Does a Good 20 amp cable Make a Difference
I definitely have found that regardless of manufacturer of cables that I was using at the time, that the quality of the 20amp (or 15amp if applicable) powercord between the wall and your power conditioner absolutely makes a difference. Please do stay away from powercords that do their own filtering (IMHO); what you need is the best cord possible bringing the best power to the unit, just like your front-end and amp/pre-amp components. |
Now seeing im presently using a/c cables that are in the $400 $500 $600+ range.Would it not make sense to go equally for a great 20 amp a/c cable for the the power filter?I agree with the others that it can make a difference, and that there is likely room for improvement. However, I would not by any means assume, as you appear to be doing, that a similar price = a similar level of performance in your (or any other) particular system. Or that higher price = better performance, for that matter. See the comments by me and others in this thread, and this one, and this one, among others. As was suggested above, you may want to consider using the "library service" of The Cable Company to try out a variety of power cords at various price points. Good luck. Regards, -- Al |
I will add my voice to the choir here and enthusiastically say that a high-quality power cord running from the wall to your filter is indeed money well spent. Al beat me to the punch in recommending using the Cable Company library, try different cables that interest you and simply listen and choose. Good Luck, Charles, |
I'll echo the sentiments of many of the above posters - but will add... - yes - a good power cable on the power filter is a must - a heavier gauge may or may not yield better results - an advanced cable architecture, like the Shunyata Venom will probably yield better results. I have tried many different cable geometries over the last couple of years and the top performers have been ... - Braided Geometries, such as used by Anti Cables, which are pretty good from what I have read here - Spiral Geometries, which the Shunyata Venom appears to be, which might provide the best overall performance. I will add that I have not tried the cables mentioned above, simply because I build my own cables from scratch, but I have experimented with those very same geometries. Gauge should only a factor if you have - many source components plugged into the filter, or - the power cable is used for high current draw amps My system uses a NAIM 5i 50 watt amp and for that 12AWG is ample, but for 100watts or higher 10 awg and even 7 awg for 250 watts might need to be considered As proof of the effectiveness of the more advanced geometries - a friend brought one of his conventional power cables over, which I then rebuilt in a braided geometry. So, same conductors, same connectors - just a different way of positioning the individual conductors... - The results were a noticeably quieter noise floor, improved dynamic performance and wider and more detailed image when used on the very same source component - his words, not mine. Personally - I make my own PC's in the Spiral Design and have compared and prefer them to cables using silver/copper alloys costing as much as $1500 for a 5ft cable. (see my "System" link below for details) As for the exotic materials - all of my power cables are copper - no fancy alloys or silver - just some very good quality copper from Furutech and DH Labs Hope this helps |
