Why Power Cables Affect Sound

A couple of previous posts have mentioned geometry - i.e. how the actual cable is made.

Adapting conductor geometry has been around for a long time - think Kimber Kable - they use a complex braided geometry.

Cardas has been using a complex geometry on their TOTL speaker cables for a few years

AntiCables use braided geometry on their power cables and a Helix Geometry on their IC’s

Why does changing the geometry of the conductors make a difference?
- It reduces the noise induced between the conductors within the cable itself.

See http://www.siemon.com/uk/white_papers/02-03-22-emi.asp

This is not new science, but it’s effect has been ignored by most cable companies 
- probably due to the expense of manufacture 
- it’s so much easier to produce a cable where all the conductors are of the same length and
- simply use higher quality copper or silver to improve on performance.

I have spent the last 5 years trying to create an improved power cable...
- started with Furutech and DH Labs bulk cable + good connectors
- then tried a Braided geometry
- Finally settling on a Helix (i.e. spiral) geometry

For details on how to build a helix cable see
: http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-power-cable.html

Another technique I learned along the way is that the performance of a cable improves when a larger gauge conductor is used for the neutral conductor. This applies to both Braided and Helix geometries AND all other cables in an audio system

I have tried building the Helix geometry from...
- household Romex
- Home depot extension cords
- high quality silver plated copper wire

All three resulted in significantly better sound quality than simply using quality connectors and pricey bulk cable from Furutech and DH Labs.

So based on my tinkering I believe that GEOMETRY is the most important feature of any cable - Power, Speaker or IC’s.

Another "geometry" that also can be very effective is ensuring there is a space between the conductors
- it also reduces induced noise.
- it can be very effective for IC’s and even speaker cables
- However, power cables can present some challenges that are more difficult to overcome.

I have demonstrated my Helix cables on many systems - from
- A $300 Yamaha mini system
- to systems over $50,000

Each time the owners were very surprised with the levels of clarity and the new depth and breadth of the image produced, but most of all the noise free background.

They even improved both the picture and the sound on a $50 DVD player

I use them on my TV’s, where both picture quality and sound are noticeably enhanced.

So, if you are shopping around for a great sounding power cable - look at the geometry of the cable and see if it has a less "convetional" geometry before parting with your hard earned cash

Regards - Steve

cleeds

Is it because of the better quality AC connectors? Is it the geometry of the cables themselves? I honestly don’t know. And I don’t care. And this being a hobbyist’s group,

Add, it is possible the cord used is helping to prevent induced AC voltage and noise from transferring onto nearby ICs.

I’m not required to satisfy anyone’s demands for technical proof of any kind.

Add me to that camp! I really don’t care why it does what it does. There are plenty of credible theories out there to read for those that want the why.

I am currently running early 1960s Amperex 6922 PQ white label tubes in my Sonic Frontiers preamp. To my ears I prefer how my audio system sounds with the tubes over current production Sovtek or EH 6922 tubes. Measurements? On my Hickok 6000a tube tester they measure the same. Measure the same??? Then they have to sound the same. Measurements don’t lie. Right?!
Jim

+1 Jea48, Cleeds

I've built my AC cords using Furutech Ohno Continuous Cast copper--much better sound clarity over tough pitch copper. Your signal needs a smooth, quiet pathway to travel in. No grain boundaries in OCC metal--less distortion.  You must also address the noisy power supply feeding into your AC cords instead of dismissing better cords because of the noisy power lines, etc--have to improve this.  Nothing should be ordinary in a high-performance system.