@audphile1 +1
A stupid question(s) about power cords
As the title indicates, I admit that this is probably a stupid question. But since I don’t know (for sure) the answer, I am asking it anyway.
The recent power cord thread got me interested in a power cord upgrade (from the stock cord) on my Maranzt SA10 (SACDP). The power cord receptacle on that particular component does not have a male equipment ground pin--only the neutral and hot pins. Therefore the cord supplied by Maranzt is a two pole (if that is the right terminology) cord. But because I have done it this way before, I do know that it will accept a power cord with an equipment ground as well as a neutral and hot.
Question 1: I went to musicdirect and looked at some power cords and I saw one (an open box Audioquest NRG Z2) that they were calling a two pole cord. The end that plugs in to the component only has a neutral and a hot, but the other end, the end that plugs into the outlet in the wall, does have an equipment ground blade (so that end has three blades). Why would that be?
Question 2: (and this is the stupid one) if a power cord has an equipment ground pin plugged into the wall, even if it is not plugged into an eqipment ground in the component itself, that cord is still connected to the neutral bus bar in the panel, right? So that being the case, since the equipment ground wire in the cord is right next to the hot wire, is there a way unwanted stuff (rf or whatever, my understanding of this is quite limited) can that dirty up the power that is traveling on the hot wire in the power cord?
I think that the answer to the last question is probably going to be ’no’? And if the answer is ’no’, that means that I really don’t need to shop for only two pole cords, right? And I see this as sort of important because if I buy a two pole cord, the ONLY component I can use it on/try it out on will be my SACDP--there will be no playing around with a two pole cord on my preamp or my amp.
And ALSO, if I don’t feel constrained to shopping ONLY for two pole cords, I would probably have more options to consider.
TIA for legitimate insight to this, and to all others, feel free to ridicule me and my question--I don’t mind.
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. . . as an example of what I was talking about, I remember once I was listening to the red book mfsl Eric Clapton/Slow Hand and on the mellower tracks, Lay Down Sally and May You Never and Next Time You See Her, it was so apparent to me that the scratchiness in his voice was not due to a less than stellar disc, but it was due to the abuse his vocal cords had been taking with the cigarettes and what have you (Slow Hand was released near the end of '77, and I think they were all pretty much living in the fast lane about then), and the guitar work on those tracks, in particular, was just hanging in mid air in front of me. I don't know that I have ever quite heard that ever since. Anyway, what my system does for me with a good source CD is that with the lights off and my eyes shut, the walls in my small room disappear as do the speakers. Don't get me wrong--I am not saying that I am fooled into believing that it is live as opposed to being Memorex . . . that isn't happening. I assume that is what is meant by those who talk about experiencing The Holy Grail. But my goal is to enhance what my system is doing for me. I am happy to experiment with $150 worth of power cords to see if that makes it inches better for me. @mrdecibel , this next is not intended to be sarcastic or confrontational or to express anything negative . . . I am truly and simply curious. I didn't take what you typed as a rant and I did not take it,badly the way it was offered. But given what you typed about what makes the listening experience work for you, why bother with upgraded equipment and power cords and etc? |
Matt, I did not offer anything, except an opinion or two with my many years of experience, and I apologize if I was not gentle in my presentation. I momentarily became a teacher, and no one enjoys being a student, especially us audio folks. Getting back to your question...if you can understand " musicianship " and " music composition ", you would understand me and what I listen to. Why do I need better equipment ? My system highlights every played and sung note, dynamically, quickly, articulately, coherently, authoritatively, cleanly, dynamically (oops, twice) just as I like it. My worst sounding recordings those that (many here would not listen to on their systems) as there is a lot of information within the recordings. Listenend to some Beck / Stewart collaborations earlier. A fabulous listen. I am sorry you did not enjoy Clapton's voice on your system. I always enjoy him. Anything he does. I saw Clapton at MS Garden around '86, and he was not doing well on stage. There was another guitarist doing the famous Clapton licks. Phil Collins was the drummer, and they performed In The Air Tonight. Garden had great concerts, and you needed ear protection at times, depending on who the sound man was. My best always, MrD. |
@mrdecibel , actually you misunderstood me--I did enjoy his voice when I realized that it was not the result of a poor source CD, but was the result of the abuse that his vocal cords were probably taking. In other words, I enjoyed it when it hit me that that was his real voice at the time. |
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