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Using surge protector/power line condition with higher end power cords?

A

audiodap

New Member
In a previous post I mentioned the my older orig.Halo integrated got toasted during a storm. I purchase a new Hint6, and the AudioQuest powerchute 2
to protect my gear. didn't seem to affect the sound at all,(good or bad), but I feel I am pretty well protected now. question is, I was thinking about upgrading
the stock power cord that came with the hint6. the more I'm thinking about this is, why?? a really good 12 or 10gauge power cord ($300-$500) must be
plugged into the powerchute, which has a 14gauge power cord of its' own. would this not defeat the whole idea of a higher gauge cord?
I do have a plastma tv set close by, and I was looking for a cord that hopefully would be better at rfi,emi shielding. am I overthinking this?
how would you match up diff. gauge cords between the amp power cord and ANY surge/power conditioner? does it even matter?
thanks.
 
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You are getting ready to start something as this topic is a bit of a controversy at AK. Using a larger gauge power cord won't hurt anything, but does it really make a difference in the sound? Many here believe it does. My take is to save your money and remain with the 14 gauge power cord offered by the company who built your equipment, as they have tested the combination and it works fine. To be honest, it's actually fairly easy to make your own 10-12 gauge power cord from material at the local hardware store or online electronics retailer for less than $100 and save yourself money.
 
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ConradH said:
IMO, "upgrading" the power cord is a colossal waste of money and will only affect the sound if you believe it does. Of course, spending a lot drives belief quite strongly. If you want a 10 ga power cord, why not go to the hardware store and buy some 10 ga wire and some plugs? (@eiraved beat me to it!)
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Great minds think alike...now we have to wait... ;)
 
what about the thought about cords that specifically say they are shielded, and help block rfi/emi? I have no choice but to have my audio equipment

near video eqmt and my plasma tv. (which I know generates interference --had to move my turntable because of this.
 
So long as the power cord has the ampacity (current carrying capability) needed by the application and has a safety approval such as UL and is in good repair, you are good to go. It doesn't make much sense to worry about the gauge of the power cord when the house wiring is likely less capable than the cord is. If you see the cord when it is in use, then a nice looking one could be of value if that matters to you.
 
audiodap said:
what about the thought about cords that specifically say they are shielded, and help block rfi/emi? I have no choice but to have my audio equipment

near video eqmt and my plasma tv. (which I know generates interference --had to move my turntable because of this.
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You should just buy what you want because it's pretty clear it's weighing heavy on your mind. Typically no amount of opinions otherwise will put your mind at ease.
 
Turntables are sensitive and not always shielded or grounded in the way one might hope. I wouldn't expect other things to be sensitive, other than to massive signals like cell phones. Sometimes I have to keep my cell phone away from audio on my computer and especially in the lab if I'm making low level measurements. Keep in mind that none of the wires in your house are shielded, so you're pretty much surrounded no matter what you do with the power cable. Unless you live in an industrial building where the wiring might be in metal conduit!
 
audiodap said:
what about the thought about cords that specifically say they are shielded, and help block rfi/emi? I have no choice but to have my audio equipment
near video eqmt and my plasma tv. (which I know generates interference --had to move my turntable because of this.
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What about it? Do these things being around this equipment currently affect your sound? If not, then why be concerned about it now? You've already solved the issue with your TT.
 
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audiodap said:
how would you match up diff. gauge cords between the amp power cord and ANY surge/power conditioner? does it even matter?
thanks.
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I would use whatever came with the surge protection/conditioner units. If you trust that the engineers who made those protection units knew what they were doing, they prolly knew the proper power cord specs.

:thumbsup:
 
eiraved said:
Great minds think alike...now we have to wait... ;)
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Let me be the one.

Once I won a $300 power cord by just commenting on a thread where folks were discussing pretty much the same thing. There were a good number of folks going back and forth as to whether they made a difference or not. I had just saw the thread after a guy who owned a cable company said he was going to send everyone in that discussion a new power cord to see if they thought they made a difference or not.

