Solid core power cords under 300$ - List of manufacturers ?

Here are a couple more manufacturer examples.

PS Audio PerfectWave AC 5 Power Cable
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PSPWAC5

Pangea Audio
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGAC14XL2

jwpstayman
254 posts 05-09-2018 1:17pm

jea48 - I applaud your efforts, but NEITHER of those power cords have solid core conductors. I know you were just trying to be helpful...
Zuio - there are VERY few solid conductor AC cables out there that I know of and certainly none of the 3 you asked about are solid conductors either. Can I ask why you want solid conductors?

@jwpstayman

You know not what you speak of......

PS Audio PerfectWave AC 5 Power Cable
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PSPWAC5

Click on the image of the end of the conductor. Move pointer onto the picture for a close up. Do those conductors look like stranded wire to you?

Note each solid conductor is individually insulated.

As for the Pangea Audio cable what you think are stranded conductors grouped in several separate insulated coverings are Litz individually insulated conductors conductors housed inside and insulated covering.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGAC14XL2

Again click on the picture showing the raw cable. Move your pointer onto the picture to enlarge the image.

jwpstayman
256 posts                                                                     05-09-2018 3:56pm

jea48 - hate to digress, BUT.... the PS Audio cord is made with thicker than normal STRANDS. Solid core would be simply 3 conductors ( one hot/one neutral/ and one ground). Since the PS Audio has multiple conductors per leg, it is NOT a solid core conductor cable.

Solid core would be simply 3 conductors ( one hot/one neutral/ and one ground).

And who told you that?

Have you ever heard of parallel conductors?

When was the last time anyone has read a thread where someone said their solid core wire power cord failed? There is a ton of them out there. Anybody ever heard of a failure? I guess if a person deliberately tried to make a connection fail they could cause it to fail. Of course the same would be true even with stranded wire conductors if abused to the point of failure. How often do you guys over bend back and forth you power cables at the connector ends?

It’s a power cord. It’s not a drop cord. It is not designed to be used as a drop cord.

Solid wire power cord.
Lets keep it simple. Here is a Link to an older AudioQuest AC12 power cord. Just going from memory it was first introduced in the early 1990s.
https://www.google.com/search?q=audioquest+ac-12+power+cord&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&am...:
Note the 8 solid copper #18 gauge insulated conductors. 4 white conductors and 4 black conductors. The equipment ground is the green #12 stranded copper wire located in the center of the 8 insulated #18 solid copper wires.

The 4 white insulated #18 solid wires are wired in parallel making it the neutral conductor. The equivalent wire gauge is #12awg.

The 4 black insulated #18 solid wires are wired in parallel making it the Hot conductor. The equivalent wire gauge is #12awg.

Combined wire gauge calculator.
https://www.wirebarn.com/Combined-Wire-Gauge-Calculator_ep_42.html


As for some law that says a power cord must be safety tested and Listed, I don’t know of one. In fact I don’t of any law that says audio equipment must be Listed.

Listed = NRTL , UL is just one example.
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Litz wire.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litz_wire

I saw that silver solid core power cords from crystal cable and cabledyne have no ground wire.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of having no ground cable?

If the piece of equipment, that the power cord will be connected to, requires an equipment grounding conductor then the power cord must have an equipment grounding conductor. (The IEC male inlet on the equipment will have 3 pins. Hot, Neutral, and equipment ground.)

If the piece of equipment is Class ll Listed (Has internal double insulated AC power wiring) and does not use the equipment grounding conductor, (the IEC AC mains inlet connector is only 2 wire), then the power cord, AC plug, and female IEC connector, only needs to be 2 wire.

I thought about DIY too - a CAT7 ethernet cable with 8 22AWG OFC solid core conductors, shielded. They are arranged in 4x 2 twisted pairs. I could use a twisted pair for Live/ground or Neutral/ground and get AWG19 effectively or use the shield as ground conductor and use all wires for live/neutral only and get AWG16 effectively.

You cannot use Ethernet data cable. The voltage rating of the insulation covering the conductors of the wires is not rated for 230V.
Just a guess for your country, Austria, the minimum required voltage rating is 300 volts.
.

A 22AWG neotech hook up wire is rated 600V and 5.4 Ampere. Its not rocketsience. I dont see why a 22 AWG wire should not be sufficient for 240V and 1 Ampere. I know its not rated, but as i am an expat who lives in 3rd world countries I dont have to worry...

Has nothing to with the current. It has to do with the insulation breaking down under the 230V higher voltage.

Are electrical fires different in Austria than in the rest of the world?

I thought about DIY too - a CAT7 ethernet cable with 8 22AWG OFC solid core conductors, shielded. They are arranged in 4x 2 twisted pairs.

DON'T DO IT! You could burn your house down.
.

elizabeth

4,835 posts                                                                      05-15-2018 10:52am

I bought a used AudioQuest power cord, very early one. It had solid core conductors.
It was no better sounding then, than any OEM powercord.
(but at that time I did not own the $$$$ equipment I do now)
I threw it away years ago. as it had be bent and folded many times, and could have easily become unsafe.
For personal use I see no reason to avoid solid core AC wires. As long as one understands the dangers of overbending the wires used. 05-15-2018 10:52am

Aren’t you using Pangea Audio power cables? Note the solid core individually insulated copper conductors. Also note the Litz solid core wires/conductors encased inside an insulated covering.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGAC14XL2

Just a reminder.
The OP said nothing about using Romex cable.

Solid core power cords under 300$ - List of manufacturers ?

I would like to try a 2nd hand solid core power cord under 300$

What are my options?

I know following manufacturers:

Audioquest (Copper)
Cabledyne (Silver)
Nordost (Silver plated copper)

DIY is also an option for me.
(my devices draw 15 watts only (1 streamer, 2 mono blocks ))

None of the above manufacturers use Romex cable in the manufacture of their power cords. None of the above manufacturers use a solid core wire larger than #18awg. Many use a combination of LITZ small diameter awg solid core wires bundled together under an insulated covering combined with a few #18 solid core insulated wire/conductors.
Example. Look at the picture of the cable.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGAC14XL2 .

Romex is not designed, manufactured, or Listed, to be used as a power cord. It is designed and Listed for use as mains power wiring fastened/supported rigidly in place. Romex, NM, cable can only be used in places/locations as approved by the NEC, (National Electrical Code).
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Here is one of the problems when solid wire in sizes like #14 or larger are used for a power cord. Even if the male plug uses a screw and terminal plate to terminate the solid wire, and, even when the screw/terminal plate is tight against the solid (straight piece) of wire any physical movement, bending of the cable at the plug, can cause the wire in the connection to become loose. With the IEC female connector usually a single set screw tightens down on the solid wire.  Any movement here causes an even looser connection. A loose connection can cause arcing. Arcing causes AC noise. Noise = distortion. It can also cause voltage drop across the arcing connection.

The only sure way to stop the connections from becoming loose from bending at the terminations is to solder the terminations after they have been tightened down.
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