Do power cords matter?

[PelliX]

My old man could run the whole house on fuses that literally cost pennies. No, really. He would stick pennies in the fuse box.

Yeah, that works. But I think I really *nailed it*....

Though there are alternatives...

 

[10kDA]

Depends on the fuse holder, I guess. Use your best judgment LOL


Why stop there?

 

[Ken Underwood]

Power is transmitted hundreds of miles through industrial cable that is usually aluminum with a steel core, spliced with mechanical attachments, exposed to the elements, often tarnished, corroded, or rusty, and you think that special cable for the last 10 feet to your amp is going to have magical properties that correct for all that? Seriously?

Once the power conductor gauge is adequate to ensure no appreciable voltage drop or current restriction to the amp, anything past that point MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. So your 18 gauge cable is probably sufficient. Upsize it to 16 gauge just to feel assured that it's more than sufficient, and there's no need to go any further.

If you think you hear any difference after putting what you think is a "better" cable on your amp or spending a significant amount of money on it, put your opinion to the real test which is a double blind listening comparison. Which you will not do as well at as you THINK you will.

We have biases. We're biased toward what we THINK will be better, and toward what we just invested our money in.

Nobody has yet done a subjective test using measurements and meters that shows any difference between two different power cables that are both of merely ADEQUATE conductor sizing or above. With instruments that are more sensitive and reliable than our senses are.

At last a sensible reply.

This thread is the most ridiculous waste of time with some stupid unqualified comments that i have ever heard.

Next!

 

[StingRay85]

Power is transmitted hundreds of miles through industrial cable that is usually aluminum with a steel core, spliced with mechanical attachments, exposed to the elements, often tarnished, corroded, or rusty, and you think that special cable for the last 10 feet to your amp is going to have magical properties that correct for all that? Seriously?

Once the power conductor gauge is adequate to ensure no appreciable voltage drop or current restriction to the amp, anything past that point MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. So your 18 gauge cable is probably sufficient. Upsize it to 16 gauge just to feel assured that it's more than sufficient, and there's no need to go any further.

If you think you hear any difference after putting what you think is a "better" cable on your amp or spending a significant amount of money on it, put your opinion to the real test which is a double blind listening comparison. Which you will not do as well at as you THINK you will.

We have biases. We're biased toward what we THINK will be better, and toward what we just invested our money in.

Nobody has yet done a subjective test using measurements and meters that shows any difference between two different power cables that are both of merely ADEQUATE conductor sizing or above. With instruments that are more sensitive and reliable than our senses are.

I guess you mean an "objective test" rather than a "subjective"?

But I guess this point is also valid for different type of resistors, capacitors, tubes, etc... It's not always easy to come with experimental proof. Still people claim there is a difference.

I think once you put the net 120/230V AC on the scope, it will become clear there's nothing to gain from preserving its "signal signature". One of the reasons why there is such a thing as filtering

 

[Norfolk Martin]

Power cords make an enormous difference.
Unplug one and your tone gets weak and tinny.
A very short one limits where you can place the amp.
A particular color makes it hard to match particular other colors.
A very stiff one is hard to bend into a sharp-cornered pentagram shape.

I wanted a thinner tone for an overdub last night, and tried your advice

I must admit I am disappointed sir. You did not mention that the weak and tinny tone would only last for about 2 seconds before disappearing altogether.

As a result I had to piece my overdub together from approximately 120 takes , and it still sounds uneven.

I cannot recommend removing the power cord as a means of obtaining a thinner tone .

.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

Correct, I did mean OBJECTIVE when I wrote subjective. Thanks for spotting that.

There can actually be valid reasons why different types of capacitors sound different. And there are
It is KNOWN that different types of capacitor construction (and condition) will result in different electrical values other than capacitance alone. Resistance and inductance, of course, plus there are also factors in play such as capacitance values that actually vary according to operating frequency and instantaneous current demand on the part. Plus some construction types are more or less microphonic than others.

It's a golden rule that there is no type of electrical component that has ZERO microphonicity. No matter what it is, if you hit it hard enough, the impact will affect the signal being sent through it.

And there are no perfect components. No resistors that are PURE resistances. No inductors that are PURE inductances. No capacitors that are PURE capacitances. They all have some measurable element of the other parameters.

