A not sarcastic question for the power conditioner/upgraded power cord folks


And I realize that there are those that don’t believe in either

Assuming you use a power conditioner and after market power cords, do you feel that the power cord from the power conditioner to the wall might be a limiting or even a negating factor to the performance of the after market power cords that run from the power conditioner to the gear?

The reason I ask is that I was about to embark upon some more experimentation with different power cords and where I plugged them into when I discovered that the aftermarket cords I had purchased before and some recent arrivals are actually a meter shorter than the ones that came with the gear. This doesn’t matter for the amp due to its location, but when I did my last power cord upgrade I ran my CDP and pre into a conditioner so the length for those didn’t matter either, but as I was doing the musical chairs with power cords thing today, I also was intending to run the CDP and pre straight into the wall on separate dedicated circuits, but I found out that I am a tad short on those two.

Which doesn’t preclude me from moving my dedicated circuit outlets up a couple of feet, and I suppose I probably will, but I was curious as to the opinions about the limitations of a power conditioners power cord.

immatthewj

It occurs to the casual observer that if your power conditioner is doing it’s job, and the power cable is equal in size to the circuit cable, no change is necessary. Likewise, there is no advantage in swapping component cables either, as their purported capabilities have been rendered moot by the power conditioner.

Twisting the Romex in an attempt to improve common mode rejection is not a bad idea, but implementing it in most construction (e.g. through studs or along top plates) would be an electricians nightmare. My homes have neither crawlspace nor attics.

Power starving the amp is an amusing concept, unfortunately not supported by Ohm’s Law or actual amplifier requirements. A hypothetical: a 200 W/ch amp operating in Class AB at 60% efficiency draws a peak of ~700W (200+200 /.6 =666.7). Instantaneous peaks of 1 KW are possible if the amp has that much headroom. And those peaks are typically handled by the amps power supply capacitors - that’s their job. Either way, well within the capabilities of a single 15A (1800W) or 20 A (2400W) circuit

Assuming the speakers can handle 200 W (23dBW) and 300W peaks, and have an efficiency of 90dB, that gives a peak output of 114.5 dB (90 + 23 +1.5) Coincidentally, that’s about what most 2X8" or (1X8" and 1X10" such as a Wilson Alexia V) floorstanding speakers are rated for and capable of. Most stand mounts, KEF LS-50s, et al, that number is around 10dB lower. So even when pushed to their limits, the circuit demands are well within the capabilities of a single 20A circuit. The idea that a DAC or preamp or streamer have great dynamic power requirements simply shows a lack of understanding of their basic operations.

Now, using that same basic model I could come up with a scenario using Kilowatt monoblocks driving some megaspeaker that requires 2 dedicated 20A circuits, and if that applies to you, great. Ohm’s Law also still applies.

Finally, the recommendation of multiple earth grounds is not only wrong, it is dangerous and a violation of the NEC. Even slight differences in resistance between different grounds would create a voltage differential, line noise and potentially dangerous ground loops in and around the structure. Just don’t.

A hypothetical: a 200 W/ch amp operating in Class AB at 60% efficiency draws a peak of ~700W (200+200 /.6 =666.7). Instantaneous peaks of 1 KW are possible if the amp has that much headroom. And those peaks are typically handled by the amps power supply capacitors - that’s their job. Either way, well within the capabilities of a single 15A (1800W) or 20 A (2400W) circuit.

True, but... If I recall correctly, Krell FPB-600s were known to pull something like 6500W from line. That's 50A, short peaks of course. High-current amps driving sub-2-ohm speakers at significant SPLs can stress a 15A circuit, the more so the longer the circuit.

 

Finally, the recommendation of multiple earth grounds is not only wrong, it is dangerous and a violation of the NEC.

True and true. Grounding individual circuits to earth is a truly idiotic thing to do.

 

 

Finally, the recommendation of multiple earth grounds is not only wrong, it is dangerous and a violation of the NEC. Even slight differences in resistance between different grounds would create a voltage differential, line noise and potentially dangerous ground loops in and around the structure. Just don’t.

I forgot, I was also going to ask about that from The Absolute Sound article.  I was pretty sure I had read on this site tha this is an absolute no-no.  

To address the OP’s first question, yes, the power cable from the wall to the power conditioner is critically important, at least that is my personal experience.  I recently upgraded the supply cable from the wall to my conditioner/distributor and it was the most impactful cable replacement I have made in my long journey with hifi.  Sounds like you are going in the direction of dedicated circuits, but if you decide power conditioning would be helpful in the future, I recommend you splurge on the quality of the supply cable.

kn