[accentstryping]

I am thinking of running dedicated circuts (homeruns) to my audio equipment.  As my home was built in the 20's. Any sugestions as far as outlets and or romex for this endevour?
  Those with practical experiance feel free to chime in <g>
                                                                            Thanks,
                                                                                   Michael

[bubba966]

I've found the Eagle/Cooper IG8300RN 20A Hospital Grade Isolated Ground outlets to be very good outlets (under $10 at Lowes). A Hubble IG8300 would be a good choice as well is you go to Home Depot. Any other 20A Hospital Grade outlet should be just as good. I've not liked the 20A Industrial or Commercial grade outlets as well as the Hospital grade ones.

If you don't have to run the wire very far 10/2 Romex works good. But it's damn stiff and you might want to use 12/2 instead as it's a lot easier to work with. I got away with using 10/2 when I installed my dedicated line, but I only had to run about 12' of it. And it was still a pain to do.

[PhilNYC]

I will say that I've never had the opportunity to A/B compare dedicated lines with different outlets/wire (has anybody??), but on my dedicated 20A lines, I use Pass&Seymour 6300IG isolated ground outlets and 14awg grounded Romex.  The line runs about 60ft across the house (probably about 100ft of actual wire length), and the results were terrific.  The P&S 6300IG has the strongest grip of any outlet I've ever experienced.

Hospital Grade = fireproof and tamperproof.  Certainly you want something high quality, but "hospital grade" does not necessarily mean it is the best.  "Specification grade" is another term that outlet makers sometimes use to designate better materials and contruction...but perhaps did not worry about making the outlet fireproof or tamperproof enough to get the Hospital Grade designation...

[Glen B]

on my dedicated 20A lines, I use Pass&Seymour 6300IG isolated ground outlets and 14awg grounded Romex.

Phil, that can't be right.  Did you really mean 12 AWG Romex ?   A 20A line requires 12 gauge as the minimum wire size.  14 gauge is only good for 15A.   Even then, in most modern wiring, 12 gauge is the minimum recommended, even for 15A circuits by reason of 12 gauge being more efficient.

[ctviggen]

Phil, are you sure you don't have 12 awg wire?  14 awg is not suitable for 20A according to the national electrical code; the most it is approved for is 15A.  

What type of breaker system does your house have?  Does it have true breakers or is there fuses?  Do you have a grounded system (i.e., each line has three wires running back to the breaker/fuse box)?

[PhilNYC]

Phil, that can't be right.  Did you really mean 12 AWG Romex ?   A 20A line requires 12 gauge as the minimum wire size.  14 gauge is only good for 15A.   Even then, in most modern wiring, 12 gauge is the minimum recommended, even for 15A circuits by reason of 12 gauge being more efficient.

Sorry...yes, you are right.  Basically, I had my electrician do everything.  I remember reading something about some audiophiles recommending 10awg for their 20A lines, and when I suggested that to the electrician, he told me that electrical code would dictate the gauge of the wire used as a function of current (20A) and length of the run.

[PhilNYC]

What type of breaker system does your house have?  Does it have true breakers or is there fuses?  Do you have a grounded system (i.e., each line has three wires running back to the breaker/fuse box)?

My panel has true breakers; beyond that, I don't actually know the specifics of my breaker system.  As far as a grounded system, the only true isolated ground lines I have are the dedicated ones in my audio system (3 wires running back to the breaker).  None of the other outlets in my house have true IG outlets...

[ctviggen]

The only time I use 14 awg is when I'm doing lighting from a switch to the light.  14 awg is easier to bend, etc.  Other than that, I use 12 awg.  

As for the original poster, Chris Venhaus offers croed romex and outlets if you want to go high end.  I have cryoed hospital grade outlets, but honestly couldn't tell much of a difference between those and the old outlets.  My dedicated line only runs 6 feet from the breaker box to the outlet, though, and perhaps I'm not getting much stuff on my lines (and I live in the relative boonies, on 3.5 acres).

[Soundideas]

Try a Special Double cryo'd Hubble 8300H outlet from cryo-parts.   If you want the best outlet on the market then try Oyaide outlets  www.cryo-parts.com

[Digi-G]

I too added a decicated line.  I used 12ga wire and heavy-duty outlets from Home Depot.  I had considered an 'audiophile' outlet but couldn't bring myself to pay $100 for two outlets - the ones from Home Depot were $13 apiece (and were orange to the dismay of the wife).  My run was about 20 ft thru a crawl space - I did everything and a friend actually tied into the breaker box for me.  Mine is a 15 amp circuit with Square D breakers.  Total cost was about $60 (no labor cost).

Honestly, I can't say I heard any sonic difference.  But the outlets definitely put a grip on the power cords.  My sub is on a  different outlet and every few months works it's way loose.  Having a dedicated breaker makes it easy to turn everything off during an electrical storm or when I leave for vacation.

[Soundideas]

I too added a decicated line.  I used 12ga wire and heavy-duty outlets from Home Depot.  I had considered an 'audiophile' outlet but couldn't bring myself to pay $100 for two outlets - the ones from Home Depot were $13 apiece (and were orange to the dismay of the wife).  My run was about 20 ft thru a crawl space - I did everything and a friend actually tied into the breaker box for me.  Mine is a 15 amp circuit with Square D breakers.  Total cost was about $60 (no labor cost).

