I've put together a blog post on my thoughts here:
https://inatinear.blogspot.com/2019/04/power-management-for-frugal-audiophiles.html
https://inatinear.blogspot.com/2019/04/power-management-for-frugal-audiophiles.html
Fundamental importance of power management
I've put together a blog post on my thoughts here: https://inatinear.blogspot.com/2019/04/power-management-for-frugal-audiophiles.html |
18 gauge power cables were just one example for a modest amplifier. If you have an amplifier that draws 10 amps, 18 AWG won’t do, and you’ll need to step up to 16 AWG, above that, to 15 amps use 14 AWG, then up to 20 amps use 12 AWG. Minimum ampacity with a tiny bit of headroom is what you should be aiming for. All cables need to be routed away from fields of alternating magnetic flux to mitigate inductively coupled noise. Remember though, all noise is generated externally to your analog equipment, and that’s where you want it to stay. |
18 gauge power cables were just one example for a modest amplifier. If you have an amplifier that draws 10 amps, 18 AWG won’t do, and you’ll need to step up to 16 AWG, above that, to 15 amps use 14 AWG, then up to 20 amps use 12 AWG. While I agree that the gauge of cables should be tailored to the component... From my own personal experience and observations....
Just another opinion :-) |
@blindjim Nice post. I agree with pretty much all of it. Theory is a fine place to start, but I think folks just need to try different solutions for themselves. Results might surprise you, and then you can try to figure out why it works while enjoying great music! Side note to power discussion but mentioned by you: I have put equal effort recently on vibration control for my analog front end which has been a real eye opener. I like results. @erik_squires Thanks for the link to your blog, great advice there. Side note: I am all in on your focus on room acoustics first. I abandoned trying to get good sound in my living room with lots of glass, plaster and tile, and retreated to put my energy into a purpose built space in my basement described in some detail on my system page. I put all my money and effort initially on the AC service and the room design, and have been building around carefully selected main components ever since with focus on synergy. Benefits of recent power management easily realized with decent listening space as a backdrop making it possible to hear even subtle effects of each change. @williewonka Interesting conjecture on tube versus solid state power cable requirements. Off the top, what gauge wire would you recommend for linear power supply for tube phono preamp? Also, shielded versus non shielded as a place to start? |
Pardon my being argumentative; but, all talk of room acoustics first seems to me is putting the cart before the horse... Room acoustics “cannot” improve the quality of the sound emanating from the sources. That not an opinion. Making the best of the room you start with, “room acoustics” is natural; but cannot improve the quality of the sound from your reproduction system. In fact, if you don’t get adaquately good sound from your system as a starting point - you won’t have the ability to “fine tune” room acoustics. Imo, fwiw. |