Jumpers in AC Receptacle?
I was doing some audio housekeeping yesterday, like making a DC cable and installing a new Furutech GTX-D receptacle that has been in a box here for a year or so. The receptacle replaced a Porter Port in a double-gang box that houses two receptacles, each with its own 20A dedicated line feed.
When I was reconfiguring the wiring on both receptacles, I realized that while the 10 awg wires of each of the 20A lines power one-half of each of the duplex receptacles, power to the other half of each receptacle depends on the internal plated jumpers that connect the two halves of each duplex.
My question is, do any of you see a benefit to using short jumpers made from 10 awg wire to connect the two halves of each duplex receptacle, instead of relying on the internal jumper metal? Or, is this a symptom of Audiophilia Nervosa (AN)? I went ahead and added short 10 awg wire jumpers to each receptacle, which was easy to do, and which now delivers the current to both halves of the duplex directly through a 10 awg copper wire.
I suggest you leave it as is, 10awg =+ 5mm, set screw on GTX is for up to 4 mm (12awg) unless you use Furutech’s spades FP-209 attached on a 10awg wire. This my understanding. Concerning your question about a better quality jumper i would hesitate to change them as the metal ones used are pure copper.
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Yup, "a large power amplifier" - actually, two of them at 650 wpc each. The power is provided from dedicated 20A lines carried by 10awg Romex. The power cords to the amplifiers are each 7awg wire. I just found it interesting when rewiring the duplexes the other day that, while so many audiophiles here claim huge SQ differences from changing the color of a fuse in the power chain, or replacing the metal jumpers on bi-wire speaker connectors with expensive wire jumpers, I have not yet heard anyone question the effect of the plated metal (probably brass) connecting the two halves of a duplex outlet. I considered this since one amplifier is plugged into each half of the duplex outlet and so one amp would have a more "direct" connection to the power line while current to the other would have to travel through the internal jumpers first. |
I agree with @lordmelton lower AWG means that more power can flow through it, obviously. There are cases where that works, and cases where it doesn’t matter as much. This is based on my experience. I offer no absolutes or "subjective" opinions. With regards to sound quality...based on my experiences...here’s what I can tell you: Short inconnects made of thinner wire typically sound better than garden hose cables of the same length. This is probably because resistance is already so low. By making a cable thicker, you influence the other metrics of cable design as well; inductance and capacitance. A cable is a bridge from point A to point B - optimal design is better than something overengineered for the heck of it. Just like wire inside an amplifier, there’s a reason why they don’t use 8 AWG, aside from not having much space to do so. For power cords on the other hand, thicker wire is usually better. However, that only really matters if you’re running a large power amplifier - and that power cord is plugged in the to power amplifier. power delivery to such a device; especially in Class A can be restricted by a power cord with sub optimal specs. I use hospital grade - up to 1625 w , 105 degrees celcius (max temp of cable jacket) , and 13 A (all this in just 1 cord) costs $11 . You are unlikely to hear a difference between 15 A and 20 A unless you require more power than what 15 A offers. if that’s the case, 20 A is a no brainer. If your power grid and the outlets in your home were set up correctly; and you want a net improvement in performance, look to your audio components first. How can we treat them better? One of the best ways is using a power conditioner. What I’m using gets the job done. U.S. company and patents to protect its design. I would certainly like more people to experience it...especially audiophiles. Take the strain off of your audio gear for good! Although the internal power transformers and power filtering blocks in amplifiers/DACs etc. already do that work, feeding them clean electricity from the start so they can DC to the circuit board(s) is a surefire way to achieve better and optimal system performance.There are stages of power rectification that must occur before audio components can use electricity and function...shorten that process. Does this make sense? Anyone and everyone is welcome to disagree with everything I’ve written here/above. |
My question was more about the possible effect on sound quality rather than standard practices or code issues. An electrician would likely tell me the outlet will work fine without adding 10 awg wire jumpers. However, based on the significant improvements in SQ people report to result from relatively minor tweaks, I am curious whether anyone here has tried directly wiring both sides of a duplex outlet rather than relying on the internal plated jumpers to power the other half of the outlet, and whether they believe directly wiring both halves improves SQ? |
