Taz Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Fair warning on hospital grade plugs: they'll rip apart non-hospital grade outlets, or at least the cheapies. If you get the good hospital grade cords you'll get sexy little nurses in skimpy uniforms, but with cheapy ones you end up with a big nurse named Bertha. Ain't no way I'm dressing up for nobody. Just remember "What the eyes have seen, cannot be unseen". I've bought $30 12ga 100ft extension cords that worked every bit as good as the $65 one I bought in a pinch. Can't tell the difference one from the other. I don't think I would know the difference between a cheap power cord or expensive. Not at the amount of current used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I tried swapping the a/c cord from my Dell to my amplifier, and the amp crashed. Hospital grade cord cured it. I would say that is a fluke if ever there was one. They are standard IEC connectors on them. Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I tried swapping the a/c cord from my Dell to my amplifier, and the amp crashed. Hospital grade cord cured it.I would say that is a fluke if ever there was one. They are standard IEC connectors on them. Bruce It was a joke, not meant literally. Amp "crash" from a Dell cord, get it? In response to how hospital cords protect against viruses? Maybe a designated joke font is in order? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Watch now as Bruce slaps his forehead... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) I have pondered this topic in the past. Consider the journey electricity makes as it finds its way to our homes. From the generating plants to step-up transformers to many miles of high tension transmission lines to the step-down transformers that drop voltages for residential consumption, hundreds of yards of common industrial wire to power distribution boxes, and finally the additional hundreds of feet of three conductor common house wiring that delivers electrical current to the large and small appliances and outlets throughout one's home. What transformative influence will the additional few/several feet of inordinately-priced audio-grade power cable have over electrical current that has already traveled huge distances via all manner of industrial electrical cable and wire. I can agree on good quality outlets and plugs -- which should provide a solid, captive connection to the outlet/s being used for one's audio system. Or a power strip that provides suppression of sudden and potentially damaging house mains transients. Even if a power cord is shielded, consider too the enormous lengths of household wiring snaking its way through walls and rafters, in close proximity to washing machines, air conditioning systems, ceiling fans, ovens and stoves, buzzing dimmer switches, toasters, and rice cookers -- all of which is completely unshielded wire sold comparatively inexpensively in giant spools at home improvement stores. If one needs a bit of shielding or immunity against electrical pollutants, ferrite can do a very good job for a reasonable cost. All that said, the proof is of course in the listening. If one happens to make a considerable investment for power cable, and that same person is comfortable with what he or she perceives to be a worthwhile improvement -- than that is of course a good thing! Edited January 10, 2015 by erik2A3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 If I get to the point in my system to where I am worried about power cords then I have made it to a superb system. Same thing goes for speaker cables. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 ^^^ now, that makes sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Instead of using a separate power cord into an amp or preamp, what if one were to bypass the wall outlet entirely, and simply continue the hot, neutral, and earth ground house wiring out the wall and hard wire into the equipment? Would avoiding the usual wall socket, male power cord connector, length of cable, and IEC connector on the opposite end (even if all related conductors were both actively shielded and manufactured from solid gold) be an improvement over the virtually free-of-cost length of house wire directly connected across the power transformer primary winding of the audio component? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Mark - of course, and there is nothing, in the least, wrong with that. We are all just contributing differing opinions, and I have expressed mine -- which works for me as yours does for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 This looks like a good solution to the power cable issues that I am having. http://www.monoprice.com/Category?c_id=102&cp_id=10228&cs_id=1022801 Being able to get the 14 ga cables in 1 foot increments is a nice touch. Buy extras of the 1' 2' and 3' cables and then I can avoid having cables rolled up and zip tied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik2A3 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I understand the concept of aesthetics -- I teach art and art history, remember I generally tuck power cords away and behind my racks so, on a number of different levels, would just prefer to avoid the potentially stratospheric costs of audiophile power cords. I'm very much of a form follows function (Louis Sullivan) sort of person, and often quite like the appearance of generally unadorned wire, cable, chassis, etc. I cherish the memories of the old radio stuff my dad used to make from cake and cookie tins -- the circuits of which were more complex by far than any PP or single-ended amp I have made or worked on. I liked how tube sockets were labeled and identified by "5y3" or "6sn7" hand-written in black marker. Like people, what matters is what's inside, not the outward appearance. To