type of house wire


getting ready to build my final house which will have my own stereo room.I'm a builder,not an electrician,but i have done my fair share of pulling wires.I don't want the house wire to be the weakest link.I will have plenty of dedicated circuits(20amp)and will be running 10 gauge wire to each.I was wondering if ufb would be a better choice than romex as the pvc coating isolates the hot from the neutral and the ground.Or would bx be better with either steel or aluminum casing?The panels will be square d qo, and I will use hospital grade leviton receptacles unless there is something else out there that is better.Looking for some input from electrical engineer types who can answer without being "too technical". thanks
tympaniguy

Showing 1 response by jc51373

I am in the process of pulling wire now for a 20amp dedicated. I would say 10/3 is a little bit overkill and you might be spending too much $$ on it for long runs especially-although long runs is where 10 guage starts to gain advantage over lesser guages (less volt drop). But where you have the advantage of pulling the wire before wallboard go for it I guess. I can see the stranded argument someone made earlier as being a little more logical, but 10 guage can get expensive, with probably little to no audible results. Alot of this very much depends on the components you are running though.

Correct me if I am wrong here, but it is less about the wire guage, than the fact you are dedicated a circuit to the component correct? Not sharing a ground etc...I would suppose if your power cord weren't the same as the rest of the chain it wouldn't matter much right? I could be wrong of course.

Where I live code is only 12/2 (or more) with 20amp. Most really powerful amps only call for a dedicated 20, not a 30, that is usually for dryers, dishwasher etc. This equipment does not suck that amount of juice. Not to mention, why put a more powerful breaker on something that can't trip it right? Is that a potential firehazard? I am no electrical expert, but I just stick with the requirements, because for me dedicating a circuit in the first place to a stereo is overkill, and other than eliminating shared ground don't think it is totally necessary in all applications.