Help! Affordable power cord needed (1 Viewer)

[Allen Longcor]

I thought everything said was very informative, even if it wasn't in direct response to the original question. The information is useful regardless.

 

[Yogi]

I made one for about $25 with Marinco IEC plugs and some Belden 10G/3 wiring. Works like a champ with my Proceed amplifier. I might make one for my B&K 7250 amp too sometime soon. No soldering skills required and takes about 10 mins to make. Cant go wrong with it plus you buy your fav CDs with the saved money. Try em and luv em. Gosh I sound like a commercial.

Best of luck.

 

[Paul Gere]

Shane,
This is starting to remind me of a recent thread of mine about interconnects where you were one of the few to actually post a helpful reply.

Good luck!!

 

[Lee-M]

I would like to add, along with Krell, the McCormack name as a brand that profits greatly from a better power cord.

This is an admission by the designer himself (Steve McCormack), who is a rare exception in the world of audiophilia; he not only answers his email, he will (and has) discuss at length questions and concerns about his designs, products, and system integration.

This is, by the way, the last post I intend to make on this particular forum regarding the benefits of better cables; I have, with just a few short posts, grown weary of the battle with the naysayers... I am happy with my own decision to use something better than the crap that comes with components sold by Wal-Mart, and my ears and wallet are happy as well.

 

[Jonathan M]

Lee,

Thanks for the info regarding McCormack amps. I think it's great that your ears and wallet are happy with your choice of affordable power cord. Affordable is ofcourse a relative term. I was thinking more in the range of the $10 or less. (ie cost of decent wire and IEC connectors).

One must ofcourse question why McCormack doesn't supply better cables with his amps - or is this an added option?

Whether power cords make a difference or not is really not a concern to me. I KNOW there are deficiencies in my system that I can remedy for cheap or free such as speaker placement.

My advice to the original poster is to take Mike Matheson's advice - $8 sounds affordable to me.

 

[Chu Gai]

Certainly $8 for a 12 gauge shielded UL listed cord sounds like it fits the definition of affordable.
BTW you'll also find that Rotel plays the power cord game too and one might ask why, if a cord benefits their equipment, that they don't provide the right one from the get go. It could lead one to think if they can't get the power cord right, just what else have they skimped on?
Lee, ya gotta stop buying your audio equipment at WalMart. On the other hand, AudioQuest says their wire can improve the sound of a boombox so maybe there is something to all of this

 

[Shane Martin]

What if they provide one that will do and they let you roll your own on the improvement game. Kind of like high performance audiomobile parts. You don't see these manufacturers providing the best muffler/catback exhaust system from the get go or Chip because they are trying to reach a certain price point. Thus if you want to add an aftermarket etc muffler system to improve your car, you can. Then again they probably didn't design their car properly

The same could be said for Audio. They are trying to eek out the best amount of profit so they will provide what will do for now and let you "upgrade" on your own. Just because they don't provide the best cord or in the case of cars the best muffler from the get go doesn't mean they don't see a point in upgrading it or manufactured it improperly.

Just a thought.

 

[John Royster]

Oh c'mon shane!

All aftermarket autoparts are purely snake oil and have nothing to do with the miles and miles of pipeline and oil refineries suppling your gasoline!

 

[Reginald Trent]

What component is this cord for? In any case Radio Shack sells cords that fit DVD players, boomboxes, STB for 3 - 5 dollars each.

 

[Chu Gai]

likely though you'll find some objective dynamometer tests to substantiate a HP claim and in some cases, say with wings, tests in a wind tunnel. either way a performance increase can be quantified and it can be reproduced within the usual 'give or take'. hell Shane, you know sighted tests are worthless. sighted comparisons always result in the participant not ever being absolutely sure of what he or she is hearing. You might feel good about the results for a while, but down deep inside there will always be that nagging doubt. And so we have one of the reasons why upgrading is so common amongst the high-end community and even those with more mainstream systems. You wind up never really knowing and then you get swayed by white papers that make up fictious terms, invent solutions to non-existent problems, postulate distortions that can't be measured, and never once conduct tests that are really geared towards 'trusting your ears'.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Somebody pull my finger, for I am about to Thread Fart Too!


Okay... Let us see here....


I work for the Power Compay.. My best friends are Electrical
Engineers. I have spoken in depth with the EE's and the
Operators of Power Control and Lines.

I have to agree completly with what Bryston said in thier
email they are completely correct.