 

[RLW59]

If I needed a power cable, I'd be willing to pay a few bucks extra for a nice feeling cable. Thick, soft, rubbery jacket that has no memory at all. Wad it up, toss it in the back of your combo amp, take it out and untangle it, and it lays nice and flat on the floor.

Not that I abuse cables like that. But cheap cables have stiff, thin, hard plastic jackets that have permanent kinks every 8" or so from when they got coiled up, twist-tied, and stuffed into a skinny plastic bag at the factory.

 

[Mike_LA]

Except draw from AC power is 375 watts at full output.
Still nothing much there.
A hair dryer can run 1500 watts on a crappy non grounded lamp wire.

Yup, unless I'm mistaken 375 watts still only draws about 4 amps.

 

[PelliX]

Yup, unless I'm mistaken 375 watts still only draws about 4 amps.

W / V = A, indeed. Well, there are more factors involved, but essentially with a resistive load like hairdryer the formula is fine.

 

[geddy]

Oh, FFS. I googled.

HiFi-Tuning Audio Grade Fuses

Relatively big enhancement can be achieved with little effort when replacing the stock fuses with HiFi-Tuning fuses that are designed specifically for audio-/video systems.

www.kempelektroniksshop.nl

My mind is still reeling from the absolute gullability of certain misled individuals that could warrant such a product description to grace their catalog.

My favourite bit of bollox here is the marking of direction of current flow on a component that passes ac.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

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[Old Lex]

I need a 10 ft power cord for my 1959slp. Should I just use any old iec cord laying around or buy a 14g Mercury magnetics cord. While I’m at it should I spring for the 12g?

Having read with interest~
For the future always use the proper wire for any AC hook-up. Here are some general "rules"
It is best to always think ahead for future and perhaps backword compatibility. Always purchase more of what you need not less

AC Hook-Ups
Use 3 conductor 14 gauge and for heavy loads use 12 gauge 600v SOW Carol wire. 600v SOW cable is very flexible and resistant to most types of environments. Most of the these items can be very expensive, we never had a failure in over 40 years of heavy use. We used Twist locks on most 12 gauge and standard Heavy duty Hubbel Edison plugs. All cords were fabricated at 25', 50' & 100'. With heat shrink tubing we could etermine the size immediately, supply any set-up needs and acquire any length with these various lenghts. We used quad boxes (metal, 4" rounded corners with wire retainers) for durability along with 4-120v 20 amp (not 15 amp) heavy duty receptacles.
Green+ ground, white=neutral & black=hot. Make sure that each cord is wired the same way from start to finish.

AS the old saying goes PAY IT NOW or PAY IT LATER for quality.

I started out with 1 mic Electrovoice 635a and several Lafayette Electronics doing recordings with one atlas stand a Sony R to R and Lafayette Electronics mixer and over the years added mics from Shure (wired & wireless top quality types), Electrovoice, Beyer, Sony, AKG, Sennheiser and others. Miixing consoles from Makie, Kelsey, Shure, Peavey and more. Utilized small home built columns in the late 60s, Shure Columns, Peavey commercial, Altec A7s to a monster Extended Levithan system from Community Light & Sound. Included: DBX, Ashley Audio, Clark & many others. Lots of fun, met a lot of bands, groups and musicians in every Genre. Did small and 30k+ indoor and outdoor events. Loved most of it - especially being the house sound company for Waterloo Village & Waterloo Jazz Festival - a division of the Newport Jazz Festival. It was a good 30+ year run; Praise God and pass the soldering iron. OLD LEX

 

[PelliX]

Example # 1, our economy model; $1,1097.00

Example # 2, Deluxe Model, with choice of 49 colors; $ 2,488.99

Oh come on, man - now you're really trying to con people out of their money! We both know you couldn't produce at scale *and* retain such quality...

Typical forum replies:

* That's halogen free insulation, and everybody knows halogen is where the tones are...
* Yuck, moulded plugs. I want hand wired!
* Nice windings, but you have to align them each time using a compass...
* Is that ToneSaver Platinum velcro...?? OMG!
* Ha ha! Joke's on you, ya loser! I got that same cable for $50 less from so-and-so!!

