DIY power cable questions


Hey there,

I’ve been looking into making my own power cables for a few components and it’s easy to find connectors for the IEC C13 and C15 receptacle configurations but I’ve not had much luck finding anything for C17 connectors that just have hot and neutral wires but no ground. Same for the NEMA 1-15P connectors. Way harder to find anything compared to the NEMA 5-15P versions. Anyone have any advice or info to share on this matter? I appreciate the help for sure.
indyvw
I do not agree, homemade cables can perform incredibly well.  I use Furutech cable, including their TOTL DPS-4.1 cable and NCF connectors.  You will need the right tools, nimble fingers and some serious patience but they can be built and sound incredible.  If you are not patient or dexterous then I suggest you simply buy built cables.  Good luck
Don’t pay bloated prices as many manufacturers’ profit margins are greater than 70% and up.  Cable manufacturers don’t have any secret sauce in their cables that aren’t available to you and me.  Also, many of the the cables being sold and their ‘technology’ are truly snake oil.
Making a homemade cable or buying bulk Furutech I don’t think is the same thing. Agree making a truly homemade cable will probably be a waste of time. Buy bulk cable and terminate your own and maybe save a little money. Check out VH Audio as Chris has a nice selection of cabling and plugs.
@indyvw - I have No experience with the - NEMA 5-15P

Here’s a C17 that I am using and find very good
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Viborg-Figure-8-IEC-C7-Gold-Plated-Mains-Power-Plug-Female-Copper-Connector/...

If you are simply adding plugs to a piece of bulk cable then buy DH Labs bulk wire and get the Sonarquest silver plated copper connectors

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/SONAR-QUEST-CRYO-Ag-Audio-Grade-Silver-plated-IEC-plug-US-main-plug-sonarque...

If you want a power cable that blows the doors of most commercial products take a look at this link

http://www.image99.net/blog/files/category-002a002athe-helix-image-power-cable.html

If you have any questions regarding these power cables - ask away.

I’ve spent over 5 years developing power cables that actually work very well.

Regards - Steve

sorry, but I totally disagree with millercarbon.  If you know what you're doing, a DIY cable can match or beat other manufactured power cables equal or even more expensive.

That being said, nobody really answered indyvw's question.  I see williewonka answered, but seems to have confusion between a C7 and a C17 connector.  The C7 is a 2-pole mini-plug that is found on many smaller devices, such as some bluray players among other things.  In this case, Furutech makes very good connectors.

The C17, on the other hand, is the same thing as a standard C13/C15, but without the ground conductor.  This is for equipment that has a floating ground circuit.  It is common in things such as receivers and sometimes bluray players and even amps.  The idea is to "float" the ground so that you don't have ground loop hum problems.  In this situation, you can just use a standard IEC connector.  Even if the power cord/connector uses all 3 conductors, the equipment it's plugged into will not use the ground conductor.  All is good.