How to hard wire?

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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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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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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