Power cord and it affect ?

Whitigir · Oct 14, 2016

Hello,

I have seen and observe the improvements and differences sound characteristic from materials, copper, silver, gold, and USB cables....but does Powercord affect the sound overall ? How much differences in magnitude is Powercord VS USB cables vs headphones cables. Thanks!

treitz3 · Oct 14, 2016

Hello and good evening to you sir. A power cord in the most layman's of terms will provide a deeper, more articulate bass or lower register frequency range and perhaps more "air" to one's system.

Tom

audioguy · Oct 15, 2016

One thing is for absolute certain: Power cords make a HUGE difference. An A/B test of having a power cord in the system vs no power cord is very audible to even the most cynical !!

(I'm sorry. I'm just in one of those moods)

es347 · Oct 15, 2016

..it's nice to participate in a forum where you can discuss cables differences and not be slandered by some froth-at-the-mouth troll..

Speedskater · Oct 15, 2016

In a few occasions power lines can act as interference antennas (both transmitting & receiving). This can be very situation specific, so the mere act of replacing the cable with one of a different length or routed differently can change the interference.

One day I measured several IEC cables in my spares box with a sensitive Ohm-meter. Many were poorer than expected.

A power cord with the Hot & Neutral as a twisted pair with the Safety Ground/Protective Earth near the pair can make a excellent power cord.

16hz lover · Oct 15, 2016

If your electrical panel is at the opposite end of your house, say 75' from your wall outlet that you are plugging a $8400.00 audiophile cord in to, then replacing just the last 3-6 foot of the entire 120 volt power line from your box doesn't seem to make sense to me. As most all of your power cable run is standard 14-3 residential grade generic solid copper wire, but as they say, "we are all ignorant, only on different subjects" and that is me for sure

So I too would like to hear how just replacing a cord is going to affect things sonically.

Whitigir · Oct 15, 2016

16hz lover said:
If your electrical panel is at the opposite end of your house, say 75' from your wall outlet that you are plugging a $8400.00 audiophile cord in to, then replacing just the last 3-6 foot of the entire 120 volt power line from your box doesn't seem to make sense to me. As most all of your power cable run is standard 14-3 residential grade generic solid copper wire, but as they say, "we are all ignorant, only on different subjects" and that is me for sure
So I too would like to hear how just replacing a cord is going to affect things sonically.

That is very true, and so the main things would primarily be the : circuit breaker, the in-wall wires, and then the fuse inside the amp. I have heard that people replace them all into the wall sockets for their primary Audio quality. But let just put this on the side for now. What I want to know is that do Powercord really bring drastically improvements to the equipment sonically ? They are very expensive to just dive in and buy or make ... Lol

treitz3 · Oct 15, 2016

Whitigir said:
What I want to know is that do Powercord really bring drastically improvements to the equipment sonically ?

Drastic? No. Helping to achieve the last 5% of performance out of a rig? IMO, yes. Most definitely.

Tom

c1ferrari · Oct 15, 2016

Speedskater said:
In a few occasions power lines can act as interference antennas (both transmitting & receiving). This can be very situation specific, so the mere act of replacing the cable with one of a different length or routed differently can change the interference. One day I measured several IEC cables in my spares box with a sensitive Ohm-meter. Many were poorer than expected. A power cord with the Hot & Neutral as a twisted pair with the Safety Ground/Protective Earth near the pair can make a excellent power cord.

Kevin, Are you aware of any PC's that meet this model? Thanks.

Keith_W · Oct 15, 2016

All I will advise you to do is to try before you buy. I have tried a fancy power cord and I heard no difference. That was a bit of a relief, because I have so many pieces of electronics that it would cost a small fortune to buy fancy power cords for all of them.

BlueFox · Oct 15, 2016

I was so impressed by the sonic improvement I heard with my first power cord upgrade I went on a two year power, power cord, and power conditioner spree. I absolutely love the end result. Your ears may be different.

es347 · Oct 15, 2016

16hz lover said:
If your electrical panel is at the opposite end of your house, say 75' from your wall outlet that you are plugging a $8400.00 audiophile cord in to, then replacing just the last 3-6 foot of the entire 120 volt power line from your box doesn't seem to make sense to me. As most all of your power cable run is standard 14-3 residential grade generic solid copper wire, but as they say, "we are all ignorant, only on different subjects" and that is me for sure
So I too would like to hear how just replacing a cord is going to affect things sonically.

..looks like I spoke too soon

Folsom · Oct 15, 2016

16hz lover said:
If your electrical panel is at the opposite end of your house, say 75' from your wall outlet that you are plugging a $8400.00 audiophile cord in to, then replacing just the last 3-6 foot of the entire 120 volt power line from your box doesn't seem to make sense to me. As most all of your power cable run is standard 14-3 residential grade generic solid copper wire, but as they say, "we are all ignorant, only on different subjects" and that is me for sure
So I too would like to hear how just replacing a cord is going to affect things sonically.

Common myth, to disqualify the benefits due to being "the last few feet".

