2. cables
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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
jarthel
9 posts
 
I wouldn't buy those expensive ones. I made an "Alan Maher" DIY power cord and the bass tighten up. As long as it's cheap, I'll highly recommend it. :)

jayel
jacks0395
70 posts
 
"As long as it's cheap"? As long as it works ...
piezo
304 posts
 
I recently read an article in Scientific American about using house electrical wiring to carry computer networking (i.e. internet) signals. I don't remember the details but the engineers were using higher frequencies carrier signals to avoid the noise generated by the household appliances that apparently resides at lower frequencies. They discussed all the issues discussed here like interference from outside the house, the fridge washer etc. It is very likely that the high end power cords all act as a high pass filter that removes a lot of the crap that is carried on the power lines.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
There are certainly a class of cables that do have various types of filtering. However many just attempt to minimize resistance and inductance. These tend to be optimum for power amplifiers.
sherod
1,690 posts
 
My " golden ears" tell me that a good power cord makes a significant if not huge difference.It is debateable if they make a bigger difference than the interconnects, but so as not to make an argument, I'll say they both make substantial differences. I would like to thank our in-house boy genius, Sean, for getting me a start in the right direction regarding good cables. I have no regrets storing my stock power cords in the closet.But system synergy is crucial.Once you've decided on your electronics,experimentation with power cords,interconnects, and speaker cables is recommended and fun,if you're a true audiophile.One of the nice advantages of this website, Audiogon, is you can buy a good used cord and if it doesn't work in your system, you can re-sell it on this same website to another fellow audiophile and try another one. I love this hobby.
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