Power Cord "upgrade" question

A question comes to mind: how can this type of power cord (or, while at it, any other type) affect the dynamics of what comes out of a power conditioner if the power itself has been regenerated? BTW, the way I've seen these PS Audio power cords used with the power conditioners was in the connection between the mains and the PS Audio power conditioning hardware itself, not from there to the player, preamp and amp IIRC.

 

When I had the equipment that used separate power cords I made them myself, it was not difficult and they came out looking and working great. I did feel that there was a sonic difference. Now They sit in a box with all of my other unused cables and interconnects . I have often considered having one or two of my amps "upgraded' so I could use these again.....I liked em'

 

When I wrote "power conditioner", I did not mean a unit that regenerates power - like PS Audio or Accuphase units do.

Goran

 

Note taken.

 

IMO, based on my power cord "research" so far, I think there's something to the idea that unshielded might actually be best. The cords I've owned with the most excessive shielding all had issues. However, before I feel I could make any kind of conclusion about the matter, I think I would need a dozen sets of otherwise identical power cords, one shielded, one not, each with a different design/construction and different shielding. Only then would I really feel comfortable assessing the effect (positive or negative) of shielding in general. It's likely that certain kinds of shielding are less harmful than others, or that certain kinds of shielding in combination with certain cable designs/implementations yields a superior cable to unshielded.

As it is, there are so many different design factors in a power cord that I hesitate to proclaim unshielded "superior" although I have a gut-level hunch it may be so.

Sadly, there's no short-cut to finding the best power cord for each individual system and pair of ears. It requires a long quest, extreme patience, and not inconsiderable pocket change to find the cord(s) that work best for you.

 

Clearly, ferrite achieves its objective by augmenting the impedance. That this might affect the sound given some cable constructions is still to be seen although it is plausible.

If/when power cords work they are a low cost improvement power management devices do a much better job at delivering better sound, but they are quite expensive. It all depends on your budget and your interest in solving the issues that bad/dirty common power creates.

 

Jon, that was the first question that made me doubt the entire cable thing. Be careful, or you might cross over to the dark side, where interconnects don't matter because they end up on a PCB, and speaker cable doesn't matter either, because inductors are, at best, size 15 or so (and can measure dozens of meters), and caps have these tiny, tiny wires coming out of them.

FWIW: I have tried two "premium" power cables. I used them on my preamp, amp, tubed amp, and MartinLogan speakers. *I* couldn't detect any difference whatsoever on any piece of equipment, so, either my system is immune to power cords, I already have the best cable I can, or my house wiring is such a mess I'll never reap the benefits.

 

Wouldnt a better power cord cut the interference from other sources in the house? For instance, when you turn on/off a lamp the TV flickers a bit or if you run the sweeper, microwave, blender etc the TV pic scrambles or you hear a noise from the speakers? I remember when I was young, my mom would run and appliance and the TV pic would go all squirrely. Same thing happens now when I turn on a lamp, the stereo sound changes a bit. Would a power cord (almost said power chord do I have classic rock on the brain?) fix this or is this a different problem?

 

I dunno, $300.00 (or much more) to buy a high-end power cord to "improve" the sound of a system, or 50 six-packs of beer to do the same thing. My cost/benefit analysis points to the latter...

 

IIRC, electric appliances around your house introduce a lot of "garbage" or EMI interference (I could be wrong about this) into the power supply, interference that your equipment will pick up. That's the reason some people believe a stereo system sounds better late at night - because most power tools, TVs, etc., around are turned off and there's less interference.

I'd guess that's what those electric power supply filters they use to sell are for. I hear they make a marked improvement, rejecting (filtering, actually) the EMI interference. I have never tried one, thuogh.

 

IMO a power chord has to provided some sort of electric noise reduction to affect the sound. Considering the long lengths of 12 or 14 ga. solid wire that runs from the the fusebox to the outlet, a 6 ft. chord of 8 or 14 ga. will have no effect on voltage and current delivery to the component. Its possible the quality of the plug can play a role, but I think we're talking about electrical noise reduction here.

One of the biggest sources of electrical noise is between components, particularly digital components that generate lots of hf noise. My advise is to unplug everthing that you don't use and isolate each component with line conditioners or transformers with excessive VA ratings. Then power chords don't make a difference.

 

Odd?? It mentions in my line conditioner manual that better results can be achieved by upgrading my power cord on it.

 

50 six-packs? Wow, that's a serious improvement - just be sure not to piss on the tubes...

 

Well, I wouldn't drink 'em all at once! But considering six bucks per, that's the trade-off for a $300.00 power cord.

Seriously, though, I've spent $50.00 on a decent power cord. That much beer money I can part with.

 

They don't make a difference...But, people that spend the money on them, need to hear a difference, to justify the purchase..

 

Yes, they make a difference once your system is good enough. On my current one a power cord in only one of the components can alter the music picture dramaticaly.

 

I agree and was not ready for the differences I've heard.

 

Seems that November could be another "Throll Month"...

Goran

 

Plucked from RAHE, concluding with some useful advice:

">> and are carrying the power to your outlet. Even with a line conditioner,
>> what crazy stuff goes on for the short length of wire between it and your
>> component?

>Well, for one, you likely have a transport/DAC/CD player type component within a >very close proximity to that wire. If that digital component is radiating hash it can be >picked up on the >power wiring and re-radiated inside the component it is attached
>to (cheap power cords usually do not have shields). If the >unshielded cord is on the >digital device itself, it can act like >an antenna actually radiating the hash (how >close is that power >cord to all of your other components??).



Certainly all this is POSSIBLE, but it also indicates pretty incompetent power supply design on the part of the offending AND the offended device.


>Even with everything plugged into a common line conditioner, you can get RF loops >via the power cords and chassies of the various components--especially if >unbalanced ICs with non-telescoping shields are used between components. A power >cord with a telescoping shield or ferrite isolation can reduce gremlins caused by this >scenario.


So will even moderately competent design on the part of the components. That being said, competently designed power supplies is NOT something that can be taken for granted in expensive high-end boutique audio equipment.


>Note that power cords that solve these types of problems don't have to be very >expensive. Many audio hobby folks can make their own from "relatively" inexpensive >materials--however, they are providing their own labor time. Note that the use of >ferrites can also be problematic since RF resonances can occur. If the primary
>or a harmonic of a resonance happens to be in the range that can affect a particular >component, adding the wrong size ferrite can actually make things worse by >virtually "amplifying" the problem (i.e., it reinforces the resonance by raising the Q >factor of the circuit relative to that frequency).


Uh, no, not correct. It will ONLY raise the Q IF the Q of the added resonance is equal to or grater than that of the existing resonance, and only if the added resonance is at the same frequency as the existant one. Pretty serious consicidences if it existed.

One VERY command and EXTREMELY effective way of reducing coupling between cables, which is EXTRAORDINARILY rare to begin with, is to place the offending and offended cables at right angles to one another.


The BIGGEST problem with this is that no audio guru designers can make any money off of it. "

WVK