Power Cable Upgrade

I was reading a post on Tapeheads today, and saw that one of the members upgraded his power cable. Does anyone think that makes a big difference? I am skeptical, but definitely not opposed to trying something like that as long as I didnt fry my system.

How expensive are cables and I guess, clean powers supplies?

elroy

I would first have a dedicated circuit to my system, that will make the biggest impact. Since my amp is finally coming home I am going to finish that project. I am running a 10/2 with ground wire from a seperate circuit in my panel to feed the amps.

I have a power conditioner on my circuit currently that definately shows a drop in voltage as my amp hits peaks, especially if really opened up. This needs to be fixed first before changing power cables to the amp would make any big difference in my opinion. The first problem you are trying to overcome in my opinion is inadequate power supply to your amp leaving your amp hungry for power to be able to supply the current to your speakers. Second benefit from this is that other appliances are not putting interference in the circuit that your amp would be trying to amplify. Remember Mom running the mixer during Gilligans Island and Mary Ann got all fuzzing and you couldn't see her, your amp will feed this to your speakers, todays appliances aren't as bad but still cause this to a degree.


Jim

Maybe my first step would be to get a power conditioner and see if there is a big drop. My system is on the other side of the house, but they way the run 10-12 outlets on one circuit is crazy, and I just moved my system to the other wall which is close to the kitchen,

hmm, maybe I should stick a fork in the outlet and pop the breaker to find out which outlets are on the circuit.

elroy

That would be one way of finding out, I think I would give serious consideration to running a seperate circuit, most houses are wired with either 12 or 14 guage wire which is barely sufficient for the demand the kind of power the amplifiers we are running draw. I am using 10 guage and would recomend it, like with your speakers, to small of a guage of wire over any length of run will drop amps.

Do you know an electrician? They would have a meter that they can put around the cord that supplies your power for your system and you can see the amperage drop without the expense of a power conditioner.

After upgrading your circuit a upgraded power cord would be able to perform better.

Jim

Hi Elroy,

Yes there is a difference. I was a skeptic from the studio days (if it fits in the hole, it is the right cable type thing). What I have since learnt is that you need to reverse your (sound) thinking on power. We look at it from reaching out from your gear to the power grid, to get the cleanest and most constant supply. Skeptics of course think the other way, how could a last couple of feet from miles of crap make a difference. Well it does. I've had pro reviewers who were skeptics do the 'eat crow' thing after getting some of our power gear and many hundreds of customers says thanks.

Rule number one - if you are buying it, get a home trial. Nothing hurts more than wasting money on something you can't hear the improvement on.

Rule number 2 - Power conditioners sold in AV shops such as Monster, Pure A/V and anything less should not be used on high current amps. The protection methods they use typically involve circuits that will choke your gear, even the unfiltered amp section. If you have it relegate it to the home theatre system where it works fine (again except for high current amplification)

For power chords you can DIY what we did with our PC-1.5 that outperforms many more expensive cables (including ours which we dropped) is simply put a Ferrite core RF filter on the cable. Easier said than done to get the right combo and positioning, but you may luck out with a stock power cable and RF filters you have kicking around, and you likely have some kicking around. Look at your computer monitor or TV power cable, that round thing is the RF filter. You can even try those powers cables !! before ripping them apart. Also new Plasma TV's seem to come with an assortment of RF filters too. My Samsung did.

For a power conditioner do go for something designed for audio, they can be expensive and you need a chord for them to boot. Ours comes with a proper chord and is of course affordable.

Cheers,
Ian

This post has been edited by Grant Fidelity on June 16, 2009 11:54 am

From my own experience as professional in some electric/electronic fields and as music lover and hi-fi aficionado, imho the most important upgrade anybody can do for your audio setup is an independent electric circuit with an independent wire ground from the main electric board to the audio setup outlets, to avoid not only RF interferences but also electromagnetic fields coming from all around both from air waves and electric appliances.
An independent ground wire is also essential because not all of us know for sure if our house main ground - coming from the electric main board to earth - is a "good ground" or not...for that matter it's always better to make an independent ground ourselves, otherwise all the ground ac remains' from the other appliances could enter in your audio setup via the common ground.

If for any reason we can't make an independent circuit, a good power cable - medical stuff are very good - is imho a very good upgrade in a well balanced audio setup.

Clean power = Better sonics.

I'm a little radical and i have three independent electric circuits. One for analogue stuff. Another for digital, and another for my comp system.

One think you'll notice immediately is not much more bass, but a better defined bass, better details and a wider sonic image.

this topic will always cause arguments amongst enthusiasts..


ive never been one to believe in magic cables. being that i work with electrical on a daily basis, i dont believe in skin effect, gold coatings and monster cable.. but its okay, because its my system and obviously everyone has the freedom to do what they feel best with their own system.

the only cable i feel is important, and i mean important, are signal cables. this is why i make my own interconnects. some good quality connectors with some nicely shielded wire is all thats needed, just to provide a nice clean signal before its amplified.

as for power, there are just too many factors to consider in an audio system and focusing on something like speaker or power cable becomes a moot point. for instance, i use 12 or 14ga wire to go from my amp to my speaker, but i go with the shortest run possible (~1-3 feet max). right now i use 2 lead hookup wire (lamp wire), i have containers and spools full of monster cable and various other cables, same difference. as long as you have sufficient gauge thats all that matters.

in regards to circuits, a dedicated circuit is a good idea and cant hurt. if your gear draws a lot of current it will end up being a necessity. more important than cable would be to avoid using a circuit with interference. if you have a computer UPS, throw it on your gear.. it'll do the same thing as these BS "line conditioners" and will protect from under/over voltage, as well as power failures

in short, i havent seen a cable or conditioner that has done anything notable other than look pretty and cost a lot of money

This post has been edited by old_s13 on July 13, 2009 07:31 pm

Elroy
I can send you a cable to try. I think I have an extra. But you do need a power cond. I have an Adcom and a Belkin. They protect the euipment also from surges.
Larry

Clint sent me a very nice cable, but for me to be able to use it, I would have to tear apart my amp and re-wire it. I am not comfortable doing that. I also have a cheapo computer type surge protector, which I know isnt the a good thing, but I wanted a little protection. I will pm you

elroy

IMHO, if i have only ONE power cable i will use it on the audio source.
...and Elroy you do not have to tear apart your amp - if you want to use it on the amp... - just open it, desolder the cable that came with it and than solder the other one.

I will have to really think about that, before I go tearing into my CD player or Amp,

elroy

Good thread here on my GF PC-1.5 Power Cable with the typical debates, if anyone is interested in my DIY approach to fixed cables, I'll post it again.

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/forum/viewt...hp?f=13&t=12590

Cheers,
Ian

that's exactly what i did with my DENON DCD-1500 CDP about a year back. can't say with any certainty that it yielded any sonic improvements, but it sure does look better than the stock lamp cord...










This post has been edited by MacGyver on July 19, 2009 07:29 am

Get a power conditioner first. Power output depends on voltage AND a steady supply. When my neighbor's A/C compressor cycles on, the lights in my house dim as his motor over-draws on startup.

A fancy power cable is nice but after the cable reaches the internal junction block, the stock wiring to the transformer typically thins. You would have to replace the wiring all the way to the transformer to remove the bottleneck (if one exists at all).

that's exactly what i did with my DENON DCD-1500 CDP about a year back. can't say with any certainty that it yielded any sonic improvements, but it sure does look better than the stock lamp cord...


.......

There are many brands and models of power cabels....what's yours?