 

[tmingle]

Any decent 16 or 14ga IEC cord will work fine. Sufficient gauge to handle the amperage. What’s the fuse rating on the amp? 4 amp? I don’t buy into the cork sniffery around copper cables not carrying audio sign

The Altmann "Tube-o-lator" lacquer

ALTMANN HIGH-END MACHINES manufacturer of the worlds finest DA converters

www.altmann.haan.de

It is no longer available for some reason

 

[Mike_LA]

It is no longer available for some reason

Dare I say, " because it didn't do enough to generate sales.

Also don't think it would do much for power supply cables

designed for plastic encapsulated analog- and mixed-signal-semiconductors

 

[playloud]

Power is transmitted hundreds of miles through industrial cable that is usually aluminum with a steel core, spliced with mechanical attachments, exposed to the elements, often tarnished, corroded, or rusty, and you think that special cable for the last 10 feet to your amp is going to have magical properties that correct for all that? Seriously?

I think it's possible to be charitable here, and assume they are plugging into some kind of regulated/regenerated AC source.

Correct, I did mean OBJECTIVE when I wrote subjective. Thanks for spotting that.

There can actually be valid reasons why different types of capacitors sound different. And there are
It is KNOWN that different types of capacitor construction (and condition) will result in different electrical values other than capacitance alone. Resistance and inductance, of course, plus there are also factors in play such as capacitance values that actually vary according to operating frequency and instantaneous current demand on the part. Plus some construction types are more or less microphonic than others.

It's a golden rule that there is no type of electrical component that has ZERO microphonicity. No matter what it is, if you hit it hard enough, the impact will affect the signal being sent through it.

And there are no perfect components. No resistors that are PURE resistances. No inductors that are PURE inductances. No capacitors that are PURE capacitances. They all have some measurable element of the other parameters.

Just to play devil's advocate... You could make the case that different wire gauges/compositions have measurable differences (in terms of current-carrying capacity, "skin effect" etc.), and ditto the noise rejection of different shielding types. That doesn't mean the differences are ultimately significant.

 

[Sg-ocaster]

I dont see a need for anything more than a 16ga cord,
FYI....to my understanding if you play in theatres the NEC says fixture whips can't be over 6' or they need to be SO cable(service rated) . Dunno but I keep um 6' or less.

 

[purpleplexi]

Iiiiiiifffffffff.... You was using an old cable that had been tied up and thrown in the bag with all the other crap for years and years I guess it's possible it might degrade. They say old instrument cables increase in capacitance over time. In that case maybe a nice new decent one might help. I dunno. My cuz is a jazz drummer and an electrician and he tells me the jazzers are picky about power cables. He reckons my amp would sound better with one of the ones he's talking about. Can't remember what it was called. I didn't buy one.
Can't be bothered to start a new thread but whatever happened to that asterope cable everyone was talking about a few years ago?

 

[PelliX]

Many people here, myself included, have attempted in vain to disparage the notion of the 'snakeoil' AC power cord.

He reckons my amp would sound better with one of the ones he's talking about.

Well, this would be a first in history, provided your current cable isn't some wonky piece of cloth covered crap from the 50's that constitutes a fire hazard when running more than a battery charger on it.

They say old instrument cables increase in capacitance over time.

Ah, but there is some truth to that. High impedance, very low voltage signal - much more susceptable to be impacted by minute changes in the insulation material. I doubt most people would pick out an old one out in a blind test, but you can measure it with fairly regular equipment. Hundreds of volts alternating current, not so.

Can't be bothered to start a new thread but whatever happened to that asterope cable everyone was talking about a few years ago?

They don't make power cables (anymore)?

To paraphrase the great Charles Babbage (when asked by members of parliament about the possibility of putting the wrong numbers into his machine and whether the right ones would still come out):

"I am unable to rightly apprehend the type of confusion that could provoke such a notion."

 

[Matthews Guitars]

Skin effect. LOL. Skin depth at 60 Hz is 8.5 millimeters, which means if your conductor is no more than 17 millimeters in diameter (about 3/4 inch) then it's a non-factor.

We're talking power here. 50 or 60 Hz.