3-4 meters is suffice for me.
Ideal power cord lengths?
A quick Google search suggests there is consensus that the ideal power cord length is 2m. 1m cords sound “harsher” and 3m cords sound “smoother”, with 2m being the sweet spot. The PS Audio dude suggests that the reason is that the reason is that all cords have an impact on the power, and the greater the length, the greater the impact, good or bad.
I know many will say there is no difference between a 1m cord and a 3m cord. But my question is, who here has tried like model power cords of different lengths, and what were the differences?
Second question: How does length factor into the equation when you have a cord feeding a conditioner, then other cords feeding components? If 2m cords are in fact the ideal, would 1m cords be ideal when using conditioners?
I tend to believe those that say that power cord lengths matter. While I’ve not been able to do this test myself, I’ve had these two experiences:
- Testing Audioquest Diamond and Nordost Valhalla 2 USB cables, the cables shorter than 1.5m sounded TERRIBLE by comparison. Especially the .75m Audioquest Diamond vs the 1.5m version. But the 1m Valhalla 2 also sounded awful in comparison to the 2m version. In general this opened my eyes to how much cable length matters, and counterintuitively in the case of digital cables.
- I have a 2019 2m AudioQuest Hurricane Source cable from back when AQ braided their cables, and I also have the newer non-braided Hurricane Source, but 3m in length. The new Hurricane sounds vastly superior to my old 2m Hurricane. In comparison the older cord compresses the soundstage depth. I don’t know if the differences are due to the differences in length, or if it’s due to a design change by Audioquest.
Very interested in learning of others experiences with power cord lengths.
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@ghdprentice , good point, and I agree, everything is additive. Might be worth just installing the cable lifters. That said, I’m still curious as to whether or not they might help. I know there is consensus (of those who have actually done the comparisons) that cable lifters work, but I’m curious to hear the differences myself. I’ve also read that vibration control for components do change things, but can impact tonal balance, and not always in a good way. There are so many anti-vibration products and different schools of thought. I do know enough to be aware that the mass of the component does factor into the equation, with ideal vibration being a function of mass, stiffness, and dampening. |
@nyev I have moved several times since the pandemic and so have had multiple times to hear the difference between before installing the cable lifters, and after. I use a variety of them with different heights to create a power cable height and a signal cable height. Every time, I procrastinate a little, thinking it will not make a difference, and every time I am shocked that it does. It’s as if the whole system was picked up and transported to the recording venue. It is like the system is not in my room anymore, but where the recording was made (not wholly, as my system is not perfect, but it moves in that direction). And there is just a sense of magic and wow that comes with raising the cables that I can’t put better words to. I use a a mixture of various Shunyata lifters and Audioquest Fog Lifters (good value, but I have not figured out how to get them apart for re-transport). All power and signal cable are up. Network cables are still on the floor and thinking about get more lifters to get them up. Makes a difference on both carpet and wood flooring. Enjoy!! |
👍 Often the best solutions are guided by pragmatism and common sense. Nothing beats actual hands on experience/engagement and simply listening. It seems some rely too heavily on preconceived beliefs and specs/numbers on paper. This is woefully inadequate. As you have learned, trying products and ideas in your own audio system is the definitive approach. Charles |
Cable lifters and vibration isolation are two areas I’m also gonna attack soon too, so I’m in the same boat. For cable lifters, before buying something I might just cut out some rectangular pieces if cardboard, fold them in half and cut a notch in the top for the cable and see what I hear. For vibration control I’m pretty much sold on Townshend Seismic spring-loaded isolation products as I’ve never read more consistent and overwhelmingly positive reviews of any other isolation devices. A little pricey, but they sure seem worth it for the significant level sonic benefits they seem to provide. Just a couple thoughts FWIW. |
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