Assuming said device has adequate guage of wire and adequate
plugs for rated amperage then what good is a snake oil cable
going to get you? (Nothing).

I am sorry but it's completely crazy to me for someone to
assume the last 6 feet makes a difference (assuming the
cable is of correct size) when you have miles of cable on
the poles, transformers, substations, breaker circuits and
regular ol wire in your house.

Am I saying not to spend $100.00 on a cable? No... $100.00
will buy you a good pre made cable with 10/3 wire and good
connectors and pretty Tech Flex braiding. Or for $50.00 you
can do you own cable with Carol 10/3 and WattGate plugs or
Marino plugs. What you get is a solid cable that will handle
the largest of amps..

I run my own home made cable on my Carver Amp which draws
a max of 20 Amp (For example that's on the same lines as
most microwaves..) And I don't even run 10/3 on that I use
12/3 and it's more than adequate.

I'm sorry if you don't agree with this but the truth is that
we have Measureable FACT on our side, what do you have on
your side other than "Ohh I hear Air...." Perhaps I broke
wind and that's what you heard?

Same goes for interconnects.. Capicitance, Inductance, Skin
Effect, Common Noise Mode Rejection all are measureable
fact.. The goal is to take the signal in, pass it through
without altering it.. If a $10.00 cable can do it, then why
go with a $300.00 cable aside from asthetics and build Quality.

I rest my case... Even though we may not agree I hardly have
to stoop to the level of some and call thier gear
wallmart junk. We can all get along and have clean cut and
well thought out discussions without name calling or whining.

 

[Chu Gai]

I hope, through all of this, that the poster finds that affordable power cord. Dress it up with some flex and make it look pretty

 

[Arthur S]

Thanks to all of those that responded. Since I was looking for something inexpensive, the Volex looked like my cup of tea. The only problem, they are a distributor and don't sell to individuals (unless you buy 50 or 100). They gave me the name of local distributors who had the same story, they don't sell to individuals.

Fortunately, a power cord was Overnight Fed Exed by Proceed. Not the same cord I sent in but just fine. 10 feet, 14 guage.

What is curious is that the owners manual states maximum draw 2,500 watts, however, on the back of the amp it says 1200 watts. When I saw 2,500 watts I decided not to try it with a computer tower power cord that is only 18 guage.

I'm not a golden ear, so I don't pay much attention to exotic accessories. I respect each individuals right to spend as much as they want on any aspect of their system. There used to be a guideline that speaker wire, interconnects, and power cords should be 10% of the total cost of a system. Since I'm not a golden ear I use the money for better speakers.

Thanks,
Artie

 

[Chu Gai]

now that's the place to spend!

 

[Brian OK]

One receives what one pays for..... it's the first 6', or has this been covered before... me thinkso ;*)

Buy the cord you can fit into your budget and leave it at that. If you want more, pay more. You, yourself, your ears, be the judge. All further discourse regarding this or that is a waste of time, IME.
Your system, your wallet, your enjoyment, your criteria, and your butt sitting in the spot decides if power cords make a difference.
I have made DIY 83802 Belden power cords, and use them in my setup. And I own a couple + $300 cords as well. It is not the price tag of the cord. It's the performance, and what one hears in his own seat as he listens. Price should not be an issue here. But, unfortunately, it always is, and fizzles..... and seems to degrade to this common denominator.
My advise is to go with the $8 upgraded Volex (Belden 19364-14/3) and run with that.
If down the road, you desire to change cords for whatever reason, then you are out small change.

The people who upgrade to higher priced cables and cryo'd receptacles, etc... are those who have heard the changes. Why should this concept be so radical? Most all of these folks just listen and don't debate price and "electrical knowledge". Seems to me. Not all things are as they appear on the surface.
Have fun,

BOK

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Since Arthur's questions have been throughly answered and
he has chosen a cord that fits his needs I don't feel that
the paragraphs I am about to type are thread farting but
more so, a calm discussion and that is what these forums are
about.

Brian,

I completely agree with your post. It's not my place to
dictate to you or anyone what amount to spend on cabling.
If you are comfortable with purchasing a $300.00 or even
a $900.00 power cord then that is your decision to make.
But what I do take a stance against is when someone else
recommends a cable to someone else because it will "make
your system sound better" that's a bet that most person's
wallet's can not back up.

