Guest Anonymous Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Well, today i just bought chasis mount iec plugs. My 2 amps have pretty old power cords that aren't grounded, so I decided to replace them, and then reailzed that for another 5 bucks I can just put in iec chasis mount plugs. That way they can be detachable..... Anyways, I need to buy three power cords, I am not a believer in the 1500 Nordost power cords, but I do believe in a nice heavy shielded power cord, and I was wondering if anyone knew of any that are better that a standard "iec computer power cord" but not a freagin zion encrusted potassium powered cyro-tefloned flux capicator power cords. I have been looking for a while and that seems to be all thats made, its either buy a 5 dollar power cord or spend at least 80 for a 5 foot power cord. If someone can tell me that a power cord for 80 dollars is going to be the best thing on earth, i may take the plunge, but i was hoping for something better with out feeling like i have to bend over and take it.... anyways thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 You could make your own cords from bulk cable and connectors, as shown on this page from parts express.... power_cord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 thats what i was going to do, but i looked into it, and i can just buy them made for another 5 bucks, connectors cost 15-20 for a female adn 10-15 for a male, which seems crazy to me, and then you have to buy the actual wire, but anyways, i think i may just have to go to home depot and see if i can whip up something myself, buy something that doesn't have the word audio in it and the price will probably be about 80% cheaper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 I think www.cobaltcable.com makes pretty decent, fairly priced powercords. PS Audio's Radian powercords are also quite reasonable. www.psaudio.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckears Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 I think my SignalCables were about $60 each... very heavy duty, very nice. I can't say I heard a difference vs. regular power cables (I installed them just after buying my current two amplifiers), and there is not going to be as big a difference as there is with interconnect changes, but they sure do satisfy the Inner Man-Beast (think Tim Allen, "grunt grunt"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raypenn Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 Gramas - Personally, I would try the Home Depot route like you suggested. I could never hear a difference between "normal" speaker cable and the monster or other exotic cables when used with efficient speakers. As others have said, this makes me wonder how much of the other differences we think we hear are real or just the result of advertising and group thinking. You can't change the power wires in your walls, so why would the last few feet from the wall to your equipment make any difference? Having said all that, if it looks great and makes you feel proud of your system, there is nothing wrong with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 The observation that "the last 3 feet of power supply cord won't modify what's in the wall" is correct. What will change the character of that power supply would be a good power conditioner. A power conditioner will provide all of your components with an exact and constant electrical feed as well as provide surge protection. This will make a difference that you can hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rigma Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 www.mouser.com Mouser Part #: 686-17660 Very nice shielded cord for $13.77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DADUDLE Posted February 27, 2005 Share Posted February 27, 2005 signal cable,Frank can fix you up with a very good one ,it is not Home Depot ,but they are very good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 i want a pretty low guage power cord, 18 is no what i am looking for, i am goign to try home deopt next time i pass one anyways thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Just go with the $5 cord and rest your mind knowing that you saved a lot of money not doing something useless. Let's say that in the worse case scenario a different power cord did have a measurable difference, then it should be safe to say that this difference will be consistant with time. Well inside of any electronic device you have a bunch of circuitry that's sole purpose is to control the power source to be within the operational thresholds of the device...so any difference (if it even exists) between the power cables should be simply compensated for with the internal circuitry. If not, then the device in question doesn't have a strict enough threshold and thus should never be expected to perform consistently (in which case, the power cord isn't an issue because you can't know which makes the device run better). Most every device nowadays uses transformers so there's not even an actual physical electrical connection between the rest of the device and the power source, which means a lot of artifacts don't get passed along either. I spent all of last summer building and troubleshooting the brunswick scoring consoles and we were playing around with the thresholds of the consoles. Our testing conditions were pretty bad for making sure they worked and we wanted to see how bad/inconsistent we could make the conditions before it would start affecting the validity of our testing...those consoles could handle 20v swings