me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RagingBullWinkle Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Paul at Tube Audio Design TAD swore this was all you needed in a power cord. For those that did not know Paul he was an Electoral Engineer who built kick *** Tube gear in NW Chicago. Keep an eye out for TAD-60 amp and TAD-150 tube Pre amp. Any way google Iron Lung Jellyfish 6-Foot Pure Copper Power Cord - Thousands of Audiophiles Love This Cord! Paul used to sell this for 19.99 Another name would be Hospital Grade Looks like https://www.google.com/search?biw=1711&bih=927&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=Lung+Jellyfish+6-Foot+Pure+Copper+Power+Cord&oq=Lung+Jellyfish+6-Foot+Pure+Copper+Power+Cord&gs_l=img.3...14310.24484.0.26532.193.26.0.0.0.8.135.822.10j1.11.0.msedr...0...1c.1.60.img..193.0.0.3LxGi83KZXQ#imgdii=_&imgrc=BAL5ohOjDGLjYM%253A%3BAdG-pSkFN2egFM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fimages.audioasylum.com%252Fusr%252Fy2012%252F01%252F54574%252F011.JPG%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Faudioasylumtrader.com%252Fca%252Flisting%252FPower-Cords%252FIron-Lung-Jellyfish%252F6-Foot-Pure-Copper%252FPower-Cord-Thousands-of-Audiophiles-Love-This-Cord%252F54574%3B640%3B480 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RagingBullWinkle Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 With all the money you save on cords you can look into something to plug them into. This is a nice unit if you can pick up locally, 55 pounds of hospital grade juice. http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-IS1800HG-Isolation-Transformer/dp/B00008N6S7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 I understand the concept of aesthetics -- I teach art and art history, remember I generally tuck power cords away and behind my racks so, on a number of different levels, would just prefer to avoid the potentially stratospheric costs of audiophile power cords. I'm very much of a form follows function (Louis Sullivan) sort of person, and often quite like the appearance of generally unadorned wire, cable, chassis, etc. I cherish the memories of the old radio stuff my dad used to make from cake and cookie tins -- the circuits of which were more complex by far than any PP or single-ended amp I have made or worked on. I liked how tube sockets were labeled and identified by "5y3" or "6sn7" hand-written in black marker. Like people, what matters is what's inside, not the outward appearance. To me. Take a look at the link that I posted. 14 ga cords in varying lengths for under $2 each. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) Rather than focusing on transmission, sub-transmission and residential power delivery, what if we limit the analysis to a power conditioner and the line from the power conditioner to the amp/preamp/source? Assuming that the feed from the power conditioner is somehow superior to the feed TO the power conditioner, would your opinions change? Edited January 10, 2015 by eth2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 No. Thanks for the detailed analysis, TWK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ69 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 (edited) OK, I should have known better than raise this issue. With the exception of Maynard, I guess the consensus is that since "it can't hurt" I should go for it. Perhaps the definition of "hurt" needs to be explored. If I was to spend $1,000 for a power cord (x3 since I have mono blocks and a preamp...and let's not forget the CD player, so x4) $4,000 and there is no appreciable difference...except to my already depleted bank account I can report back (just the results, no details). And gee...let's throw in one of them, there Uberbuss thingies just for the hell of it. At least Maynard gives me a way out (renting). Thanks, guys. I almost forgot I just asked if anyone had any experience with a particular, cheap (relatively) brand of power cord. Penga's are nice cords in the budget range. So I got that out of the way but let me share my experience for what it's worth. I'm a pro cable guy. I like my cables. I use my cables. I have bought a few brands of higher end power cables and for me, I couldn't tell a difference in sound. I'm going with tigerwoodhorns on this one with the exception that the big power cables do LOOK good and I guess that is worth something? Edited January 10, 2015 by russ69 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eth2 Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Big men have big (power) hoses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Erik made some excellent points about the ratio of potentially poor, interference prone, home wiring to the short length of a power cord between the outlet and piece of equipment. Before spending a great deal of money on a power cord, it would make much more sense to 1) tighten the connections at the breaker which feeds the outlet(s) into which the equipment is plugged (you would be amazed at how those can loosen over the passing years resulting in a high resistance connection), 2) remove the breaker and coat the contacts with Noalox or equivalent to ensure a better electrical connection and then reinstall, 3) pull the outlets, and if you find that the wiring was inserted into the pressure lock holes (which are also prone to forming high resistance connections), shut the breaker, remove the wires, and reinstall by wrapping them around the contact screws and firmly tightening, and 4) apply a little Deoxit to the prongs of the equipment plugs before inserting into the outlet. These 4 steps are far more likely to yield a performance improvement than any exotic power cord! Obviously, if you aren't familiar with doing this in a safe manner, call in an electrician to do it!!! Maynard 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.