Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site


In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: It’s mad, mad, mad... electricity.
Post Subject: Power cords maniaPosted by N-set on: 2/20/2017
 Paul S wrote:
fiogf49gjkf0dWe do have a cable thread somewhere on this site that might be better for cable-specific posts. As far as purely electrical "issues", in the end, better sound is still the main consideration. Shielding power lines is not only very difficult to do, in practical terms, but it is not in any case a perfect solution, since any reduction in noise by shielding comes at the cost of reduced quality of "remaining" sound in the end. God only knows why this is so. My own experiments show that crossing (braiding) power cable wires also introduces sonic "issues" even as it serves as an imperfect RFI/EMI "shield", probably by reducing inductance. I presently use braided 12 gauge magnet wires for power cords to my amps, where each of 3 wires is sleeved with soft polyethylene tubing, and the ground wire "floats" only on the component end, serving as a "drain" to ground for parasitic noise. These power cords "work" better in aggregate terms than other expensive cords I have tried, but they don't address surges or other on-line noise issues at all. Sadly, the "high quality" surge guards I've tried have been bad for sound, so I just take my chances. I have to confess that where I live, lightening is rare; but there is a LOT of noise "in the air" and on the power lines, which are, after all, perfect "antennas".

Back to lightening, it takes many forms, another study, in itself.

Paul S


At a risk of being stoned to death for bringing power cords here: Paul, what power cords have you tried and with what results?
I never thought I'd ever come to that topic in my life, but since every cleaning on the power line side did bring
a positive audible effect, I started to think if perhaps more advanced power cords can make a dfference too.
Now, opening Pandora's box must have been a child's play compared to opening the subject of "audiophile power cords",
so I'm looking for some reasonable suggestions of what to try. I looked at the Audioquest and PS Audio entry level
products (NRG-2 and AC3), as both companies seem to put at least some effort in what they do (e.g. cold welding, multiple conductor geomtries etc).
AQ seems to be unshielded, basing noise rejection solely on the geometry.
I could DIY like you but honestly have more serious things to do so would prefer some good, off-the shelf solution to try.

Cheers,
Jarek




Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site