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Apologies for the long delay in updating. It's taken me until now to peel myself away from my system long enough to make this post! I had two Audioquest NRG Edison 20 outlets installed just over a month ago, each with its own 10AWG solid core copper MC cable connecting it to a tandem single pole 20amp breaker in my home’s main panel in the garage. Each run was about 22 feet. The electrician did a very clean job and was very reasonable.
@jea48 I realized afterwards that I failed to ask the electrician to move the 15amp breaker one space to the left. I’ll do that myself one of these days. I did replace it with a Homeline breaker though.
Immediately after the electrician left, I plugged in (power amp into one outlet and Audioquest Niagara 1200 power conditioner hosting streamer, DAC and preamp into the other), turned on and gave a listen. I couldn’t really detect any improvement, but I continued to listen for a couple of hours with no change.
The next day, when I turned everything on and began to listen, the improvement I heard was immediate and dramatic! EVERYTHING is better. Cleaner overall sound, stronger bass, crisper highs, better spatial effects, improved instrument separation, bigger soundstage… everything!
This is by far the best bang for the buck that I’ve gotten from any upgrade to my system. It sounded more like a $10k+ jump in DAC quality rather than the sub $850 total that the project came to. If you’ve been on the fence about doing this, I cannot recommended it more!
What wire to use instead of Romex
I want to install a dedicated 20amp outlet (likely an AQ NRG). The run from the main panel in the garage to my living room above is relatively short - maybe 25 or 30 feet. Because of HOA rules/regs, I cannot use Romex. Wires in the garage must be inside conduit. I will run 10AWG, but I'm unsure what other specs I should implement. Should I use solid core or stranded? Should it be copper? Is BX the way to go? I've read where using stranded silver or silver tungsten is best, but I'd be concerned about the silver oxidizing/tarnishing over time, especially at the junction points where the wire has no insulation. Is it important to twist the three (including ground) wires or will they perform just as well if run side-by-side?
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- 56 posts total
@roccity Awesome! I am glad you are hearing the benefits of this much overlooked upgrade. Your experience mirrors mine. |
- 56 posts total