Honestly, I can't say I hea ...

 A ac outlet that has been ''special double cryo'd '' makes a difference you can really hear.

[Carlman]

I have enjoyed my "Porter Port" I bought from Audiogon.  I'd say it's as good or better than many.  Gregg Straley recommended them to me after his local club did some outlet comparisons.  

I actually CAN do A/B testing of dedicated vs. non-dedicated outlets since I created a new hole for the dedicated outlet.  I haven't done it because the improvement was easily apparent but I may give it a shot next time I'm bored.... fun, fun.

My main point was that you don't have to go super-pricey to get a good outlet that's also 'audiophile-level'...

[PhilNYC]

I actually CAN do A/B testing of dedicated vs. non-dedicated outlets since I created a new hole for the dedicated outlet.  I haven't done it because the improvement was easily apparent but I may give it a shot next time I'm bored.... fun, fun.

Actually, I can too (still have my non-dedicated line right next to my two dedicated lines).  But what I have never done is to swap out the Romex on my dedicated line for some other wire to see if there was any difference.

Admittedly, I am curious to try out a different outlet on one of my dedicated lines, but am not motivated enough to actually do the work to try it.

I do have a cryo-ed silver-plated outlet on my non-dedicated line (from Acme Audio).  Unfortunately, I had it installed when I first moved into the house, so I'll never know if it made a huge difference...

[ctviggen]

One thing I am going to add to my dedicated outlet box is capacitors across the hot/neutral.  See the following:

http://vhaudio.com/acpowerconditioning.html

(bottom of the page)

As for testing outlets, I have to admit not hearing a difference when I put in my cryogenically treated outlets.  However, I've also not wanted to do the work to take one outlet out and put another in just to do a test.  It'll be time consuming enough just to get the caps in there.

[Carlman]

One thing I am going to add to my dedicated outlet box is capacitors across the hot/neutral.  See the following:

http://vhaudio.com/acpowerconditioning.html

(bottom of the page)

As for testing outlets, I have to admit not hearing a difference when I put in my cryogenically treated outlets.  However, I've also not wanted to do the work to take one outlet out and put another in just to do a test.  It'll be time consuming enough just to get the caps in there.

I was putting together a new power strip and decided to use these.... I am enjoying the added impact and darker backround quite a bit!  It's not night and day but it's a definite improvement.

One thing I don't understand though... when you put a pair of caps on an outlet, is there any need to filter anything else?  The Venhaus site says  you need a pair for ever outlet.  However, would putting a pair on your main outlet filter everything?  Or, in my case, putting a filter on the first AC outlet of the strip should filter the rest, right?

I bought 2 pair to filter 2 outlets but only ended up using 1 pair for the strip... So, I'd like to put the other pair on the main outlet... but I don't want to cause any problems 'double-filtering' since the filtered strip will plugged into the filtered outlet.  

Any thoughts?

[ctviggen]

Hmm...Interesting idea.  I haven't tried this yet, but I do have the caps at home, and I was going to install each set on one of my two outlets. You would be cascading them.  Assuming no resistance/inductance in the wires from the main outlet to the second outlet, you'd be doubling the capacitance (two capacitors in parallel; or more accurately, two sets of two), as they would be in parallel.  I think you'd adjust the frequency range over which you'd remove noise.  Other than that, I can't tell anything bad.

[ctviggen]

I guess you'd be affecting the power factor, too, and decreasing the impedance.

[Soundideas]

Here's more feedback on the Oyaide ac outlets.... http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tweaks/messages/122630.html  and  http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/tweaks/messages/123637.html  and  http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/cables/messages/114071.html

[Brian Walsh]

I have enjoyed my "Porter Port" I bought from Audiogon.  I'd say it's as good or better than many.  Gregg Straley recommended them to me after his local club did some outlet comparisons.

Perhaps they are in your opinion, and it's OK, but I hasten to point out that no one, including Gregg Straley, speaks for the Chicago Audio Society.

I have a real problem with people taking liberties and misrepresenting the organization and the opinions of others, whether intentional or not. This is an important principle upon which the organization was founded, and it is written in the constitution and bylaws, available for download from the CAS website. I happen to be keenly aware of them, as I founded the CAS in 1994 and drafted the constitution and bylaws, which were reviewed and formally approved in a vote by members; they were amended in a similar manner a few years ago, and as such are posted on the site.

The CAS as an organization did not do any such outlet comparisons. I learned after the fact that Gregg and a few others compared some outlets in one or more sessions at unspecified locations, and many other members knew nothing of it. So it boils down to someone talking about something that transpired without others' knowledge or participation, and implying that the organization approves of such action. Not true.

Back on topic, what you might choose for outlets is system dependent. There are many different ones available, though cost isn't significant for most, compared to the system.

[PhilNYC]

but I hasten to point out that no one, including Gregg Straley, speaks for the Chicago Audio Society....

I don't think anyone claimed he did...