Power Cords: A Skeptic Looking to Dabble...

I'm not in this with the specific goal of improving the sound of my system, but rather to evaluate for myself the reality of sonic difference from a power cord with a secondary benefit of potentially improving my system.

Jmcgrogan2 - I guess what I'm getting at is if I'm going to spend $10,000 on a CD player I would expect that the product be designed such that a $150 in Nordost Sort Kones not make a significant improvement because there is no excuse for the design to include this "technology" or at a minimum for them to charge me $10,150 and include the stupid cones as a package deal.

My observation from what Williewonka said is that the power cord becomes more important when the amplifier is relying on it for transient demands making it a more significant factor for potentially less expensive equipment that doesn't have virtually unlimited overhead in the power supply.

Mceljo - what I was trying to highlight is that installing a quality power cable in a modestly priced system would reap a certain set of benefits

But taking the same action with components capable of higher resolving power would result in a set of benefits that would differ from the first instance.

In all cases the power cable is addressing the transient requirements that could not be handled by the power supply alone.

Here's some of the important tweaks I have made.
- it all started with the purchase of a power conditioner - I immediately noticed an improvement in bass detail - mainly due to the outlets having better clamping of the plugs

- I next installed a better power cable on the amp - again I noticed more bass detail and the imaging improved

- after upgrading all of the power cables I had a nice image left to right, but it lacked depth

- I replaced my interconnects with silver cables and the image finally got some depth

- I then installed a dedicated line and ditched the power conditioner and the depth improved even more - but I thought I could improve on the micro details

- I then replaced all of the power cable connectors with silver plated copper connectors - the micro details, like venue acoustics, became much more apparent and the image again got more depth to it

- and last - I replaced the banana connectors on my speaker cables with silver plated quality copper - right now I have a very good 3D image that is very focussed with lots of detail - on my modestly priced system.

BTW - those are just the major tweaks - there are many more

My problem now is I think I have extracted every ounce of performance out of my existing components - the new phono stage arrives next week :-)

What I have found with power cables...
1. - 12 gauge extension cord from Home Depot - better than stock cords
2. - braided romex cables - surprisingly good and much better than stock cables for bass control and image - very cost effective

3. - DH Labs - better than the romex - improved details and bass control for a reasonable outlay

4. - Furutech - provides the most improvement particularly with micro details like venue acoustics, instrument timber and better control of the higher frequencies, but the cost is starting to climb

5. - Silver plated copper mains connectors - really added focus to the positioning of artist and instruments in the sound stage and yet more venue details.

So - now you have a wealth of information from the various members in this thread with some excellent recommendations

What you have to do now is decide what your budget is and what direction you want to take (DIY or buy or forget about it) - your choice

Try some out before committing - it's worth it

Hope this helped

"And why would it matter that the power cord be 12, 10, or 9 gauge when it is the last 6 feet to the amp with 30, 40, 50 feet or more of 14 gauge feeding the system outlet through connections of inexpensive outlets? As I said, dedicated lines should be the first step for a power upgrade." - Tls49

This gets back to the argument for why any power cord of higher quality that what's in the house wiring could ever make a real difference. I'm not saying that a smaller gauge power cord couldn't sound exactly the same as a larger gauge one, but if the only difference between the two power cords is the gauge it would be expected that the larger gauge one would at least be equal and have more potential than the smaller gauge power cord.

A water large water pipe has the potential for more water to flow through it, but if a smaller pipe has adequate capacity to carry all of the available water then having a larger pipe wouldn't result in a benefit, but would have more potential.

Jmcgrogan2 - In theory, if the goal of audio equipment is to reproduce the original signal as close to the original as is possible then it would be expected that as the various pieces of equipment get better and better the resulting sound should become more and more the same among different pieces of gear. A well designed pieces of gear where no expense was spared should have less room for improvement than a middle of the road piece of gear would.

As an example, I used to own a 2000 SS Camaro and there were quite a few aftermarket bolt-on options for upgrading the intake and exhaust with a real improvement in horsepower and torque. I had a friend that worked at Dinan working with BMWs and at one point they were trying to improve on the OEM exhaust and after they essentially stripped the system do to what you'd find on a race car could only document 2 hp on the dino. BMW had designed the exhaust system so well that there really wasn't any room for improvement with a bolt on product.