Vintage preamp/amp power cords

sleepwalker65

From the OP
"Let me just say I don’t want to start a discussion if power cords make or don’t make a difference. "

kalali

I did this with my vintage Luxman equipment and was pleased with the improvement.

I have replaced hundreds of power cords on older gear ( anything without an iec receptacle ). I do not like iec receptacles, but, having them is convenient, and I learn to live with them. Anyway, always hotwired, with a larger gauge cord, purchased from Lowes or HD. Always an improvement in sq, always. In the case of the 2200 amp, a 2 wire, with a heavy duty grounded 3 way plug, without the ground connected. Just make sure of the polarity.

When I was refreshing/upgrading ST-70s, I found that certain improved cords(ie: Zu Births and Mothers), could be fit into the chassis, through the original cord’s hole, with a large grommet. Didn’t want to butcher the original metal. The ARC preamps I owned, both got minor surgery, to fit IECs, plus internal wiring(beside my usual PS mods). Aluminum chassis are nice/easy to work.

Thanks for all the input. My preference is to replace the cord with a new 2-wire higher quality replacement, hardwired. The cord entry point is pretty tightly close to one of the speaker terminals so adding/converting to an IEC inlet will necessitate chopping part of the chassis which I prefer to avoid. Need to take a peek inside to see if its something I could do myself or get some professional help.

P.S. Full disclosure, better power cords did make a difference in sound quality in my other components, albeit very subtle.