Power Cord Question


My system is more on the budget end but some of the components have detachable power cords with two prong connectors/terminals on the rear. I notice that most upgraded power cords have connectors that plug into equipment having three prongs. Can these 3-prong power cords be used to plug into the rear of components having only 2-prong connectors in the rear without hurting anything or degrading the sound? Thanks for your input.
darkkeys
Eee3, I checked that website. That cable looks awesome. Oh, the name is Dark Keys, like on a piano haha
07-25-08: Darkkeys
Jea48 writes: Many manufactures of audio equipment are building their equipment this way. Because of potential ground loop hum problems manufactures are using double insulated AC power wiring instead of having to use the safety equipment grounding method.

With doubled insulated AC power wiring the metal case of the equipment is floating and does not need the use of the safety equipment ground. Jmho eventually all audio equipment will be built this way. ************
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Based on the above explanation is there any reason to go beyond the manufacturers specs by replacing the power cord with another companies power cord in the pursuit of better sound?

Yes..... Many manufactures seem to cut corners when it comes to the power cord. If you check the stock pc it should give you the wire size. Example 18/2, 16/2, maybe 14/2 awg. The first number, before the /, is the wire size number in awg. The number after the / is for the number of conductors within the cable.
I would be surprised if the Amp's pc is bigger than 16/2. (The lower the wire number size, the larger the conductor.
#14 awg is larger than #16 awg.)

When you tried the new aftermarket pcs I am not surprised they did not sound good right out of the box. As others have said you need to burn them in.

Something else, as a rule shielded pc cables will degrade the sound of a Power Amp. For an Amp a heavier wire gauge non shielded cable usually works best.

Shielded pc cables are better suited for digital equipment. The reason being they will reject EMI and RFI noise.
And that works both ways. Interring as well as exiting the digital equipment.

Power cords
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This is the response I got from NAD Electronics concerning power cord upgrades:

****Thank you for your recent request via the NAD Electronics web-site.

No, do not use a new power cord. The one supplied with the C372 is the proper cord for the unit, and meets safety standards.

Best regards,

NAD Electronics
(mg)*************

Anyone agree or disagree with NAD tech support?
Completely agree. There just is not anything else to it. There is no "conspiracy" "ufo" "bigfoot" reason for NAD to tell you that. NAD did not tell you that because they are too cheap to put a "good" power cord in the box - they told you that because it is the truth.