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Excess Power Cord Length

I have 12 power cords in my system, ranging from 6 to 8 feet in length. All are considerably longer than I need. Should they be allowed to live their lives "free range", or kept in some type of bondage? How do the rest of you deal with this? Are there best/worst approaches to handling the excess length? And, why? Thanks in advance.
jim
jim OP
418 posts
 
Thanks for the input guys. These are all aftermarket cords. The only ones that aren't much longer than I need are the ones on my speaker interfaces. I did think briefly about shortening them, Dekay, but had the same concerns as you about the filtering. My problem is that most of the equipment is in the same place and there's nowhere for the excess length to go. I wonder is "serpentine" bundling of cords has a negative effect? It would be neater and allow for better separation from IC's (more on the floor now with two amps and crossover) and speaker cables (now two pairs). Things are sounding great, but all of these cables...
sean
6,231 posts
 
Changing lengths of ANY cord or wire will change its' impedance somewhat. If the cords are counting on a specific length to achieve a nominal impedance or are "fine tuned" at that specific length, shortening them might alter the results that you're currently achieving with them. The best thing to do would be to consult the manufacturer and find out from the horses' mouth.

I would suggest trying to keep each cord away from the other. This means power cords seperate from power cords, power cords away from interconnects, power cords away from speaker cables, etc... This may require some type of spacer or "tie" system if you've got a LOT of cords in one spot.

The reason for doing this is that it would minimize either magnetic or RF based interaction between the cables. In case your wondering, digital based products DO emit RF signals. As such, it is quite possible for the power cord to act as an antenna. Obviously, the more distance between cables reduces the coupling between them and should minimize any interaction between them. Once this is done, all you have to worry about is that most of the stuff is tied into the same electrical circuit. This is one of the reasons that using "floating" or "telescoping" grounds on some specific gear can make a noticeable difference. Sean
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jamestakamatsu
25 posts
 
Jim-do a "search" in the Audiophile Forum opening page. There's a forum from last year covering this topic in depth.
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