Power Cables, High current versions vs Regular?

Steve Williams

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I found Marty's analysis of the Ching Cheng PC's right on as I used them for a year in my system and still use them in all of my front end components but because of the bass issue I switched them out from my amplifiers
 

bazelio

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I found Marty's analysis of the Ching Cheng PC's right on as I used them for a year in my system and still use them in all of my front end components but because of the bass issue I switched them out from my amplifiers
What do you use with your amplifiers?
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I've gone from one extreme to the other as I have a full loom of MasterBulit Ultra IC's and SC's and added MB Ultra power cords for my amps to provide the bass that I needed for my system. I still use Ching Cheng PC's on my front end gear
 
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bazelio

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I'll bet the result of going from one extreme to the other was ... Extreme! Have you ever auditioned MB Ultra behind the front end gear to complete the loom? I suspect you still have gains to realize there.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I'll bet the result of going from one extreme to the other was ... Extreme! Have you ever auditioned MB Ultra behind the front end gear to complete the loom? I suspect you still have gains to realize there.
Presently I do have a pair of Master Built Reference Power cords for my Lamm LLI preamp. Everything else is Ching Cheng from David. I suspect there is a lot to gain to complete the loom but frankly they are just too expensive as I have 16 front end power cords
 

Speedskater

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Doesn't it technically go from power company > breaker > wall > amp > back out to ground?
Actually ithe AC power current goes from the big power company transformer down the street, thru wires, cables & cords and breakers then to your hi-fi components after which it again goes thru wires, cables & cords and breakers to that big transformer.
As for 'ground' as in Planet Earth. None of the current goes to ground and only a very small amount flows thru ground back to that big transformer.
 
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microstrip

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Actually ithe AC power current goes from the big power company transformer down the street, thru wires, cables & cords and breakers then to your hi-fi components after which it again goes thru wires, cables & cords and breakers to that big transformer.
As for 'ground' as in Planet Earth. None of the current goes to ground and only a very small amount flows thru ground back to that big transformer.

IMHO power cables address mainly the large band noise generated by our own equipment. Otherwise they would be useless - the impedance of the power lines is orders of magnitude higher than that of our power cords.

The ground line in a cable also affects systems behavior - in fact it is a nuisance, as it spoils the coupling of the neutral and live, that would otherwise work as twisted pair, minimizing radiation of EM noise.
 

Sablon Audio

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The ground line in a cable also affects systems behavior - in fact it is a nuisance, as it spoils the coupling of the neutral and live, that would otherwise work as twisted pair, minimizing radiation of EM noise.

ElectraGlide, a rave brand of the early naughties, used to build without a ground line. I had a few of their cords back in the day and performance diminished when a supplementary ground line was added.
 

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RogerD

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Do different PC’s, either inexpensive or expensive make a difference? Maybe...maybe not. I use 2 different levels of NBS PC’s...Mssters on my mono amps which match my speaker cables and Statements on everything else. Why did I use Masters and not Statements on the Amps? Because the soundstage was better with the former.
But I then used 30+ pounds of stranded copper cable to single point ground all my equipment. Doing that effected the total SQ and soundstage more than any cable could.
So imho the interaction between PC’s and IC’s and equipment depends on the level of current disturbance that can be mitigated. Whatever corrupts the audio signal has a profound effect on the listening experience....in other words it just depends.
 

Chuck Lee

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Once at an audio store,I was able to audition various Shunyata power cords.I listened to headphones thru a Cary 300b SEI integrated moving up the line starting at the cheapest entry level shunyata.This experience led me to purchase a trio of Annaconda power cords.
I also have experimented with DIY ,using different gauges of stranded and solid core wire up to #10 and different Furutech connectors.The connectors make quite an improvement.
If you have identical "it came in the box" power cords, leave one stock and just replace the receptacles of the other with something from Furutech or Oyaide, just not from Home Depot.
You should be able to hear a change for the better in your system.
Next try different wire types, different gauges,even better connectors,and listen.
My latest DIY uses a combination of three stranded wires and three solid core wires and mid level Furutech connectors for each power cord.
You can spend less doing it yourself,or you can spend almost as much as name brand once you start to move up the food chain using the same connectors they use.
You should be able to hear distinctions with every power cord you try.
If you can't then something is wrong .
I found that dedicated lines, # 10 wire, 20 amp breaker,( power conditioning) and upgraded receptacles is the first step.
This clears the path,making it much easier to hear the differences between power cords.
 
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Legolas

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I would add a caution here. Never use solid core for a power chord, it can partially break and you can have a fire.
My opinion, leave the power cable contruction to the big companies, and just add the plugs. Never try and build your own cords for 230v voltages.
 

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