question on pwr cords

Blakeaudio,

I can hear the difference between a 1.5 and 2 meter power cable of the same type, and so can you, if you'd try it.

Also Nsgarch, not all CDP's and DACS sound better with 10awg or heavier PC's. Some, maybe even most, do, but not all. A friend has a modded Sony SACD player that sounds best with 11-12 awg PC's. I've also owned some DSP units that only sounded 'right' with their original PC's, which were only 16 awg. Why? I wish I knew for sure. :)

I am looking at about 9ft required (from current 3ft) as a reuslt of set chg so I guess that length expansion in itself will not be an issue.

On the unobtrusive....I have heard the Crystal Ultra interconnects and despite being very thin, they sound very impressive indeed...guess pwr cords are different? Did notice the do produce a thinnish looking pwr cord which they term reference so was interested...aslo aren't Nordost's Valahalla pwr cords less obstrusive than the norm? Also, Jena labs cable?

I currently use Shunyata, and I do like them but they are big pythons that are creating a bit of WAF issues...

Tplavas,

I have to say that I'm amazed at your aural accuity! Just how does the difference that you can detect between a 1.5 and a 2 meter PC of ths same brand and construction manifest itself? What is it that you hear that is different? Do you think that this observation is universal, that is it applies to all amps, or just yours?

I'm facinated.

Newbee:
That's an easy one, the 2m PC gets you 0.5m closer to the music....
sorry couldn't resist..

Newbee,

I'll assume that you weren't being sarcastic with your question and give you an answer.
It depends on the specific power cable, but even small changes in length can be heard. Again, it varies depending on cable design, but generally the shorter the power cable gets, the more 'forward' the sound, along with some perceived movement in the soundstage. With some PC's, this difference can be pretty drastic, most likely because of their fairly high inductance (compared to the 'average' PC). Heavy-gauge PC's with lower inductance tend to minimize the change in sound with length.
I don't think it's a coincidence that most of the positively reviewed, well-known power cords I've tried sound best in lengths between 5-8 feet (in my opinion). I'm sure most successful PC manufacturers consider the sonic effects of length when designing their power cords.
Frankly, I'm always quite surprised at the jeering that takes place every time someone brings up the subject of power cord length. If one believes that PC's make a difference, why is it so hard to believe that their length affects a difference as well?