How do we know that the cable said person recommends will
have an audible impact on another listeners system? In my
opinion this is very misleading if not bordering on very
bad advice. Now if you say to that person to buy said cable
purely for it's superior construction qualities then I do
not take offence to such a recommendation at all.

The human brain is an interesting piece of tissue. It can
be convinced by 2nd parties to hear things that may not
exist. And likewise it can also be convinced to not hear
something that does exist. What we percieve and what is
measureable are two completely different things in most
cases.

I take the side of science when it comes to cabling not due
to cost but due to performance and value. Here is my example
of why I take the stance that I do. There are people among
us that have gone to school for years to learn the art of
Electrical Engineering and what impact every single device
has on a circuit or on the flow of electrons through that
circuit. Who am I to stand in the fact of all that we know
as proven fact and say "Nope sorry that's not right, I can
hear something even though proof says otherwise."

Example:

Take 2 power cords one from company X and one from company
Y. Both cables are made out of the same spec 10 guage oxygen
free copper with the same 325 strand count and both are made
with a 12 twist per inch CNMR setup. Both cables are the
same length and both terminate in the same connections.

If both cables have the same measured amount of Capacitance,
Inductance and Skin Effect and the same amount of CNMR then
how can there be any difference between the two cables? What
inside the cable would cause such a change? Now say one of
those cables is a JPS Captivator and the other is just a
piece of 10/3 from Home Depot, both terminated in WattGate
Connectors of the same series then what is the difference?

With the JPS Labs cable you are paying for very nice build
quality, professional termination and very exotic packaging.
With the H-D cable you are paying for raw materials and
your own labor is supplied and instead of packaging you get
savings.

Could you bring me, a complete stranger into your own audio
room and with all levels the same, on the same media switch
those power cables and have me hear the difference under a
blindfold condition? And even then, maybe I have convinced
myself so much that there is no difference that I would not
hear one even if there was? (Makes ya think, doesn't it?)

Like I said above I do agree with you. Spending whatever you
are comfortable with on good cables is fine. If you want to
buy the most esoteric of audio cables I have no issues with
that at all. What I am getting at is to do it for the right
reasons.

Cable companies spend lots of time making thier cables very
high quality and there is no doubt that a $300.00 cable is
better constructed than the 14awg zip cord provided with
most equipment. Notice I said better constructed but I did
not say better performing. Because without a spectrometer
checking both cables, I am not so sure there would be a
measureable difference.

Cheers!
(Now wasn't that a nice refreshing debate?)

 

[John Royster]

Brett,

I'm trying really hard not to poo-poo this thread, but have you ever tried other power cables? For me they were the most significant tweak I have ever performed, specifically with my CD player and speakers.

Its simple, you can make your own and it doesn't cost much at all.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

John,

I am glad they made a difference in your setup. They would
not make one in mine I assure you. And yes I have fabbed my
own cables.. They supply power just as the factory cable did.

Maybe someday when I own a real system then cables will
make a difference but all I own right now is junk. Heck I
am one step up from a bose wave radio.. *Laughs*

 

[Albert Damico]

I am a musician. I have been playing the guitar since 1969. I have a plethora of old tube amps and guitars from the 50's and up. For those of you who understand, the 60 Hz buzz that you get from single coil pickups (Fender strats) are legendary. I have tried everything from $400+ power cords to $200+ guitar cords, trust me, despite the hype, nothing gets rid of the hum. And I was expecting it too based on what those power cord manufacturers said. So, for the fun of it, I took one of those $400+ power cords and moved it down to my HT room. I used it in place of the power cord that came with my amp, no difference. I actually have two of these expensive cords, from different companies. No matter where I substitute the darn things into my HT system, music room, or office, no difference. Sorry, but I tried. I actually expected to hear an improvement, no difference. Anyone want to actually hear for themselves, I suggest you get a super power cord, find yourself a single coil Fender strat, and see just what the difference an expensive power cord can make. None.

 

[Lee-c]

Yeah, the Magic Power power cord from Signal Cable looks like an excellent power cord that you can get
without spending a ton of money. It's a 10 gauge wire, has a nice jacket and top-quality connectors. More
than enough to handle the max power draw of all but the most super powerful amps.

The only thing I'm not sure of is if it has shielding to keep the electricity in the cord from interfering with
speaker wires and interconnects. It doesn't seem to say anything one way or the other on the web site
about shielding in this power cord. Check out the site below to read about this power cord.

http://signalcable.com/magicpower.html