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After Market Power Cables - Gold or Snake Oil?

Myself and a collegue of mine have been discussing the potential benefit(s) of using after market power cables with hifi equipment. I claim that since the majority of home owners gain their power from the everyday wall socket, how does the addition of a short length of 'expensive' cabling make any appreciable difference to the sound quality. Are we kidding ourselves and buying into marketing hype or is there some scientific truth to the matter? I am a musician/recordist who understands the fundamentals of electricity and sound reproduction.
checkmate110

Showing 2 responses by vegasears

vegasears
1,173 posts
 
Former PC Skeptic

A few months ago I bought a pair of VTL 300 deluxe mono block here on the gon. They came with 18 awg, computer type power cords. After using the amps for a while, I felt the PC’s and they were kinda warm. Not a good sign. Needing bigger PC’s I did the following.

I bought female Watt plugs from partsexpress.com. Then went to Home Depot and bought three sizes of CAROL Industrial power cord and Industrial Grade male plugs. The sizes were 16/3, 14/3 and 12/3. All the materials, including the Watt plugs cost around $100.00. Over a weekend I used each size cord for a few hours. There was an audible difference with each size. Power Cords do made a difference. I preferred the 14/3 cords.

Note: I have a dedicated 20 amp outlet.
vegasears
1,173 posts
 
I am a Building Inspector and my primary responsibility is the complete inspection of new housing. How and why PC’s work baffles me. I have asked a lot of experts and the best answer I receive is “resistance vs. load“. Another way to look at the subject is, something’s are true weather you believe them or not.
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