Gigawatt G-16A 2P, Dual Silver Contact Audiograde Meter Cabinet Switch, 16 Ampere

Gigawatt G-16A 2P Audio Grade 16 Ampere Switch.

Retail Price : € 395,00

Gigawatt Power Accessories : Pure Quality! No Voodoo!

--- Also check out the review of the Gigawatt LC-Y Evo installation cable,

together with the Gigawatt G-C16A meter cabinet switch and Gigawatt G-044 wall outlet

by Christiaan Punter from Hifi-Advice : Gigawatt Review HFA ---

Optimal power supply starts with a properly installed power circuit in your home. It's simpler than it sounds. All you need is a direct connection to your system, or nearby. This direct cable, preferably the Gigawatt LC-Y EVO cable, is connected to the safety switch. It trips in case of a short circuit. This is mandatory, as without this safety switch, fire could break out in your house. As a first upgrade, you will need to replace the standard Automatic Stop, or old-fashioned fuse, with the Gigawatt G-16A or G-16A 2P (Dual). The G-16A 2P is the dual version of the single-pole G-16A. Both the Neutral and the Phase each have their own conductor, and an OFC copper pin with polished silver contact, and each sit in a bakelite housing.

Gigawatt G-16A Dual

Switches or Circuit Breakers

In the audio world, there are many opinions on power, power switches, and fuses. A standard switch, which is probably built into your house, works fine for safety, but the contact points and internal conduction in such a switch don't account for very sensitive audio equipment. Cheap switches contain an unoptimized signal path and poor connection terminals. Cheap switches are adequate for safety, but are sonically unsuitable for Hifi and High End Audio installations.

Inrush Problems

Modern power amplifiers can draw a brief current surge when switched on that is up to 10 or 20 times the rated value of the switch. This brief current surge can damage a normal switch, and it will gradually decline in quality. The new Gigawatt G-16A 2P is specially built for this, and the quality of the connection remains optimal.

Fuses

Older homes often have an old-fashioned fuse box with fuses. If you have a short circuit, the fuse blows, the wire melts. You will then need to replace the fuse. The big disadvantage of a fuse is that all current must pass through a tiny little wire. The cross-section of a fuse wire is approximately 1/50mm. You read that correctly. So you have nice and heavy power cords, and at the base is a wire that's at most 1/10 mm thick. If you use a couple of 100 watts, the thin wire already gets warm, and that's already detrimental to the speed of the current supply. You can hear it. The dynamics change. If you use more power, the wire gets hot, and even the entire fuse gets hot. The sound quality results get worse and worse. If you exceed the limit of the fuse, for example above 2300Watts with a 10 Ampere fuse, the wire melts, for safety reasons. Fuses don't have the crackling side effects of ordinary electronic switches, but they do have a strongly limiting effect on your audio installation. Fuses are definitely not the way to go. Not even if the fuse wire is made of silver, gold, or the fuse is assembled by the so-called "Virgin Angels by Moonlight". It's simply unsuitable.

Gigawatt G-16A 2P Circuit Breaker

The Gigawatt G-16A 2P Circuit Breaker is the latest dual-pole electronic safety switch, made especially for Gigawatt by Carling Tech USA for use in the EU. The 20 Ampere version is no longer permitted in the EU. The 16 Ampere version is. The interior of the 16A version is identical to that of the 20A, only the 16A is set a bit more sharply so that it trips at peaks above 4000 watts, instead of at 5000 watts with the 20A version. The housing of the Gigawatt G-16A 2P is made of bakelite. This ensures that the contact surfaces of the switch, the silverized breakers, are 100% flush with each other at all times. You can understand that if these contact surfaces are even just 1/100mm skewed relative to each other, the contact is no longer optimal. The Gigawatt G-16A 2P is completely made of demagnetized and cryo-treated material. The contact surfaces of the breakers are made of solid OFC copper, which is silverized and then polished. You can be assured that when the Gigawatt G-16A 2P is closed, it really lets all current pass through unimpeded, without any side effects. The sonic difference with a normal or so-called audiophile switch is enormous. The Gigawatt G-16A 2P switch is officially approved in Europe and fits right into your modern meter cabinet, next to ordinary electronic switches. The Gigawatt G-16A Dual lets 16A current pass through continuously, that is 3680 Watts, and will disconnect the Phase and Neutral contacts if exceeded. This way your system continues to work optimally, and in case of short circuit, overload, or other problem, the switch will open. You can restore contact by setting the switch back to 1.

How Does It Work?

The Gigawatt G-16A switch is a high-tech purely mechanical switch. It contains no electronics and no circuits. The current flow is at least 4mm2 throughout the entire Gigawatt G-16A switch, and the very important contact point, which ensures perfect current flow with minimal power loss, is held firmly in place by the mechanism. In the Gigawatt G-16A switch there is a 4mm2 OFC solid copper conductor for the current, which is wound as a small coil with a few turns. This generates a minimal electromagnetic field. Opposite to this are a number of very light and very thin forks mounted. These capture the small field. When the field becomes too large, well above 16 Amperes, a pallet is shifted by the generated magnetic field, through which a pallet is shifted, and the silver contact switch jumps loose. The current is then cut off. You can simply set the switch back to 1, and the current switches back on. This precise mechanical switch works perfectly, because it is housed in a bakelite casing.

Listening

We are often asked, what difference do you actually hear? When you replace your switch, sound module, fuse with the Gigawatt G-16A 2P, everything gets better. Dynamics become better and cleaner, the 3D image larger, and you definitely hear more details. Also, the sense of calm increases significantly, there is simply less stress in the sound, and the distortion is lower. Of course, it's best if you not only replace the switch, but also the cable to your system, and the outlet, and if in your budget, a Gigawatt Power Filter, Power Prime, or Power Conditioner.

Specifications :

Model : Gigawatt G-16A 2P Audiophile Circuit Breaker

Prices : Download the latest Gigawatt Price List here

Housing : Bakelite for Neutral and Phase

Contacts : Solid copper, silverized and polished

Installation : Standard Rail

Connection : Dual connection for up to 10mm2 cable

Rating : 16 Ampere (3680 watts)