Impressions of ac power cords (1 Viewer)

This post if for those of you who have actually taken the time to try an aftermarket ac power cord.
Have they made a difference in your system?
Which brands or DIY designs have you tried and on what component?

I currently have the Belden "Beldfoil" shielded 14 gauge conductor (15A/1875 watts rated) SJT power cords in my system from mcmelectronics.

I realized exactly zero improvement from them in my system, but that is exactly what I expected. I personally don't buy in to the "buy a more expensive AC cord to get better sound" game.

So why did I get them? Because all the AC cords you get with components are typically not shielded, and I just went through the exercise of replacing all my interconnects with coax shielded cables, so I figured, for $12 each, I'll do the AC cords too. What the heck.

I sleep better at night , but nothing audio-wise or video-wise changed with my system.

Unless you hook up a fancy AC cord to a device like a PS Audio Power Plant, which gives you pristine AC in the 1st place, 3-6 ft of fancy AC cords can't change what you have no control over in terms of the miles of line from the nearest substation. That's my belief anyway.

I tried heavily shielded aftermarket power cords (pretty cheap if you make them yourself) because there was coupling in my crows nest of wires especially when components turned on. So now I don't get buzz or pops in my speakers when i switch a source on.

I've had positive results with my Power amp and DVD player. Less so with my pre-amp and subwoofer. The DVD player was the most dramatic with both and audible and visual improvements.
Being someone who likes playing with cables I've experimented with:
Plain Belden 83802,83803 and 19364
Double and triple designs of 83802 and 83803 wire.
Carol 10awg (Signal cable design)
Braided designs using 12 and 14awg (3,6 and 9 wire)
I've tried the A.Maher, C.VH and the Asylum design.
I've tried P&S, Schurter, Hubbel, Marinco and Furutec plugs with the above cables.

I settled with one custom cord and 3 of my DIY creations. After spending more than 2 years playing with ac cords I'd say that these cables can make the biggest improvement in a system. That being said I'll admit that some made absolutely no improvement over the stock cords. I use the stock cord and the asyulm cord as my reference to judge the other designs by. My testing methods are not scientific (DBT)but do use opinions of others who could care less about cables.

Did anyone read that Velodyne is including the Signal cables 'magic' power cord with their soon to be released ultra expensive subwoofer?

Mark,

That baffles me about Velodyne using the Signal "Magic" power cord.
It is nothing more than Carol generic 10-12AWG, three conductor, with lots of insulation and a rubber jacket. Costs .96 a foot .........

Hell, I work for a manufacturer who throws a length of this stuff into a box with a < than $300 diesel transfer pump. No doubt a fine general use utility cord rated for hot use, but it blows the audiophile myth of secret magic out the window. We can't have this.........

I do use aftermarket cords, and DIY I do myself... but I agree that AC cords are not the fix-all, far from it.

Go figure 8^)


BOK

I know where Velodyne is located, and it is not too far from a Kragen Auto.
Seriously, I have seen some quality equipment with what I thought was some mediocre power cords.
You would think Velodyne would just have to supply a nice heavy duty cord to impress their customers who are used to seeing something less. But the marketing folks have to earn their keep.

I ran into the Shack once to pick up a 'regular' IEC cord and was surprised to see a shielded version.




http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=61%2D2860

I second the reference to VenHaus Audio power cables. You can read my review (when connected to my Rotel RSP-1066 pre/pro) here:

http://www.htguide.com/CFBoards/inde...artRow=1&CFB=1