Re-wired to 30 amps?

15 or 20 amps is a typical residential fuse rating (other than for large appliances -- my in-wall oven, for example, requires a 30 amp fuse). Bear in mind that, for most residential applications, a single circuit with a 15 or 20 amp fuse will be connected to a number of outlets and/or switches for fans or lights. Most home electronics do not require 30 amps. Dedicated lines to power supplies seldom need to be above 20 amps and even that is generous (of course, I'm doing just that just in case). A 15 amp dedicated line will support about 1,650 watts (110 volts times 15 amps) and that should generally be sufficient for most audio needs. I overkill everything and went for five 20 amp dedicated lines.

Sean makes some wonderful recommendations for a subpanel with a mix of 15 and 20 amp circuits. Bob Bundus (I hope I spelled that right) is extremely knowledgeable as well. Do a search on "dedicated line" and enjoy! Hope that help.

One problem with 8 gauge or lower is the difficulty in working with it. I'm a few weeks from moving into a house with dedicated 10 gauge lines. I have easy access to the same type of wire and am thinking about experimenting.

I could wrap and solder another 10 gauge line (hot to hot, neutral to neutral, ground to ground) just in front of the connections on both ends. There would then be two solid core lines running side by side. That would leave a 7 gauge run for most of the length and 10 gauge right at the connection points (well, maybe a couple of feet on either end depending on access capability). The total run is about 25 feet from the breaker box. Is this a crazy notion? At the end, it's always "let your ears decide", but this would be a bit of work and I'd rather avoid it if it won't make any difference. Thanks.

Thanks Bob, I was hoping you'd say that. Your advice has saved me an hour or more in the crawl space ;-)