I commented after him something like "just my luck, late to the party as usual". He commented next saying I get one too. At that time I was using cabling that wasn't expensive, your average fare. Power cords were all stock. I wasn't really expecting anything other than getting a free power cord.

When I got it I thought I'd put it on my Jolida JD-100 CD player because I didn't have to move it to have it fit. When I played the CD player I couldn't believe how much the bass had increased. The bass increased so much I had to pull it and put the original back in place.

I don't remember what my entire system consisted of but it was at the time just after my wife passed and I was building a new system. That system eventually became what you see at the bottom of my post.

Cables make a difference. The difference is more pronounced with higher end gear. I tried more expensive cables with other gear that wasn't higher end and they didn't make a difference.

As they always say, YMMV

Edit: Just remembered the power cord was a Virtual Dynamics Power 3.
 
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What does the inside of your electric panel box look like? How old is your house? How many rooms is the run that you are planning on plugging this thing into shared with?

1792971435353.png

I'm from the its all BS camp (as long as the wire gauge is adequate that there is minimal voltage loss). Sure they can look cool though so if that makes you happy go for it.
 
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pac1085 said:
What does the inside of your electric panel box look like? How old is your house? How many rooms is the run that you are planning on plugging this thing into shared with?



I'm from the its all BS camp. Sure they can look cool though so if that makes you happy go for it.
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I'm willing to bet the average AKers box looks much better than that. Nice work finding the shittiest example.
 
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pac1085 said:
What does the inside of your electric panel box look like? How old is your house? How many rooms is the run that you are planning on plugging this thing into shared with?

View attachment 3863633

I'm from the its all BS camp. Sure they can look cool though so if that makes you happy go for it.
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I used Audiophile-grade Romex when I rewired the house.

:thumbsup:
 
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See edit at the bottom of the post that pertains to how I changed the first sentence.

We have these discussions and it's mostly from people who have never had a higher end system who also never spent the money on better cables to see how they may work in the system.

They 'just know" it's bs because they "just know".

I'm a trained electronics tech and know how electrons work. From my education I was leery of claims people made that their system could "image" and the "sound stage" was spread across the room, like the band was in the room. Also thought people who said cabling made a huge difference were only spewing bs to justify spending thousands on wire. It's just moving electrons. I too was in the bs group until I had the chance to listen more myself.

One day I walked into a stereo store to pick up a Marantz amp that was repaired for me. This was probably around twenty years before my wife died and I wasn't working on gear then. While waiting for my amp to be brought up front from the back a salesman sat me down in front of a $45,000 system that blew me away. Imaging, sound stage, the band was in the room in front of me, I could see where they all were. I was blown away. I got the biggest rush of my life and I just let it consume every inch of me. It changed me.

After my wife died I didn't care whether I lived or died, I was a mess. Then I thought I wanted to get a system like the one that blew me away and I started building the system below, piece by piece, trial with many errors. I spent tens of thousands and when the pieces didn't sound right I sold them for a loss and tried again. Spent many thousands but finally got to where I am with a system that cost $20,000 more than the one that blew me away and this system pleases me much. I spent thousands on wire until I found the right match. @Mr Boochie ,my system is at the bottom of my post. Synergy is a big factor. Some things work great with other things. They also work just ok with others.

I'm not a show-off. Only a few of my friends have seen my system and I believe they thought I was touched when I told them about it. And they couldn't care less about it. Nobody who comes over to pick up the gear I repair steps foot in my house, only the garage. I'm not trying to impress anyone, it's only for my benefit.

So when I see people say it's bs I know they just never got the chance to hear it. When others call it eye candy they too don't know any better.

I've edited the part of the first sentence to remove what I started by saying "We get this crap..." since as someone suggested it isn't crap. Poor wording on my part and I apologize. So, the first sentence used to say "We get this crap..." and has been changed to "We have these discussions..."
 
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