Dale W Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Have any of you guys done any A/B testing on power cords for your amps ? There seems to be a " Wide " range of prices and some wild ideas floating around on the net about there value . Just as an example , you can spend like $250.00 upward to the moon for what is claimed as audiophile power cords . Has anyone try'ed a cord that you noticed to make any difference in your system . Fact or fiction ? Opinions are always welcome on my threads But i'd sure like to hear someone say " i did this and it changed this " Or " i try'ed this and it did nothing " More crap for the thrash heap or do we have something to consider here ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I have a simple philosophy on this subject. If the power cord can carry enough juice to electrocute and kill me its good enough to feed a amp that has this rinky dinky fine piece of wire inside the fuse limiting the effects of the garden hose power cable. Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Dale, I use AudioQuest 6' AC cables with the gear that I have with the EIC plug available (the preamp is hard wired or it would have them too). The ones I have are the "silver-coated copper" variety of a substantial diameter... I bought one, played with it, and then went and got another. The gear is simply louder and cleaner just by plugging them in. That's close enough for me. Was it worth the price? No, is it ever? DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted September 1, 2004 Author Share Posted September 1, 2004 One has to bare in mind the wiring in your house is nothing special as well , so how can a 500 cord running 6' make any difference ? Some claim it does , so i beg to ask what the heck they used prior. I don't profess to wear blinders in this hobby nor profess to completly understand everything but if something does work and does help then i'm totaly open for a trial run . Do you think the copper power cords could and would corrode over the years , in lets say a old 1950's amp . Could a new cord possibly help out with some vintage stuff ? No craig ! i'm not fishing out anything wrong with my dynacos if thats what your reading between the lines here . I'm intrested in purchasing power cords for my other amp project thats a work in progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriven Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Dale brings up the point I always make when someone asks about "Designer Power Cords". What is behind the receptacle that you just plugged your $500 6' power cord into? It is an odds on bet it is $.05 per foot Home Depot style 14 AWG copper. So exactly how does that last 6' piece of wire help? (Unless of course there is a problem with the existing power cord!) Before I part with that kind of money I want an answer to that question. I have never gotten one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 High dollar power cords can't do their magic alone. In order to have the fullest system enhancement, you'll need to acquire some of those audiophile cable piers to get your speaker wires up off the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 I would recommend that you install an EIC plug on your project. I wish all my gear had them. My Mc300 does, but not the C40 preamp. What's up with that?! DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 "If the power cord can carry enough juice to electrocute and kill me its good enough to feed a amp ......" If that happened, would it be considered a "dead short"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 "Fact or fiction ?" FICTION! Need I say more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 ---------------- On 9/1/2004 5:50:36 PM Seadog wrote: "If the power cord can carry enough juice to electrocute and kill me its good enough to feed a amp ......" If that happened, would it be considered a "dead short"? ---------------- Like my Brain Heh ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Didnt we go through this last week? Let me spell it out for you........SCAM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomer9911 Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Using PS Audio Mini Lab power cords and don't notice any "drastic" difference...IMO.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 ---------------- On 9/1/2004 7:56:32 PM Maron Horonzak wrote: Didnt we go through this last week? Let me spell it out for you........SCAM. ---------------- Here you go... same subject, different title in the Richard Gray High Tension power cord ?????? thread. My opinion also remains the same... ---------------- On 8/26/2004 12:30:53 AM formica wrote: power cords are 100% snake oil. The differences are purely psychoacoustic. Save your money and buy some good albums... ---------------- Maybe you should simply get some belles instead?... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 Well... ...even though I owe Deneen the full balance on my Peach, I just couldn't help myself. I went and ordered three of those Kimber power cords at $899 each for a 1/2 meter, and moved all of my gear right in front of the receptacles. I brought up my old 70's Sansui receiver and hard wired one of the new cords into it. The result was so overwhelming, so astounding that I immediately broke down and wept like a Girlyman. I never would have thought for an instant that the quality of a power cord bring more improvement to the sound of my system than the gear itself. I'm in the process of upgrading all of the wire inside of the receiver with the 4 gauge Kimber cord, and though it's getting a bit tight in there, I smell success on the way. I look forward to more cleansing moments, as I pour out tears of joy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipschfoot Posted September 1, 2004 Share Posted September 1, 2004 What if you bypassed the power cord altogether and hardwired to your amp, etc., with the "romex" household wire? That sounds cheaper than $900 / pop. ( I have three outlets, specifically for audio/video, running right from the breaker box. ) i.e., Where does it all end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 ---------------- On 9/1/2004 11:25:04 PM DeanG wrote: Well... ...even though I owe Deneen the full balance on my Peach, I just couldn't help myself. I went and ordered three of those Kimber power cords at $899 each for a 1/2 meter, and moved all of my gear right in front of the receptacles. I brought up my old 70's Sansui receiver and hard wired one of the new cords into it. The result was so overwhelming, so astounding that I immediately broke down and wept like a Girlyman. I never would have thought for an instant that the quality of a power cord bring more improvement to the sound of my system than the gear itself. I'm in the process of upgrading all of the wire inside of the receiver with the 4 gauge Kimber cord, and though it's getting a bit tight in there, I smell success on the way. I look forward to more cleasning moments, as I pour out tears of joy. ---------------- I couldn't tell if this was for real or not? If it's for real, that's awesome! If it's not, well it was friggin hilarious! I especially like the "girlieman" touch...thank Arnie for that the other night. =) I myself have 3 PS Audio Xstream Prelude powercables I use for my 2 amps and my preamp, and they made no audible difference, I'm sorry to say. Yes, that's like $600 down the drain. But they sure look cool, with their thick mesh jacket and snake-like weave... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 You're honesty is much appreciated. It's tough to admit money wasted. I bet they do look nice though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I have hear some pretty good music come from 40 year old power cords in Scotts and Dynacos. I am retrofitting all of my new digital equipment with old Scott cords i buy off E Bay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 DaleW, There are some power cords with integral rf filtering. If you don't have an rf filter elsewhere cleaning up the line power, such a cord will make a difference in that regard. If the contacts are a mess at either end, that junction could be adding trash (a new power cord would simply be cleaner and less likely to add contact noise). On the rf note, a good rf filter/isolator (they usually include surge protection) is good for all your equipment and can be had for less than $100. I have A/B tested filtered vs non filtered power and the filtered power wins very obviously. If you have a filter/isolator and reasonable clean line cord contacts I would say a more expensive cord might not do much, if anything. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Rather than power cables it might be worth looking at filters and isolators for your equipment. When I returned my Svetlana 6550's to Tsakiridis I was thrashing around to find something to buy from him instead. As luck would have it his latest do-hickey is exactly that: " Power isolator and filter Isolating capability of 300 Watt Separate filter line for up to 1500 Watt High quality polypropylene capacitors of 5% tolerance and carbon resistors Industrial spec sockets Shielded isolator transformer meticulously winded and insulated by hand by us" Sounds impressive don't it. Matches in nicely with the rest of the range too: Gets rid of all sorts of nasty stuff from the mains power apparently. I just wish I could hear the difference it is obviously making.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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