power cord recommendations?

I don't get it.

Please understand that I have been buying hi quality audio equipment for the past 30 years, starting with AR3a speakers, Audio Dual turntable and Dynaco amp, preamp and tuner that I purchased in 1972. However, I really do not understand why changing a power cord would change the sound of a device.

The utility company brought 3/0 copper cable to my meter which was then connected to my breaker box. From there, a 12 ga. copper wire was connected to an outlet in my audio room. From there, I connected my Aragon Stage One pre/pro. Considering that there are miles and miles of cables of different sizes between me and the utility's nuclear generator, why would the final two feet make any difference. I know that this is a "hot topic", so I do not want to start a pissing match. However, I just don't get it.

 

JohnnyK, I'm not that experienced in hi-fi, more then that, I was actualy born a year after you got your first amp! Nor do I pretend to have golden ears or something - I only tell what I hear. And I heard a huge difference with that powercord. Otherwise I would never let myself blow several hundred bucks on stuff like that (and thats exactly what I'm going to do, when I find the right cord and the good deal)! The difference was in both bigger soundstage and more natural highs. In fact even my girlfriend noticed some serious improvement! My new system is a lot more sensitive to every single change so I can only
imagine what improvement these cords will bring!

 

IMHO, Power cords that run from your wall outlet to your equipment have two functions that they must do. First deliver enough current to your gear without any significant voltage drop due to the resistance of the cord. Thus you see a lot of power cords with big fat copper wire to reduce the cord resistance. If you assume that the power company has taken care of getting 120 V (in the US) to your wall outlet,then unless you require really long power cords (much longer than the usual 6 feet) my guess is 12 gauge wire is good enough. If you have really huge power amplifiers maybe a case can be made for 10 gauge wire. The second thing that the cord must do (that in most cases the wire in the wall does not have to do) is get very close to your equipment, interconnects and speaker cable. Thus the power cord needs to be shielded, something most stock cords are not. I think this is the real value of after market cords. I have found that the bottom of the line PS Audio cords have more than enough fat copper, are well shielded and not too outrageous in price.

 

I don't get it either, but the difference in sound between power cords is large! I don't know why, but it is!

 

That last 2-4 feet may be different than the many miles outside of the residence, in that it may connect the audio equipment to a power line conditioner. This would be the case with my system and both the LAT cable and Chang conditioner resulted in better sound.
I installed the Chang first with noted improvement, then a year later the cord, with yet another improvment.

Brian

 

Well. I agree with you there. It is important that the power cords be well shielded to prevent interference with the speaker cords and interconnects. OEM power cords are probably not well shielded.

 

FWIW, I have found that the use of a power regeneration unit (like the PS Audio Power Plant) can have the greatest effect of any of the power delivery gear. When I change the frequency and shape of the power signal (i.e. depart from 60 Hz sine wave) the effect on the sound is very noticeable (my P300 only feeds my front end, power amps draw too much for the P300). Anyone who wants to explore what the power delivery system can do for sound quality should look into this option. The ironic thing is I still run at 60Hz sine wave because I have never been able to find a big enough block of time to audition all the possibilities, but some weekend I hope to have some real fun with it.

 

Careful with the AC freq.. Your VPI is asynchronous and your profile doesn't mention that you use VPI's SDS.

Brian

 

Brian, Thanks for the concern, the VPI TNT-HR comes standard with the SDS.

 

Of course, silly me. All those $$$ and no SDS? My reading tells me my next upgrade should be a SDS. It's nearly the price of my HW-19 MkIII alone.

Brian

 

Brian, Definitely worth it, I love mine, the SDS is also a power regeneration plant just made for asynchronous TT motors.

 

Have you tried the table without the SDS, or can you?

Brian

 

I've had very good results from Cardas Golden Reference power cords. I like the Shunyata's as well.

www.cardas.com

 

I use these badboys on my power amps with very good results.

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?cat=250&sku=ACUSMOD114

 

Yes, I second that. I didn’t mention it before but I tried them too, they are really nice. I liked the Harmonic Tech better but that is just my personal preference.

 

I can run it without the SDS, however, with the SDS I run at 58.58Hz to get as close to 33.3333 RPM as possible.

 

ill throw in another vote for the virtual dynamics power cords, i have found them the best, but they are pricey.

signal cable also makes some quality cables, they are also cheaper.

 

Has anyone tried the Asylum cable from DIY?

http://www.diycable.com/main/product_info.php?cPath=89_117_123&products_id=100

Price is right and the few reviews look good.

Am also considering their Exodus phono cable which uses Cardas cable and connectors

 

The thing I like about the custom power model 11 is that they are very good for big power amps.