2. cables
  3. 1130309135

AC polarisation. Does it matter?

I just realised that most of my cords switch from positive to negative and negative to positive from the male end of my cords to the iec's Does this matter? The two cords that are correct are the cord to my CDP and the cord to my tuner but the cord to my Hydra which feeds the whole system is reversed. I was just wondering if this is an issue or very minor if an issue at all.
Thanks for your help.
mitchb
aball
2,018 posts
 
I have heard of this before - a guy who posted here about 4 years ago got a McIntosh amp that he felt sounded bad. He tried and tried to figure out what the incompatibility issue was only to find out that the amp was hooked up out of phase due to the non-stock power cord. he used a correct-polarity cord and the sound improved greatly - or so he says. You can experiment and determine the exact answer for yourself. Let us know what you come up with.
jea48
4,732 posts
 
Yes Polarity is very important. If incorrect it can effect the sonics of equipment. Hi-End manufactures check and make sure the primary polarity of the power transformer is correct. Check the archives for the proper method to check for proper AC plorarity.
Incorrect AC polarity can also can cause hum in a system connected by ICs.
On a safety matter the fusing inside the equipment would be on the other end of the power transformer primary winding. In other words instead of the fuse protection on the incoming hot conductor it would be connected on the neutral, the grounded conductor.
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
The AC polarity could also be off on the wall plug. No reason to believe the crew that installed the outlets in the house got all the wires put on the plugs the right way. They work very fast.

You can buy a polarity checker at most hardware stores. Well worth it for a small price.

Conrad Johnson use to put 2 prong AC plugs on some of their preamps, so you could flip the cord and desire which ways sounds best to you.
More to discover