McIntosh C2300 Power Cord Recommendation


I Just ordered a new C2300 and I just like to know what kind of power cord you guys recommend. Thank you.
miketuason

Showing 4 responses by notbananas

Most all homes have a 12AWG (American Wire Gauge) Romex wires inside the walls with a 15Amp circuit breaker (some have 20Amp). There's roughly a 50ft. run between the 15A circuit breaker and the wall plug of this 12 gauge wire.

To test the misguided theory about special power cables, I measured the voltage with my DVM at the circuit breaker to be 119.6VAC. Then I measured at the wall socket about 50ft. away and it was also 119.6VAC. Then I powered on all my tube equipment (preamp, dual mono-block power amps, turntable and electrostatic speakers). The voltage was still 119.6VAC at the wall socket. Then I measured it at the input wires under the chassis of the power amp power transformer. It was still 119.6VAC! Will wonders ever cease?

The last 5 ft. of wire from the plug to the power on/off switch will not make any difference in the performance of the amp. Any money spent on "special" A/C lines is a pure waste!

I'm an audio/video freak starting way back in the late 50's even before stereo was invented! I'm also have a BSEE and I combine facts with proof in the listening had saved me countless thousands of dollars over the years.

There are certain items which will definitely improve, or at least will sound different. A/C line cords are not one of them.

BTW, hospital grade means that the internal connections and the mating of the plug and socket will not create a spark (think oxygen tank) and nothing more.

Have to think about the Tellurium Q Black speaker wires a bit before I can give an opinion. I suspect the reason it sounds "better" (different) is because it presents a different reactance (a combination of capacitance & inductance)load to the output of the power amp than the other cables used which we hear as an improvement. The chart Tellurium shows on their website forgot to mention at what frequency was the square wave generated that was used to produce the signal.

Also, I remember many years ago reading that human beings have a very poor audio memory. Using double blind AB testing proved that what you heard yesterday cannot be remembered today to be matched with the same sound quality.

Remember the fairy tale about the Emperor's new clothes?
Gentlemen: One fact I neglected to mention is that 99% of all tube gear has a power transformer which the power cord is attached to. This transformer totally isolates the A/C line from the rest of the audio link inside the amp. Inside the amp, you have the rectifier (tube or silicon) and then you have the filter caps, regulators, etc. before the high voltage is applied to the tubes.

Any improvement with a new power cord can be attributed to the placebo effect. If you think it has made an improvement, you will "hear" the perceived improvement.

An actual true event which happened to me when I was in high school (c.1964) and worked in a TV repair shop after school and summer recess (for $1.25/hr.) This event woke me up to the reality of what some consider an improvement in their system.

We had a very cantankerous lady who lived by herself and called the shop to fix her TV when she thought there was something wrong with the picture quality. After a dozen or more service calls to her, my boss asked me to go there just to please a good customer, even though he knew there was nothing wrong with the picture quality. He told me what to do when I arrived, and like a good part time employee, I did exactly that.

I turned on the TV and asked her to show me which channel was the bad one. She turned the channel selector to Channel 2 and said see how bad this picture is.
I told her yes, I do see the problem. I told her that I have a way to correct it. Following my boss' instructions, I opened the cover with the horizontal, brightness, contrast, etc. knobs behind it. I then turned the vertical hold on the TV until the picture started to roll slowly. I then asked her to let me know which picture looks good and I'll stop the vertical roll and "keep it". She had me stop a few times and asked me to go back one frame. Still not satisfied, this went on for over 5 minutes.

Finally she yelled that's it! She said that's the best picture of all the ones I showed her. I locked in the vertical hold, left her home and we have never heard from her again.
If you recall Monster Cable made millions $ on the perceived notion that heavier and thicker "custom" interconnects and speaker cables improve the sound of your system.

The only difference is that the shielded interconnects present a different reactance (inductance and capacitance combined) to the input stage of an amp (tubes or transistors), thus producing a different sound. It's simple basic electronics 101.

Some feel that this difference sounds better. They say: "Damn it! I just spent $80 on a 3ft. length of RCA cable, so you better believe I'm going to hear a better sound."

Remember the fairy tale: "The Emperor's New Clothes". Read it and learn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor's_New_Clothes
As I mentioned before, all tube and some solid state amps have a power transformer which literally isolates the power line from the rest of the electronics.

Unless somehow this new fangled power cord overcomes the laws of physics, there's no way it can have any effect.

Here is an excerpt from their website they explain why it's better:
"By increasing the surface area of normal round wire tenfold or more, skin effect is no longer an issue."

Are they joking?? Do they (or anyone else) know what "skin effect" is? Well boys and girls, I do!

I was an amateur radio operator (WN2CMF) and built my own 40 and 80 meter transmitter and receiver, and studied analog RF theory, I know what skin effect is! It mostly applies to frequencies in the megahertz range and higher, where it has a significant contribution to transmission of signal. Skin effect is when the frequency of the signal is such that the electrons (yes, electrons are what moves to create a flow of current) move to the surface of the conductor away from the center. This is why waveguides in the gigahertz range are actually hollow tubes.

So, obviously the 50 or 60 hertz frequency of the power line has such a negligible effect on the migration of electrons to the "skin" of the conductor that it has absolutely nothing to do with the alleged improvement! Period! Their claim makes great advertising black magic, but has no scientific basis.

They even named it appropriately: Grand Illusion! How ironic.

Besides, who would pay $1,700 for a 4ft. length of flat copper conductor you can make yourself for $25?