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Mains cables...

Bigmoonface

Bigmoonface

Active Member
So I bought two mains cables off ebay to replace the ones that came with my amp and network player.
Both were around £30 ($40). After I purchased them I then found some hi-fi websites selling cables, there cheapest being around £50 and some of the high end cables being nearly £1000 each!!!

To the the novice the £70 cables on these sites look very similar to the £700 cables. So whats the difference and do they high end main cables make a huge difference to the overall audio produced??

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Cable discussions are usually interesting and at times become contentious.

As far as Power Cords are concerned, it's possible that you may hear a difference from using the ones you just got. Don't be surprised if you fail to hear a change, usually the benefit comes from replacing the stock cables where cost compromises are a factor.

They appear to be well made and may have carried a high price tag when new.

Mark Gosdin
 
Whether they make a tiny, huge, or no difference depends on whether or not you hear a difference and how you define "tiny" and "huge". Many mains cables incorporate a line filter that may make a difference in noise level. Outside of that, there's no known electronics (at least, not in the mainstream) that accounts for the line cable itself making a difference -- assuming it isn't so bad that it's acting as a resistor or choke or actually inducing more noise.

Companies charge whatever people will pay, so there's not necessarily a relationship between cables' materials, construction, and company overhead and the final retail price.
 
DaveVoorhis said:
Whether they make a tiny, huge, or no difference depends on whether or not you hear a difference and how you define "tiny" and "huge". Many mains cables incorporate a line filter that may make a difference in noise level. Outside of that, there's no known electronics (at least, not in the mainstream) that accounts for the line cable itself making a difference -- assuming it isn't so bad that it's acting as a resistor or choke or actually inducing more noise.

Companies charge whatever people will pay, so there's not necessarily a relationship between cables' materials, construction, and company overhead and the final retail price.
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If your wall outlet has brass plates (incoming wire is copper and power cable is copper) would you consider using brass cable (don't think it exists) throughout your system? In Physics courses, conduction through different materials will easily show up in graphs. Cheap wall outlets are a direct connection to your system and definitely '' one of the (if not) weakest points in a system having the wrong blade material, loose connection, arcing (ask me why they use medical grade outlets in hospitals) and they do affect the outcome. The most important factor in a good sound system is and always will be the quality of connections (solder, wire rap, rca, din, banana, bare copper/silver...).

I may not be able to control power lines but I have a dedicated room with dedicated circuits, copper based wall outlets and quality connectors. The upgrade in sound quality is far from negligible just because I take care of all connections. I personally don't care which cable you have chosen so long as it is solidly connected. I will reflow solder, clean and maintain all my connections to make sure my system works at its best. That doesn't cost a fortune, has nothing to do with snake oil. It is just about caring for your components.

I do agree that you can't hear a s*%t of a difference when your AC outlet is so cheap and of the wrong material.
 
DaveVoorhis said:
https://www.quora.com/Is-the-British-electrical-plug-better-than-the-American-plug

In short, the standard UK plug & socket is a beast. The closest North American equivalent is used to plug in clothes dryers, ovens, and light-duty arc welders.
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In short the UK plug is different. The US uses more use specific plugs and designs. The UK is mandated to only have one design. The US lets local agencies choose which plug will be the best for each use.

Now is over engineering a good thing? It can be, and it also can be very expensive. If the US standards were truly that bad, which they are not, there would be nothing left of the US but but millions of charred homes and buildings.
 
Bodyblue said:
In short the UK plug is different. The US uses more use specific plugs and designs. The UK is mandated to only have one design. The US lets local agencies choose which plug will be the best for each use.

Now is over engineering a good thing? It can be, and it also can be very expensive. If the US standards were truly that bad, which they are not, there would be nothing left of the US but but millions of charred homes and buildings.
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I'm sure the US standards are fine in terms of fire safety -- though I used to occasionally see charred or melted plugs and sockets in both Canada and the US that I haven't seen in the UK, probably because the UK plug is over-engineered and thus doesn't break a sweat even at 13 amps draw. I presume the dire North American two-prong sockets of my youth have mostly been replaced by now?

