powercords


I certainly have, personally, experienced the improvement power cords can make on amplifiers...how about their value on other items, such as preamps with external powersuppies, and phono preamps....I know better than to apply layperson logic, which doesn't always work in audio, but it would seem that items that draw less "juice" would be less prone to changes in power cords....thoughts welcomed, but experience more interesting to me.....thanks
J
128x128jw944ts
@jw944ts - My Source DIY cables are designed to perform to their very best abilities regardless of the type of source component.

They use...
- Insulation(s) on the live wire that have very low dielectric constant
- a solid silver wire for the live conductor
- a geometry that minimizes cables distortions and noise
- a larger gauge silver plated copper neutral wire(s)

I can see that with other cable geometries, some cables may in fact perform better on digital sources, compared to analogue sources.

Whilst some people may offer an opinion that the mains signal is constant at 50/60Hz, so it should make NO difference as to which source you use a specific cable for, I believe that the current drawn by a component contributes to cable noise and therefore the geometry, type of metal used in the wire and the insulation could render one cable more affective for a given source.

A digital component would have a current draw peaks that coincide with the digital signal + analogue signal peaks, whereas analogue components would have current peaks only in the audible frequency range

Unfortunately I cannot provide any concrete proof of this and with conventional cables it is impossible to "forecast" which cable might work better for either type of source component.

I have compared my own DIY cables having an 18 gauge solid silver live wire to an almost identical cable with a 2 x 18 gauge solid copper and found them to make no difference on my streamer, but I have not tried the same test on my phono stage as yet.But I pprefer solid silver wire for the live conductor in my cables used on source components

But please note - the wires I use in my cables are extremely high quality, so my observations may not be the case with commercially available products.

When it comes to power cables I think it is very important to have the quietest cable, which is probably the In-akustik for a commercial brand, or a brand that uses a similar spacing geometry

Nordost has a fine range cables that may well prove more beneficial for digital vs. analogue sources

Hope that helps - Steve..
The Law of Diminishing Returns applies especially in this category. That’s all I’m gonna say. 🙄
@williewonka , I remain appreciative of your time....there a some In-Akustik on US Audio Mart, that will hopefully be there when I am ready to purchase, as I await my new phono preamp
I DIYed two power cord, one for my amp and one for my preamp. I used Belden 83803 wire and Marinco plugs. Bought a 15’ foot piece of wire and made a 12 foot one for my amp and a 3 foot for my pre. The plugs are hospital grade and the wire is extremely well shielded. Not really inexpensive, have around $300 in the pair. I don’t have a lot of experience with power cords but these seem okay.

 
@jw944ts - In-Akustic is a great choice. Resale is always a bonus :-)

Even though I have never auditioned them, I like their geometry, design and construction methods, and I understand from other Agon members that have owned them, that they perform exceptionally well i.e. compared to other "established"  brands

Happy Listening - Steve