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Do power cords really matter?

I'm sure this has been discussed ad nauseum in the past, but while reading an ad for a power cord, I've had a very simplistic thought on which I would enjoy hearing other's opinions.
Case in point : The idea of dedicated lines appealed to me, but as we will be moving in the not too distant future, I just grabbed a left over roll of 14-3 Romex and strung about 60 ft. through the basement, and terminated in a box w/ a couple of audio grade duplexes. I did run the ground wire directly outside to a separate ground rod. (I realize for optimum performance I should have several runs to separate amp, digital, analog, etc.) My question is this: am I really to believe the last 6 ft. of power delivery can be that critical, when it has already traveled a much greater distance in ordinary wire. As we use outlets for convenience only, why not just terminate a 6 ft piece of Romex w/ high grade connectors? Are we just buying eye candy? Have we been duped w/ the hype?
Without having studied power conditioners, perhaps they can actually "clean" the raw power electronically?
Thank you for enduring my Sunday morning musings - all opinions cheerfully received.
Best regards,
Tom
tburn
sean
6,231 posts
 
If people would stop thinking of power cords as an extension of the wall outlet and instead think of them as an extension of the power supply ( with the potential for various amounts of tuning / filtration / impedance alterations included ), this "debate" might have ended a long time ago.

Yes, they do matter. Sean
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garfish
1,840 posts
 
I now believe in BOTH good quality outlets and good quality power cords-- and I've actually tried a bunch of both of them. How could one believe that one is important but not the other? Sean said it well. Cheers. Craig
stehno
1,453 posts
 
Yes, in my limited auditioning of different power cords, they do make a difference. However, I have found that in-line power conditioners for each components makes a much more siginificant sonic difference than power cords.

My in-line power conditioners take the place of power cords and each power conditioner costs about the same as a very nice power cord.

Therefore, I now have three Foundation Research in-line conditioners. Two LC-1's for the source and pre and an LC-2 for the amplifier.

However, before investigating, auditioning, and perhaps purchasing power cords or any other equipment, I would recommend that you first install three (not just one) dedicated circuits/lines using a min. of 12 ga or preferably 10ga for your components with a seperate ground or no grounding at all. This inexpensive step alone will really clean up your electrical line and minimize any AC noise currently reaching your components.

Your amp will really benefit from having it's own dedicated line. Your source (assuming it's a digital source) generates lots of AC noise back into the line into the pre and/or amp as well. Therefore, the source needs it's own dedicated line.

The above will not make your system sound better, but will really help when it comes to auditioning any component in the future including power cords.

-IMO
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