High current power cables


Hello,

How come some manufacturers offer high current power cables for use with amplifiers and some don't? Is this to say that the companies who don't offer one have designed their power cables to work in any application? 

128x128blue_collar_audio_guy

Please try to stop worrying about power cables.

As long as it is thick enough any power cable does the same job as any other.

Remember the last 6 feet of cable joining your power outlet to your equipment follows miles (literally) of cabling that you mostly don't own.  Your house wiring, the power company fuse (yes all your power has to go through this fuse that you cannot replace), the street wiring back to the 8kV (in the UK) transformer, the supply to that which runs miles probably on pylons, subject to atmospheric and other interference, back to the power station (or windmill).

So how can the last 6 feet countervail all of that?

@deludedaudiophile - There are dozens of sites that all say Solid wire is capable of carrying higher current

E.G. From this link...

Stranded Wire vs Solid Wire. Which One is Best and Why? (electricaltechnology.org)

Advantages of Solid  Wire

  • Perfect termination and connection
  • High ampacity as compared to stranded wire having the same size (Gauge).
  • Clear sound (less noise due to low attenuation) and good transmission performance with high frequencies
  • Lesser resistance and anti-corrosive in indoor/outdoor applications
  • low voltage drop and suitable for long distance applications
  • Less costly as compared to stranded wires.

I Have provided

  • the the key points that influance cable design
    • i.e. the Coles notes version 
  • I've provided my findings of years of experimenting
  • I've provided supporting links to articles of industry leaders in this field
  • I've provided the thoughts.findings of many other members that have tried my cables and suported my findings

I guess I'm all out of things to provide.

You cleartly have your own views - that's the glory of free speech.

I guess we'll just have to Agree to Disagree

Regards - Steve

@williewonka 

 

I could provide you a thousand links the earth is flat, and I am sure 100's of thousands more that support things that are wrong.

I provided a decisive explanation for why your belief was wrong and how you misinterpreted a technical website to reach the same conclusion.

Stranded wire is the primary method by which skin effect is reduced. At low frequency and DC solid has a marginal advantage due to slightly larger conductive cross section. At upper audio frequency's stranded wire will carry more current and heat up less due to reduced skin effect. These are well known and we'll established causes and effects.

In terms of noise for audio, that is made up with no supporting evidence. I can't refute made up any more than you can provide evidence to support it.

In terms of corrosion this seems valid for bare copper but once a connection is soldered or properly attached to a connector this would go away. There are also wire coatings that don't tarnish.

Your key points for cable design all sound important but they are akin to witches brew. There is no basis in them. The helical construction is an inductor. I would not be surprised if adding an inductor to the signal path didn't change the sound. That's not a mystery.

More space between the conductors (Live, Neutral and ground) the lower the noise floor

Radiated or induced electrical noise is proportional to area between wires,  To lower electrical noise pickup Live and Neutral should be as close as possible.  Twisting wires reduces noise pickup further by exposing both wires equally to electric or magnetic fields,  it also reduces inductance further. It might seem unimportant for power cables, but LPS current is  not a sinewave but short spikes of high amplitude. When amplifier demands 5A - spikes might be in order of 25A or more.   Average will be still low, but higher voltage drop during spikes can reduce dynamics. These spikes also produce much higher losses in power transformer - losses in windings (higher rms/average ratio) as well as in core for eddy currents and hysteresis (higher frequency content). Because of that LPS transformers have to be oversized. Of course using 10ga cable will make little difference if home is wired with 12 avg.

Kijanki is right. Consider also, other, reasons why good power cables are beneficial for audio. Lower (contact) resistance for example, quicker rise times when pulling current from the net, less cross-contamination (EMI & RFI) by shielding or by geometry type between components. Sometimes changing one cable can make a difference for another cable in your system. Separation (less noise pickup) can have an effect, don't use sharp bends, cross at 90 degrees. I can also endorse Willie's observations. 

10ga solid core is my minimum