dougdrake Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I know we are often seduced by the tough-he-man look of audio cables - I am. So for looks only, you can buy a length of 8 or 10 gauge wire at Home Depot, with a nice fat black covering on it, and add one of those large extension cord plugs to it, cover it with a braided jacket, and it'll look very cool. I can't guarantee you'll experience Dean's tears-of-joy nirvana, though. (Hilarious post, BTW, Dean.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Seems to me there might be a market for high-end fuses. Cryogenically treated pure silver would be nice. At a couple hundred dollars a pop I might be able to retire in a year or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I spent some decent cash on a nice one from Single Cable Corp (Digital High Current Power Cable I think it is called) in the hopes it may help eliminate a noise problem I had and possibly improve performance, it was designed for a 3-prong input and my preamp only had two so it did not fit snugly. It made no audible difference and has now been relegated to providing power to my Dell PC. I am using the stock power cable on my preamp now and have no noise whatsoever. Spend you money elsewhere! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I pretty much thought it was a scam from day 1 but a friend did give me a bunch of medical grade power cords to hook up my gear with and while I'm not sure if it made a difference in sound they certainly look good Seti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted September 2, 2004 Author Share Posted September 2, 2004 On 8/26/2004 12:30:53 AM formica wrote: Maybe you should simply get some belles instead?... Rob ---------------- My new " BELLE " is in transit as we speak , should be here by the middle of next week . Pictures and a huge happy face are sure to follow as well as a gaint thank you to the forum member who kindly gave it up to me . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 These is a very simple explination for how power cords might make some differences under some conditions. It has nothing to do with the wiring leading up to the power cord. Between the point where the power cord is plugged into your outlet, and the point where it attaches to the socket on the back of your equipment, it typically snakes through and around speaker wires, interconnects, digital cables, possibly lamp cords with dimmer switches, and all manner of whatnot. As it approches the equipment rack, it may be immersed in a lot of emitted noise coming from switching power supplies, digital circuits, other power supplies and everything else powered up. If stands to reason that some power cords would be less sensitive to picking up any of this grundge than others, and some might do a better job of shielding other cables from noise emitted by the power cord. If you have a cord that is not very good at rejecting external interference, it is quite possible that the (potentially) high current A/C signal being carried by speaker cables in close proximity to the power cord might modulate the 60 cycle A/C coming from the wall, adding a layer of noise that the power supply would have to filter out. Also, it is quite possible that any electrical noise present on the power coming out of the wall might affect the low level signals on the interconnects and RCA jacks if the power cord is acting like a broadcast antenna. Note that none of this implies that it costs more to build a properly shielded and terminated power cord than a poorly designed one. I'm just saying it's not impossible that you could try two different cords, and find your system sounds better with power cord "A" than it does with power cord "B". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 DeanG, That was hilarious man, I burst out laughing here at work LeoK, Will I be limiting the dynamics of my Mark III amps by plugging them into my Belkin 9 port FC-905 Filter Isolator? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 There is a guy here in Southern California that makes exotic audio cabling for many ultra-highend audio "Salons" and cable companies all over the country. He even makes clones (on request) of some of the well known super-expensive cable companies popular models. While the parts cost involved with cable making is more than I thought, the mark-up on the retail end is INSANE. I've bought some very cool looking (no audible difference) power cables from him for $60 that I'd seen at a very famous local dealer for $400! I found him while looking for parts I needed in making DIY speaker wire (Jon Risch's "Twisted Cross Connect" design). Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cal Blacksmith Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Ray, that is the best RATIONAL reason for a magic power cord. I do agree however that it needent cost more, just it needed more care in the design and exicution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Klipsch RF7, No. But if the rf was causing enough added trash, things may sound much less dynamic until you realize that what isn't there didn't belong there in the first place. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriven Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 ---------------- On 9/2/2004 1:33:21 PM cablacksmith wrote: Ray, that is the best RATIONAL reason for a magic power cord. I do agree however that it needent cost more, just it needed more care in the design and exicution. ---------------- Ray, that is not only best RATIONAL reason I have heard it is the ONLY rational reason I have ever heard. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtaylor Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I could not agree more, too much magic, not enough common sense.Come on, the signal passes thru 200' of magnet wire.Duh,is 3' of magic wire gonna bring the losses back, I DON'T THINK SO!LOL Anyway,please everyone have a good weekend, Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 Avoiding EMI into the power cord is a good thing. A 12 foor extensio cord sheilded sould be about $ 60 in a real world. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And the fuse.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnich Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 If power doesnt make a difference, why do so many folks spend big bucks on "conditioners"? Josh PS I agree it doesnt appear to make a difference to my ears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxg Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Nice reply Ray, Cant help wondering, however, if merely keeping the power cables as far away as possible from the interconnects and speaker cables wouldnt achieve much the same result. Of course I would expect the issue of the power cable would be its effect on other cables rather than the other way around - i.e. noice from the mains cable having a deletirous effect on interconnects and speaker cables. Come to think of it - have we just found a justification for cable risers too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 joshnich I find that a good conditioner makes a very big difference in removing very audible trash that is audio modulated by the rf that gets in through the power lines. By the way, I also filter rf in signal and speaker lines. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Thanks for the reply, I have my amps plugged into the Belkin filter, I had an electrician wire a new 2 outlet wall plug directly to the breaker box with its own 20 AMP breaker, seperate from all the other wiring in the house for my amps and stereo equipment a few days ago. The voltage is more stable to the amps when i have my bias meter hooked up to it, and i dont pick up noises from my ceiling fans speed selector switch on the wall any longer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shantheklipschfan Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 ---------------- On 9/1/2004 4:40:08 PM Dale W wrote: 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 ? ---------------- Power Cables is not snake Oil, but also not relevant for every component either. In my Experience power cord upgrades work well on pre-amp's and power amp's, I have so far never noticed a difference when changing power cords on Dac's or Transport's. Also it's good to keep in mind that AWG is not as important as shielding and low inductance. That makes the cord reject EMI and RFI better, and the low inductance makes the cable fast. Now I'm not saying that the difference is huge like adding a Power Plant or a good power conditioner to your system, but what I noticed was a slightly blacker background a quiter presentation of the music, more air in the treble and slightly better bass resolve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 ---------------- On 9/3/2004 4:10:30 PM shantheklipschfan wrote: the low inductance makes the cable fast. ---------------- I like using a "sheave block cable counter" when I use fast cables (see image)... as it helps with stability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 shantheklipschfan I think I provided precisely the type of information that was being asked for. If not, maybe you can elaborate on where I missed the point. Leo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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