and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. We had testing points inside the device where the measured voltage had to be within .01 volts, and they would remain constant while we changed the power source's voltage (even during rather quick changes). Keep in mind that these consoles are a really old design (the power supplies were designed back in the 80's) and are built to be as cheap as possible. I think they would cost around $50 on the market if you could buy them. All that said, I have heard audible differences between using power conditioners and just going with the straight wall outlet. I think the main idea behind this though is the fact that a conditioner gives you a ground closer to zero volts which should equate to less noise in the system. A different power cord shouldn't make a difference unless it is somehow retaining a charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 DrWho, I knew we were keeping you around for a reason. That is the single best answer I have EVER heard regarding power line cables. Your answer also had real world experience with highly sophisticated sound equipment included. Well put! Michael- member of the 'mutual admiration society' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 The only potential advantage would be a shielded cord if you are experiencing any type of unwanted signal. However that can be removed for the most part by either a dedicated power line, a surge surpressor with EMI/RFI filtering or if you want to spend a lot a constant voltage regulator. That would protect against brown-outs, i.e. a drop in voltage, along with excess voltage protection. The heavy duty power cables, started with pro Audio where they used, wrapped, used, potentially stepped on. The thought was if the pros use it it should be good for the average home consumer. There were a few obstacles: keyboards using what's called "wall warts" AC adaptors that plug into the wall with a smaller end into the keyboard. The thought in pro Audio then became non-detachable cords. The whole 360. But the Home Audio Industry felt that it had a Gold mine. And this is where we are. The true problem with detachable cords is curious youngsters. There are plastic protectors for the outlets, but there is nothing for a young one tugging on cord and dislodging it from the Component. There are some elected Officials that have seen this and are looking to have Cords that are UL certified go dead if dislodged. If you have an oulder home, two prong was the major going back. Some owners have installed three prong outlets without proper grounding. This was the case with three outlets in my own home. If your home is say pre-1960, it may be worth having them checked. dodger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 my whole house has been re-wired, the only reason i am replacing the cords on my amps is because they are old and brittle and then i decided that since i am going to this effore i amy as well just put 3 prong iec cords on so i can have the convience of detaching them. I already have a voltage regulator and line conditioner from triplite so i just want a low guage power cord to finish it off. I will check out the big home depot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodger Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 You have taken all of the steps that you can short of a regulator to avoid low voltage. But you should do well at Home Depot. My house was completed October 9, 1925. I had it rewired when I switched from a fuse box to Circuit Breakers the first year that I owned it. Leaded Glass, Gumwood, Chestnut, real 2x4s that are 2" x 4", plaster walls with only one crack - compliments of the Concorde. Good Luck and I hope that what you need happens to be on sale. dodger EDIT: The only other thing some in high lightning strike areas is have your own Electrician install a whole house surge surpressor. END EDIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 I have Audio Quest 6ft AC cables that are large gauge silver coated copper. Plugged them in, turned the gear on, and noticably LOUDER volume all by itself (we A/B'd them to be sure). Needless to say, I replaced all of the stock cables I could with them. DM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Gramas, I bought a pair of thesepower cords. for my Wrights. Well worth the money. The components alone would cost more to build them yourself. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=32830&item=5754200455&rd=1 Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpm Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 snake oil? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minn_male42 Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 ---------------- On 2/28/2005 3:13:42 PM D-MAN wrote: I have Audio Quest 6ft AC cables that are large gauge silver coated copper. Plugged them in, turned the gear on, and noticably LOUDER volume all by itself (we A/B'd them to be sure). Needless to say, I replaced all of the stock cables I could with them. DM ---------------- not possible unless your old cords were very thin - like 22 gauge or smaller additionally - what model audio quest cable are you referring to??? everything on the audio quest website is solid copper - no mention of silver coating http://www.audioquest.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted February 28, 2005 Share Posted February 28, 2005 Sorry, but what I said is the TRUTH. Argue all you want. DM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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