High current power cables

If small power cords are fine then how come Boulder's top of the line 3050 mono amps use a 32 amp 230 volt custom power cord and custom connectors, maybe the size of the cable really does matter.

This caught my eye. It could have to do with their short term power output of 6,000 watts (claimed).

The connectors they use are nothing but simple brass. No fancy materials, no fancy plating, just brass. They seem okay with that.

@carlsbad  I would never suggest you run a 26 ga power cord.  I was suggesting that 12 ga wire on a 20 amp breaker is probably all the power/current that is required.  My entire system draws about 3 amps when playing, regardless of the music.  Pretty sure the 20 amp power supply has plenty of instant current should the bass suddenly demand 3.1 amps for a split second?  

+/- 3 amps total draw when playing loud bass filled jazz.

@bigtwin I know you wouldn’t suggest that, I’m just saying that the logic of calculating power cable size based on Average amp load would say it will work. And 12awg likely will be just fine. Some power supplies have large capacitor banks etc and may be different in their needs. But realize your meter will always show the average current. I do see a sub in the background. Sometime subs are a result of poor speaker performance at low frequencies, sometimes poor power cords cause poor bass performance. Finally, sometimes it is a personal preference. I’m guessing yours is personal preference. I’ll try to attach a photo of my system, which uses no subs for 2 channel sound and with 6 wpc, some tubes give me too much bass.

@carlsbad For the record, I run a dedicated 10 ga wire off a 20 amp breaker to a Furutech wall outlet, into a Furman power conditioner.  Off this I run Puritan Ultimate power cables to my equipment.  Solid silver interconnects etc....

I never claimed that I don't drink the Kool-Aid.......🤣

As for the sub, I had never owned one and bought it based on the many comments I've seen on sites like this.  It brings something to the party my speakers just aren't able to produce.  Sometimes too much in fact.  Cheers.

@blue_collar_audio_guy - There are a few things that govern the abilities of power cables

1. wire gauge
   • thicker the wire the more current it can carry
2. structure of the wire - i.e. solid vs. stranded
   • solid wires can handle a lot more current than stranded wires
3. wire type - OFC, UP-OCC Copper, and UP-OCC silver
   • the wire type governs the dynamic performance of the cable
   • OFC is OK, but limited
   • UP-OCC copper offers the best bang for the buck
   • silver UP-OCC is too expensive for many people, but the most dynamic
4. insulation type
   • the better the insulation the lower the noise floor
   • Dielectric Constant (Dk) is the measure used to gauge insulation performance
     • Teflon is 2.2
     • Foamed Teflon is 1.45
     • Cotton is 1.3
     • bare wire inside oversized Teflon Tube is close to Air
     • Air is 1.1
     • Vacuum is 1.0
5. Geometry
   • more space between the conductors (Live, Neutral and ground) the lower the noise floor

So as you can see - to compare power cables based on their thickness is a bit like saying a red cable will perform better than a blue cable.

Unless a person undersrtands the internal structures/materials/geometry of a power cable it is next to impossible to come to a conclusion as to how well a cable might perform.

It is quite possible to construct a 14 gaue cable that will perform much better than many 10 gauge cables. So simply adopting to use a 10 gauge cable might not be allowing an amp to perform to the best of its abilties

There are few companies that make this information available on their web...

• Zavfino - perhaps the best choice for most cables
• In-Akustik - more for higher end components
• Hijiri - for the highest resolving components

So while many companies do make cables using excellent grade copper - they will not fare as well when compared to the brands mentioned above simply because their insulation and cable geometry is not as advanced.

Hope that helps - Steve