Your powercords are much closer to the equipment you're using, so having them be twisted or with other field/emission reducing qualities will benefit everything in the area by not polluting. Romex in the wall has a shape primarily helps keep ground from being pumped full of 60hz noise by L and N but that's it.

The powercord can act like a filter (for self noise) depending on the design. To say it's no value at the end of a run would be to say having a good power conditioner would be of no value, as well. Some cords even have a filter built in (Cardas for exp). The benefits may not be as good as a power conditioner, but are present.

Cheap cords quality of copper is less than that of Romex.

People like to tune their system with powercords. I don't, I'm not into purposely changing the sound like fashion, but some people enjoy it.

You can do all of it at an price point, so engage where you'd like...

witchdoctor · Oct 15, 2016

Whitigir said:
Hello,

I have seen and observe the improvements and differences sound characteristic from materials, copper, silver, gold, and USB cables....but does Powercord affect the sound overall ? How much differences in magnitude is Powercord VS USB cables vs headphones cables. Thanks!

Hey Whitgir, IMO power is just as important as the room and the components. Power flows through your entire system for good or bad. IMO if you want to improve power you need to start from the wall socket and work back to the equipment for best effect. I would start by replacing the wall socket with a socket from MIT, Mapleshade, or PS Audio. You can get one for less than $100 and it will impact EVERYTHING you plug into it. Next would come a power conditioner (PLC) and brands like Mapleshade, Monster, Torus, or Furhman come to mind. Again everything you plug in will be impacted. Now you can start with power cords. I would replace the source first, then the preamp, and finally the amp (starting at the source and working downstream. Brands like Mpaleshade, Signal Cable and Pangea come to mind. Keep in mind that you need to audition for yourself. Use a vendor with a 30 day money back guarantee like audio advisor, mapleshaderecords.com, or thecableco.com.

Here is an article you might like:

http://mrgcustom.com/press/Electronic House Jan 2016 Issue - MRG Theater.pdf

thedudeabides · Oct 15, 2016

16hz lover said:
So I too would like to hear how just replacing a cord is going to affect things sonically.

There's one sure way for you to find out versus speculating on its sonic impact.

witchdoctor · Oct 15, 2016

16hz lover said:
If your electrical panel is at the opposite end of your house, say 75' from your wall outlet that you are plugging a $8400.00 audiophile cord in to, then replacing just the last 3-6 foot of the entire 120 volt power line from your box doesn't seem to make sense to me. As most all of your power cable run is standard 14-3 residential grade generic solid copper wire, but as they say, "we are all ignorant, only on different subjects" and that is me for sure
So I too would like to hear how just replacing a cord is going to affect things sonically.

Everything you need to audition is here, do the wall socket first (around $70). If you don't like return for a refund. If you do keep it and try the PLC. Finally if you keep the PLC try the power cords.
http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/Power-Conditioning/departments/253/

YashN · Oct 15, 2016

16hz lover said:
If your electrical panel is at the opposite end of your house, say 75' from your wall outlet that you are plugging a $8400.00 audiophile cord in to, then replacing just the last 3-6 foot of the entire 120 volt power line from your box doesn't seem to make sense to me. As most all of your power cable run is standard 14-3 residential grade generic solid copper wire, but as they say, "we are all ignorant, only on different subjects" and that is me for sure

Does using a small tap to regulate water pressure to levels a kid can manipulate safely in your house when the pipes distributing the water all around cities and houses have huge pressure in them make sense to you?

YashN · Oct 15, 2016

es347 said:
..looks like I spoke too soon

Didn't take too long: 2 posts.

still-one · Oct 15, 2016

Folsom said:
Common myth, to disqualify the benefits due to being "the last few feet".

Your powercords are much closer to the equipment you're using, so having them be twisted or with other field/emission reducing qualities will benefit everything in the area by not polluting. Romex in the wall has a shape primarily helps keep ground from being pumped full of 60hz noise by L and N but that's it.

The powercord can act like a filter (for self noise) depending on the design. To say it's no value at the end of a run would be to say having a good power conditioner would be of no value, as well. Some cords even have a filter built in (Cardas for exp). The benefits may not be as good as a power conditioner, but are present.

Cheap cords quality of copper is less than that of Romex.

People like to tune their system with powercords. I don't, I'm not into purposely changing the sound like fashion, but some people enjoy it.

You can do all of it at an price point, so engage where you'd like...

People tune the sound of their systems with power cords, interconnects, swapping tubes, type of amps, CD players, cartridges, tone arms, isolation devices.........

ddk · Oct 15, 2016

Whitigir said:
Hello,

I have seen and observe the improvements and differences sound characteristic from materials, copper, silver, gold, and USB cables....but does Powercord affect the sound overall ? How much differences in magnitude is Powercord VS USB cables vs headphones cables. Thanks!

You'll find many here that will agree power cords can make a significant difference in the sound where consensus fails is if wether its for the better or for the worse, same thing for all cabling.

david

Power cord and it affect ?

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