Power cords...
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John in MA
Respect the gamba tuba
They greatly enhance the sound quality of your system, because a stereo that isn't plugged in sounds rather dull and lifeless. 
Seriously, unless the stock power cords are damages or undersized I wouldn't worry about it. Probably the part of the system with the least impact on anything.
Seriously, unless the stock power cords are damages or undersized I wouldn't worry about it. Probably the part of the system with the least impact on anything.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
wormcan! wormcan!
dogscanskate
Super Member
They greatly enhance the sound quality of your system, because a stereo that isn't plugged in sounds rather dull and lifeless.
Seriously, unless the stock power cords are damages or undersized I wouldn't worry about it. Probably the part of the system with the least impact on anything.
Have you made tests to state such a claim? Because there sure was a huge difference on my amp when I installed another power cord! Maybe your comment is valid for below average gear but I would never generalise it either way. It may or may not make a difference to some but I don't think I'd heed your comments as the holy truth!
Where's the pop corn, here we go again!
I think this belongs here in Thinking Out Loud, where there's a better chance of a serious discussion.
I also think that powercords can matter in some circumstances, presumably by providing a filtering function that either prevents noise on the powerline from getting into the component, or noise generated in the component from getting on the powerline and affecting others.
I also think that powercords can matter in some circumstances, presumably by providing a filtering function that either prevents noise on the powerline from getting into the component, or noise generated in the component from getting on the powerline and affecting others.
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
I used to think the same way!
I read a wild claim somewhere that a guy (a member of another forum) thought power cords had the most effect on a system, including interconnects and speaker cables! Hogwash, I thought! Maybe they could have some effect... maybe.
Then, hanging around a local shop, I had the owner build me a DH Labs power cord with (????) ends. I guess I was bored that day and the PC was pretty cheap (under $100.00.) Money back refund.
Took it home and plugged it in.
:drool:
What the...... ?!?!?!?! The music was clearer and there was noticibly less grunge in what I was listening to. And that's with the PC between my Foundation 1 power conditioner and the preamp. The power conditioner was supposed to clean all that stuff up (it did, mind you, but not 100%, I guess....)
Then someone said that the preamp should not be limited by plugging it into the power conditioner so I had to get more.... I ended up with some fairly expensive PS Audio cords. I have the pre plugged directly to the wall with one. You know what? It cleaned up the power line grunge better than the power conditioner. And the dynamic range is greater!! Everything sounds smoother and more musical!
Do power cords had more of an effect on a system than interconnects and speaker cables? I dunno.... but they do have a significant, positive effect!
It works for me! As usual, YMMV.
Rodzilla
Super Member
yup have had some similar tho less expensive experiences lately...i brought home some new rotel gear and have been trying to get things dialed in and was generally happy but not overwhelmed by the improvements i had just spent so much cash on...the rotels come OEM'ed with 16 gauge ungrounded power cords,but do use a standard IEC socket...so i pilfered a few cords from my IT job,these are only 18 gauge but are shielded...the difference was and is astounding..the rotels went from a mild improvement over what i had previously,to the clean and clear and MUCH better sound i had heard and paid for in the store....shielded power cords?who knew?...
i now wonder about all the people out there with captive unshielded 18 gauge lamp cord being used for power cords on thier gear[IE this is pretty much all vintage gear!]i guess it may not matter as much in all situations but it sure does in mine...it was simply a HUGE improvement top to bottom,at least equal to dumping the 1.99 trash and getting good speaker cable or IC's..
i now wonder about all the people out there with captive unshielded 18 gauge lamp cord being used for power cords on thier gear[IE this is pretty much all vintage gear!]i guess it may not matter as much in all situations but it sure does in mine...it was simply a HUGE improvement top to bottom,at least equal to dumping the 1.99 trash and getting good speaker cable or IC's..
There are some reviews of power cables in the cable swap threads. The increase in improvement is not necessarily linked to increasing price.
speakerfritz
Well-Known Member
one thing to be mindful of is the sheilding most higher end power cables have. why do we need this? Well with all the interconnects running adjacent to power cords, having sheilded power cords is helpful. How much would you need to spend? Probally 49 dollars per cable if you go with designer cable such as monster cable power cabls....their 49 dollar cable is sheilded. Their 99 dollar cable is moreso. Their might be some medical grade power cords outthere that's sheilded as well...maybe 20 bucks or so. If anyone knows of a source of medical grade sheilded powered cables on the cheap...please post.
Rodzilla
Super Member
mine are simply "computer grade" we just happened to have a few laying around at work,i don't know what gear they came with originally...maybe not as great as one could have,but they are still certainly an improvement...belden does sell shielded cords in various lengths and gauges...i'm gonna be looking into getting some of those,and i'm pretty sure they're a lot less than 49 dollars each
we just happened to have a few laying around at work,i don't know what gear they came with originally...maybe not as great as one could have,but they are still certainly an improvement...belden does sell shielded cords in various lengths and gauges...i'm gonna be looking into getting some of those,and i'm pretty sure they're a lot less than 49 dollars each
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
Worked well on my vintage gear, too!
stuartk
Super Member
A search on Google for "hospital grade shielded power cord" turns up some stuff, including some fairly inexpensive cords from "Audio Research" with model #s like AP810. AP813, and AP820.
I think I've heard about some cords being sold on Ebay for low prices too.
stuartk
Super Member
mine are simply "computer grade"
I've seen a recommendation for Volex power cords.
The Volex 17604 and 17605 are evidently a good place to start.
They're not shielded, but they're supposed to be very good quality. (Probably better than what comes with a lot of computers.)
TheAnalogman
Tell me about it.
Ok, my interest is awakened. Can someone here tell me why this is or should be so?
ex: the sheilding reduces "blank" resulting in a better "blank". Or a particular insulation, wire selection, big connector eliminates "blank", enhances "blank", etc.
Thanks.
ex: the sheilding reduces "blank" resulting in a better "blank". Or a particular insulation, wire selection, big connector eliminates "blank", enhances "blank", etc.
Thanks.
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
I'll bet the only people who know that are the people who actually make after market power cords. And they'd never give out their secrets.
But, who knows... maybe someone here will chime in!
Incidentally, a local shop loaned me a test power cord once. I believe it was a computer power cord - they cut off one end and attached a Furutech end to it (female). The difference was astounding compared to my own stock computer power cord.
So I bought my own Furutech end and tried it, using my computer power cord. Same results.
So there is something special about the power cord connectors... as well as the wire itself.
PS Incidentally, the Furutech end was not cheap... $50.00 or more (I forgot the actual price, sorry.... )
I bought a Chris VenHaus Flavor 1 (about $100 bucks), to see what the hype was about. Put it on my Jolida 100 CD player. Yes indeedy, it made a difference. Nothing quite as drastic as say putting an external dac on a CD player, but it's there. And not so great that I'd prioritize putting them on all components before everything else. But just MHO on my sys.
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
A good point! It's possible that you never really know how good your system is.... I know I was shocked....
Tmac83
Super Member
I have been doing some reading about this because I was also interested, but what do you do about vintage gear? Do you really replace the original Marantz power cord (as an example) for a 18 gauge shielded cord? Most new components have the computer type power cord with one female and one male end. Any thoughts?
TC
TC
TheAnalogman
Tell me about it.
Just about all my gear is vintage, so I would imagine once we make a decision, we desolder the old and solder in the new. I still wanna hear about the causes/effects of "blank" before I pull the trigger.
