question is regarding burn-in. I suspect it is real and I wonder how many hours I should put on these before judging them?

@jea48 I live in a split level ranch, so the panel is on the bottom floor in an unfinished room used as the laundry room. It is quite large. The adjacent room has the oil burner, two tanks and shelves of storage. The metal jacketed cables will be run through the floor joists and through a hole to be drilled through the concrete wall. The boiler room is under the garage and is concrete on all sides. My audio room is behind this room. 

Left side of the panel has seven free slots with only one left on the right (20 per side). A new solar panel system has a double breaker in the bottom two slots on the left side, so the free seven are directly above this one.

@raysmtb1 My last sentence is not a statement, it is a question. A question based on a great deal of reading and videos demonstrating how sound can change over time from an outlet. I have seen and heard too much in this realm to not discount claims that an outlet too will change the sound over time. 

Best, and happy listening!

@jea48 Yes, MC, aluminum jacket with solid CU core.

The electrician has done multiple installs for home theater and dedicated audio rooms. He too has a dedicated room. I was just the first to push for 10awg. He already discussed everything mentioned in the links you provided and within your words. The lines will be about 18" apart. He wrote, "We will be installing 20a Siemens afci/gfci breakers on its own circuit with a dedicated ground. It's the best we can do in terms of noise for that circuit." 

I am committed at this point, so it is what it is. Truly appreciate the time you've taken for me! 

@raysmtb1 No need to apologize. My degree is in science. I am all about science but things exist that I cannot explain or measure... When all things seem equal in terms of materials, why do I hear a difference? Why do things change over time? I stopped looking for reasons and have accepted it. I hear it, I accept it. I ask those who have been around these things for a long time. I do not take anything as fact. I rather make note of it for reference and compare them to my experience. I have learned that I can get a pretty good idea of what to expect from asking, and so far it's been a reliable approach. 

One example is with the Fleetwood Sound Deville SQ loudspeakers I just broke-in. The dealer told me to put 150 hours on them, so I tracked play time and and made notes along the way. I would listen to the same two tracks and note my observations. I noticed a huge change around 47 hours. When I was just 3 hours in, I posted my initial impressions and asked other owners for their feedback. The first reply came around 70 hours when one owner wrote, "I noticed the biggest change at 50 hours and only minor improvements continued from there." No, it is not a scientific study, but in this hobby it's good enough for me. Justification from someone I never met who didn't know what I had experienced at 47 hours. 

My goal has never been to debate these things. I am seeking the best possible synergy because late night music is my escape. I want to be drawn into the music. I want the vocalist to be in my room. I want their passion to give me goosebumps. I have this now and don't want to mess it up with this change. I want to do everything right based largely on other's trials and tribulations.

The best part about this thread is only paying $22 for two outlets. Not one salesman or "pinky in the air" person chimed in claiming I need to spend hundreds of dollars on brand XYZ, "or else!"

@jea48 I uploaded a photo of the panel to my system.You can see it under my profile.

I do not worry too much about this. The electrician plans on rearranging some things. He may be adding a sub panel for this. 

I only listen at night when the family has gone to bed. I have central air - no ceiling fans. 

I will be connecting a new Puritan Audio 156. My PS Audio PP20 is for sale.

I have been living off of a single 15A run that has more cheap outlets along the run than you would believe, and I have been happy with the sound. I am expecting better things from dedicated runs, and I will finally be able to have some lighting in the room by using the old 15A run

@erik_squires  I too am in MA, western MA.

@jimf421 My electrician mentioned my new runs being on isolated grounds.

Like Erik, I too am in IT but spent three summers in my youth renovating turn of the century houses where I had to replace all electrical and plumbing. My education was outside of books and for a man, who was a master in my eyes but I will never know if he was licensed or not. He owned all of the houses. I know nothing of the NEC.

Does my PC need to rated for 15A? I would think any quality after market would be? 

My PP20 charts draw, which is super cool. I was able to see my 30WPC Accuphase A36 pulling 300W, which became 360W when my friend brought over his Accuphase preamp. The total draw dropped to ~100W when I switched to my 400WPC AGD Gran Vivace. This was a cool lesson what I only guessed that solid state class A amps are power hungry, but this assumption could be wrong and specific to things other than class? I truly don't know.

The install was just completed and I am now afraid to connect my gear. Both my PS Audio PowerPlant 20 and Puritan Labs PM156 both say it is okay to connect to a 20A outlet, but the labels on the back of each read 12A Max and 15A, respectively. I have direct communication with each saying it is okay to do so. I have a Puritan Ultimate 20A PC, but it has a end specific to the 156. I guess I could connect the 156 to the wall and then connect the PP20, but I didn't want multiple hops. I was a bit out of my depth for the two dedicated runs and now it seems I'm out of my depth when it come to what's between the outlet and my gear...

@jea48 Happy to report that both runs were installed with your recommended Leviton 5362-W and the result is better than expected. I should have done this years ago. Despite an hour, plus of research, I cannot find a single outlet equivalent  of the 5362 with a brass back strap. Do you know if they have a single outlet version? Thank you!