Power Conditioners vs. Power Cables

To get back to the original question for a sec, and also try to answer the one Warren raises, there are 2 basic reasons often given as to why an upgraded PC could and frequently will give an improvement even after a line conditioner:

1) The in-wall wiring is typically much heavier in guage than stock power cords, so this helps explain why an improvement could be realized by replacing the last 6 feet with something heavier.

2) The greatest need for EMI/RFI shielding is in the immediate vicinity of the audio system's components themselves - due to their intrinsic radiation of same - and stock power cords are usually unshielded, so this helps explain why an improvement could be realized by replacing the last 6 feet with something shielded.

Then you've got your better connectors, high-purity conductors, exotic dielectrics, optimized geometry, mechanical damping, and even built-in filtering on some. But why should any of that stuff, which is usually associated with interconnects and speaker cables - in other words, cables in the signal path - make any difference with cords that are simply carrying the 60Hz wall power to the component?

Because the output signal of any active component is not simply a 'magnified' or 'converted' version of its input signal; it's a brand new signal, derived from or modulated by information contained within the input signal, and created out of the power being fed that component - drawn from the wall and modified by the power supply - as its raw material, which is why power cords (and power supplies, and receptacles) can and should legitimately be thought of as being in the signal path. Although this viewpoint may not be as satisfactory as the above two factors in helping to explain why it is that the last 6 feet of cable - after miles of cable which presumably ignores most of these considerations (or at least the hundreds of feet of cable connecting your service's local power line transformer to your house's breaker box) - could make a positive difference, it does help explain why a cheap stock cord which also ingores these considerations (and maybe to a greater degree) could only make things worse.

Quote: "And from what it sounds like, I'm not wasting my time, or money, in upgrading my power cables."

If you do that time and money expenditure before working on room acoustics you WILL be wasting a lot of time and money!

Hey Z, thanks for getting back to that question I raised. That last 6 feet is a mysterious 6 feet. I am, certainly, not questioning the difference it appears to make, especially with stock power cords. Just the fact that everything you mentioned, as legitimate as it is, can be done, it seems to me, for a couple of hundred dollars. Not $1200, or $600. I have no experience with those big boys and they might, just, make a difference, but like I said, I can't go there. I, still, think that the electric that comes right out of our outlets, traveling that long dirty, evil electric highway needs to be filtered, tweaked, purified, whatever, which I don't think any power cord, regardless of price, can do. BTW, just to get off the topic for a minute: it's snowing here VERY big time. We're talking blizzard conditions, in Point Lookout. Got the whole day to ramble on in between shoveling. Hope some of you will be home today. peace, warren

I'm looking forward today to testing the premise that a foot of snow will act as a resonance damper on the power lines and increase the inky blackness between notes.

But to the topic: It seems to make the most sense to build up in price. Dedicated lines and good outlets are cheap and effective. A PLC is next and cords are last. This also preserves sanity, as there is no doubt that once you have a PLC, the impact of PC's is reduced, compared to running them straight to the wall. I have found it easy to send back most PC's as not-worth-the price mostly because my PLC accomplishes so much. Mind you, I have never tried the kilo-buck cords. But I've tried plenty in the <$450 range, and if I bought 5 of those I'd be up to the price of a Hydra and half crazy from evaluating 5 cords and all the various combinations.

I will plug Ernie's Belden kit, which was an improvement over stock on my Linn CDP, even through my PLC (a Tice), and so cheap ya gotta love it.

Warren and Whknopp, I am with both of you when it comes to not having tried - or wanting to - any $K PC's. But I'm the same way with all my wires - that's just not the level I can play this game on, especially with as many components to plug in as I have. But on my gear which can accept aftermarket cords, all of which is plugged into an API PowerWedge Ultra PLC (which passively filters the line, transformer-isolates sources, and provides balanced AC for sources, as well as offering a degree of protection), I can hear some kind of improvement using upgraded cords, so the PLC is not rendering this factor passe. Even my new-to-me Levinson 380S preamp, which many dealers told me used such a great built-in line filtration system of its own that it doesn't need a PC upgrade (something many owners apparently don't pursue with ML pre's, due to their need for right-angle plugs to fit underneath the unit), has shown subtle but worthwhile benefits from switching out the stock cord (I have had to raise the unit up in order to fit normally-terminated cords under it for testing, pending getting something fitted with the correct plug). Is it worth the money in the end? I'll tell you when I finally get all my components fitted with upgraded cords, but I'm assuming the effects are additive.