Best DIY power cable. Why not make?

brian and others,

Way back in the early days I too thought that after market power cords was hooey. Afterall, with all the romex used before the system how could one silly length of electrical wire make a difference? And if it does then why didn’t the manufacturer supply a better one with the product?

Well, a dealer loaned me a Synergistic Research Master Coupler power cord and when I first plugged it in I thought, ...what?... how the he--? this can’t be...
And from then on I was hooked. Now, not every after market power cord is a game changer and you do have to have a resolving system.
But, with the right cord and a good system you will not be able to go back to the stock cable.

ozzy

Good timing on this post. I have been considering this exact DIY project over the past few days. I am having no issues in finding good wall plugs, and IEC connectors on line, but the cable itself is proving to be a little harder to find. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have checked out the DH Labs site, but I have not been able to find any other bulk cable supplier.

Here you go ...
https://www.vhaudio.com/

I have had great success making power cords . On eBay I found a vendor selling Oyaide Black Mamba V2 ( 12 gauge ) and Tunami V2 ( 10 gauge ) cables by the meter . The copper used is their 102SSC , the highest purity copper commercially available . It is copper foil shielded with a drain wire which you connect to the ground lug of the input plug . Google Oyaide 102SSC for the full story .

 The Neotech connectors I used are no longer at the vendor I found , but any brand with gold plated copper conductors ( not brass )  at the lowest price you can find will do .

 Commonly used brass has only 16% the conductivity of copper . A good search might read " copper US mains plugs " on eBay . Most connectors will handle the 12 gauge wires, but check closely if you go with the heavier 10 gauge wire as not all take that size . This 102SSC wire has slightly smaller outside diameter than all others due to their unique stranding and will fit more easily into connectors . YMMV

You will want to make the IEC end FIRST, since on the other end you cross the insulated wire to maintain correct polarity ( between hot and return ) and there is more room to do this at the power plug connector than at the IEC plug . Learned the hard way !   Work carefully and insure there is not one loose strand of wire shorting to another ! Get help if you need it .

So for about $650 I made myself 4 power cords, none longer than 3 feet , better than I had any right to have and probably better than many very pricey commercial power cords .
The improvement in sound quality , and especially quietness and impact were unreal .

I have no financial connection to any brand mentioned , I'm only a 70 year old audiophile with military electronics training .