Dedicated 10 gauge NM-B lines twisted or straight

@goleksiak 

Thanks for sharing.  I haven’t read the full paper yet, but it looks like I’m already behind the curve, as he recommends

“Please Note: The single biggest goal of this paper is to install 10 gauge wiring up to 20-30 feet and eight gauge beyond 35-40 feet, and then six gauge wire beyond 60 feet. Everything else in this paper is there to be sure you get the maximum benefit from the lower resistance of the larger gauge (or heavier) wire!

And it looks like he recommends a 6 gauge wire for each type of component, especially separate wire for subwoofers.  I’ll have to read on to see if he has any data to back up his statements, but maybe it’s just his experience, which also counts to a degree…but it would make more sense to install a sub panel instead of 3 x 6 gauge wires over 60 feet, which is perhaps what should be done.

y, sounds like you should sub-panel. It might even be cheaper that way:

• Cost of 480 ft of AWG 8: 480 × $1.00 = $480
• Cost of 160 ft of AWG 6: 160 × $1.50 = $240

Just reviewing data from the internet:

To minimize loss, aim for a voltage drop under 3% for sensitive equipment. 

The voltage drop calculator, says that 10 gauge wire over 100 feet should only cause a drop of 1.6V (1.33%) at 16 amps.  However, Google says that the drop would be 5.4V (4.5%) at 20 amps.

The same voltage drop calculator also says that 6 gauge wire over 100 feet should cause a drop of 2.37V (2.0%) at 60 amps.  Here Google says that the drop would be 4.7V (3.9%) at 60 amps, which is what I would need for a sub panel.  

So, perhaps just go with the easier option, and run 3 x 10 gauge wires.

Listen to Erik,  I’ve been an electrician for a long time,  his points about voltage drop are sub panel are valid

rich

...y, but imagine sitting there with your 10AWG wiring, wondering "how much better would it sound with 6AWG?"