I'm having a really hard time with: "Power cable reduced my soundstage"...

EMP pulses from lightning are almost always induced on to utility (any kind - power, telecommunications, etc...) wiring that runs through areas where lightning occurs. It is the combination of very high levels of magnetic flux and the great length of cable that is exposed that results in the massive energy transfer. The only way to mitigate resultant surges is to use a secondary surge suppressor at the main electrical panel board and surge suppression at the equipment that we want to protect. These usually consist of voltage clamps that permit relatively safe levels (up to about 200 volts rms) to exist on the circuit. Most often these are MOVs, but can also include high current zener diode arrays and gas discharge tubes. It’s important to know that these devices are all sacrificial in nature, and need to be checked for functionality on a regular basis. It’s also important to have your home electrical system inspected for damage whenever a major surge is experienced, as extremely large amounts of energy can be dissipated in wiring, receptacles, circuit breakers, etc in the event of a major surge, causing permanent damage and potentially rendering the electrical system a fire hazard. The best measure of protecting our valued equipment is disconnecting from all sources of surge ingress in advance of lightning storms. 

@ celander 

I want to understand the actual physical properties the 4 feet from the wall to the amp that make all these audible changes. $10,000.00 from wall to component ..... that cable isn’t in the wall from the pole to the outlet. 

Everyone wants to understand it. Reality check: NO ONE UNDERSTANDS IT!

Everyone loves a good mystery.

My good friend that is in the business and very very knowledgeable calmed that a well made 10ga power cable reduced his soundstage... I'm not saying it will or won't but why would it? I would like to know the science behind this. I did research on here but not satisfied.

Its all about voltage drop. But first:

I want to understand the actual physical properties the 4 feet from the wall to the amp that make all these audible changes.

The in-wall wiring has very good performance on account of being solid core. But solid core is not legal for power cords.

Now about the voltage drop- depending on the amp a voltage drop occurs across the power cord. I've seen on the bench a 2 volt drop across the power cord rob a 140 watt amplifier of about 40 watts- obviously this can be significant. In addition to the voltage drop there is a high frequency component. This is due to the fact that power supplies are composed of a power transformer, rectifiers and filter capacitors. The rectifiers can only turn on if the filter capacitors are at a voltage less than that of the power transformer. At this time current charges the filter caps and then the rectifiers shut off. This might be only a few milliseconds with a high slew rate and so is a high frequency event. If the power cord lacks the bandwidth to allow the current to flow unchecked, the result is the power supply won't be properly charged.

This has a measurable effect on amplifiers. In case anyone has any doubts, it is easier to test the effect on the amp rather than measuring the power cord itself. The output power, distortion and output impedance are the things to be measured. You will find that power cords most definitely have an effect on these things!


If your power cord is warming up, or is getting hot at either end, its a good bet you have a problem. You may not think this can affect audible things like the soundstage, but if power is restricted, distortion and output impedance are higher, it will affect not only that but other things like tonality and detail as well.


So bottom line: this is a measurable phenomena as well as audible. The audibility relates directly to the measurable changes caused by the power cord.