Doing the Power Cord Thing

Erik - a power cable using the wire you have selected was one of my first DIY projects

It's performance was better than stock cables that came with components, but did not compare favourably to cables having more advanced geometries, like Braiding adn Helix spiral.

I have evaluated a couple different cable geometries and conductors found the Helix geometry to provide superior sound across the board, besting many cables from companies like Neotech and even Nordost.

I now use a combination of Silver plated stranded Mil-spec wire for the neutral/ground wires and Durlund stranded tinned copper with polmer insulation for the live wire

I also use silver plated copper Sonar Quest connectors, which are very affordable compared to many others and offer extremely good perofrmance/value

If interested ands for more details take a look at...
http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ahelix-power-cable.html

If you have any questions - just ask :-) 

Regards - Steve

@Erik_squires - I forgot mention that I had tried a couple of entry level power conditioners a while back, but found them to compress the sound and made little to no difference in the noise in the system.

Since they had better outlets, there were some improvements in their clamping of the mains plugs.

My power is pretty clean, so I really had no need for them

Regards

@Erik_squires - I do not have a conditioner - i run straight into the wall outlet. But I do notice a considerable improvement over some very well respected commercial cable products.

I have to ask - how did you come to the conclusion that the helix cables were both high inductance and high capacitance? Normally it's either one or the other.

The reason I ask is that a fellow DIYer actually measured the Helix interconnect cables and found them to be very low capacitance, so I would have to guess the power cable is also low capacitance.

As for the inductance - I might agree with you IF the helix coil was used for the live conductor, but it is the neutral conductor and therefore connected to the ground (basically), so the actual voltage in the coil is very close to zero volts and therefore the current flowing is very very low, which would minimize the inductive effect - wouldn’t it?

All reports of the performance of the helix Interconnect and speaker cables from other DIYers highlights the neutrality and natural sound of the helix cables, which might be another idicator of the low inductance and capacitance characteristics of the Helix cables.

If you should know how to measure inductance and capacitance of these cables easily please let me know, because I would like to determine the actual values to share with others. It’s a question that comes up from time to time and I do not have a difnitive answer as yet.

Many Thanks - steve

@Erik_squires - I use a Panamax M4300 conditioner on my A/V gear. But I could not tell you if it is "effective" in any way - I use it more to isolate (i.e. turn off) the system when away on vacation :-) 

FYI: I recently built a 14 gauge helix power cable for the TV, which resulted in darker shadows, with more noticeable details and a brighter, more vibrant picture. 

I initially used the Panamax on my audio system at the old house, but found it provided no benefits once I built a power distribution box with high quality outlets and an internal power bus (i.e. it's like a mini distribution panel)

See the end of this page for construction details if interested...
http://image99.net/blog/files/category-002ayou-need-a-good-power-supply.html

Fortunately, my new house seems to be very well wired and I do not experience any noise from the HVAC system, water heater, fridge/freezers/etc..

I did have a house-wide surge supressor fitter to the breaker panel, but that was for protection purposes in the event of blackouts and I did not notice any improvements in system performance once installed

Regards - Steve