Furthermore, it's almost impossible to yank a UK plug out of the socket by the cord; it's typically switched at the socket (handy!) and fused at the plug; makes positive contact over a greater surface area for better current transfer; is designed to make it very difficult for children (or others) to poke metal objects in the socket holes (they're gated) or get shocked by the prongs when pulling the plug out, and they're pretty cheap -- a replaceable plug is roughly 50p, a typical socket pair is £3.50, which seems roughly comparable to US equivalents.

Standardisation means I can plug my air compressor or arc welder into any socket anywhere using the same sockets for my phone charger, lamps, TVs, stereos, computers, washing machine, microwave, stove, clothes dryer, or -- most important of all -- an electric kettle.

The combination of 13amp socket and 240 volts means a typical electric kettle is 3000 watts, whereas the US equivalent runs about 1500 watts. That means you get your tea brewed twice as fast in the UK. If that isn't proof of British electrical superiority, I don't know what is.

On the downside, UK plugs are big -- they do make an annoying lump in your suitcase or laptop case -- but the worst thing about the UK plug is that if you leave one out of its socket, it will invariably land prongs-up to guarantee that you will step on it, bare-footed, in the night for an experience even worse, indeed, much worse than stepping on a Lego.
 
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DaveVoorhis said:
. I presume the dire North American two-prong sockets of my youth have mostly been replaced by now?
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No ****!!

DaveVoorhis said:
Furthermore, it's almost impossible to yank a UK plug out of the socket by the cord; it's typically switched at the socket (handy!) and fused at the plug; makes positive contact over a greater surface area for better current transfer; is designed to make it very difficult for children (or others) to poke metal objects in the socket holes (they're gated) or contact the prongs when pulling the plug out, and they're pretty cheap -- a replaceable plug is roughly 50p, a typical socket pair is £3.50, which seems roughly comparable to US equivalents.
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Yep that's here as well, in both 110 and 220
DaveVoorhis said:
Standardisation means I can plug my air compressor or arc welder into any socket anywhere using the same sockets for my phone charger, lamps, TVs, stereos, computers, washing machine, microwave, stove, clothes dryer, or -- most important of all -- an electric kettle.
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Same here but we have two different voltages that's all. Sounds like the UK is wasting energy if you ask me.

DaveVoorhis said:
The combination of 13amp socket and 240 volts means a typical electric kettle is 3000 watts, whereas the US equivalent runs about 1500 watts. That means you get your tea brewed twice as fast in the UK. If that isn't proof of British electrical superiority, I don't know what is.
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I don't need no stinking tea:rolleyes:
 
4-2-7 said:
I read it on a blog on the internet, it must be true...
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Not all information on the Internet is nonsense.:rolleyes:

The main downside of British plugs - "if you accidentally tread on one (esp with bare feet), it hurts"! - I'd call that a pretty darn good 'downside' for an electrical product designed with electrical safety in mind.

Dan, anyone else....
Just in case it escaped your attention I am in the UK and I use British and US style mains plugs on my gear because some of it is 100V based and uses US mains plugs. So, in other words I use both, and I know which I think is the best design... ;)

But going back to the original question - I can't believe that one could 'hear' a difference by simply replacing a mains cable - providing of course that all the wiring leading to the mains socket in use is installed to whichever country code applies, and the original mains cable isn't falling apart.

It's all relative...
But if someone want to use a mains cable costing £1000 with their £50,000 system and they say CAN hear a difference who am I to argue?
 
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Hyperion said:
The main downside of British plugs
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The main downside is that one has to use the plug the British government say one has to use.......with zero thought to differing situations. I think local businesses and local towns are smart enough to figure out on their one what would be the best to use.

Very few times in the history of engineering has one solution been the best avail for many differing jobs.
 
220 vs. 110?
I know German wall power is more stable and clean than Los Altos power :)

Over in Germany the clocks only needed daylight savings changes, they never showed 00:00 in 20 years.
 
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