Vintage Tube Amps And Power Cords

[FidgetMaster]

There is some noticeable stuff kinda whats across the lines/death cap, so say should see Ceramics a lot and good for noise reduction. It's where see some varrying sizes of the xcaps polyester or mkp stuff...usually kinda big...I tend to drop those values. Become more responsive and start limiting some bass response going in, may be the opposite what you want to do.

 

[Tim D]

When the power station for our area was rebuilt and upgraded to deal with increased demand in the area there was an easily noticeable improve in my audio system. It was in your face noticeable when the power was restored to my home, no small thing. For that reason alone, I can't agree that improved performance can only be achieved with improvement in the path. However, how much audible change by might be obtained by changing out the power is something I haven't attempted with that goal in mind. A new, larger guage power cord to eliminate the death cap improved my Bogen ap250 but there were other variables involved.

There is a limited number of factors that a power station rebuild could affect. Those are:

- Voltage at your home. By rebuilding the station they could have raised or lowered the average voltage at your home. Only a before/after measurement could confirm. How this affects your audio would also have to be measured before/after such changes.
- Phase angle at your home between the voltage and current could change. A power station rebuilt could have incorporated additional (industrial) capacitors which would change the phase angle. The affect of this on your audio equipment would have to be measured, but since any audio equipment power supply rectifies the power to DC this affect likely does not exist in the audio equipment. (Phase angle is a factor that affects voltage and can have an effect on motors. It typically won't affect power supplies that rectify to DC.)
- Reduction in line noise at your home. This would have to be measured too, but the power supply (specifically caps) would typically filter out any line noise. Insertion of a UPS in the line would block this.

I find it fantastic that you believe that some change outside your home had an impact on the quality of audio on your equipment, but it is remotely possible and depends on how well your power supply is built. It also depends on how bad was the voltage situation before the station was rebuilt too. A proper power supply will make your equipment insensitive to nominal shifts in voltage, line noise or shifts in phase angle.

 

[Audiovet]

Jeepers!

I am flabbergasted (how does one's flabber gets gasted anyway?)

That we are still 'arguing' about basics such as this must make a lot of designers wearing out their graves doing all that spinning ... (with respect)

.....suggesting engineers from the 50's and 60's had all the knowledge about such things as we do today is silly. The rules have changed without a doubt and though many principles remain valid, there have been a caveat or two added to them as we continue to learn.

Sir,
Respectfully, as you have a relatively free say, I hope to be allowed a reply in sort.

I am an electronic engineer from the fifties and sixties, and have spent most of my professional life in a world-renowned research institution. Thus, by your qualification, I am capable of reacting. As you were not there then, may I point out that: yes, much knowledge has been added, but the basic rules have not changed, and today's engineers have not added a single thing to basics such as then formulated by Thevenin, Kirchoff, Ohm, Tesla and other pioneers. Instead and respecfully, there rather seems to be either ignorance or disregard of basics in some arguments put forth above.

I not trying to be belligerent, only amazed at some conclusions drawn that is in conflict to some degree or other, with electrical basics. When I last checked Ohm's Law was still valid, and wonderous behaviour of metals and electrons suddenly ascribed, are not new discoveries as if we were fools then or had a shuttered outlook in our profession.

In that vein some experiments are easily compiled for good old blind listening tests. E.g.:Feed an (decent) amplifier from a Variac, 'generate' several listening tests each at a lower line voltage, until the audience begins to identify differences. Similarly (this requires some care in setting up), feed mains to the same amp via a normal(?) power chord, alternated with mains feed through two reels of SWG #30 wire, long enough to each drop the line voltage by some 10Vac (we have a 230Vac system) - the reels adding some inductance as well for good measure. The added 20V drop in fed voltage may be part of the experiment, or may be cancelled by feeding from a Variac. (The temperature rise of the spools of wire will have to be watched.)

Too long ago to recall the exact results; just to say: They would broaden the horizons of some.

I am exceeding my welcome: In conclusion: there was an article by Douglas Self some two decads ago, titled: "Why I buy my cables at Woolworths." (At the time Woolworths England was still selling appliances.)

 

[Dave C]

I will comment about my home built Belden 19364 power cords. I bought a spool of the stuff and it laid in my basement for about 8 months. One day I found some plugs I liked so I built the cords. I had been using computer power cords up to this point. I also have a power filter that everything plugs into. I did some research and found that 48" cords were long enough to contain the AC cycleage. The Belden 19364 wire is 14ga 3 conductor, foil shielded and has a drain wire. I did hear an improvement with this wire so I decided I would put it on the power filter to the wall as well, I heard no difference doing that. People can say what they want about wire and all systems don't respond the same. I built some really nice interconnects that opened the soundstage quite a bit. I took them over to a friends house and they did nothing in his system. Different wire does do different things. That's why you don't use coax for electricity or lamp cord for hooking up your Ethernet connections. I could go on about other cable wins and fails I've had. Experimenting is everything in the deep end of this happy.

 

[gadget73]

honestly my only beef with a lot of cords is that they use PVC insulation, and don't bend nicely as a result. At some point I may buy some better wire for some of my amps, but purely to get a more flexible cord. If someone sold a cord with something like SO rubber covered fine strand wire with a nice molded plug for a not-insane price I would likely buy some. I hate repair cord ends, they're just too clunky looking.

 

[Dave C]

I bought the amp ends for the cords from Newark Electronics, they fit the 14 ga diameter very nice. The plugs came from the local big box store, nice looking though in an industrial sort of way. The Belden 19364 being 14ga and foil wrapped is stiffer than others, it's work it though. Do a google search "Belden 19364" you'll find several articles about it.

 

[arts]

I hate repair cord ends, they're just too clunky looking.

I hate the repaired look myself,but sometimes I just can't change the cordset and I have to bite the bullet and install a plug.
I found these some time ago,and find them to be well made,and really slim compared to the usual types.The colors I listed are the ones available in my area.
Leviton 101 (white,black,brown) Leviton 101A (black,white) Leviton 3w101 (white,black,gray,orange):

 

[maxhifi]

I hate the repaired look myself,but sometimes I just can't change the cordset and I have to bite the bullet and install a plug.
I found these some time ago,and find them to be well made,and really slim compared to the usual types.The colors I listed are the ones available in my area.
Leviton 101 (white,black,brown) Leviton 101A (black,white) Leviton 3w101 (white,black,gray,orange):

View attachment 1110758View attachment 1110760

This is a coincidence, I just came back from buying the one on the bottom for my truck's block heater. Looks the least ugly to me, of what's on the shelves at home depot. Diesel engines do not like to be started cold in the winter!

 

[arts]

Hey,I don't like to be started cold either My long-gone 5.9 Cummins had heaters for the heaters.I swear that thing cost more to heat in the winter than the bloody garage!

I have been using the grounded model as replacements on my heavy-duty extension cords and power tools. They're a lot less bulky than those big cylindrical monsters and have been far tougher than I would have thought just based on looks. Certainly not the same ruggedness as true commercial grade plugs.but they're more than adequate for normal use.

 

[Retrovert]

I am flabbergasted (how does one's flabber gets gasted anyway?)

If only a way to search all the world's information existed:

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/flabbergast​

That saved me trouble of trying to read and keypunch my photo-reduced OED. (Six pages on each page.) That was the only prior way to search the entirely of etymology for English words.

In case anyone cares about such things, the definitive (couldn't resist) book on the creation of the OED is The Meaning of Everything by Simon Winchester