Ideal power cord lengths?

OP,

Good idea. When I was new to high end audio I quickly heard important differences in speaker cables, interconnects and realized that this little stuff really makes a difference. Then I read an article in The Absolute Sound, in the 80’s… that one of the important writers had heard many good systems… but that every great system he had ever heard had all the details perfect… cable lifters, cables crossed at 90 degrees… etc. the point was… the little stuff is additive and matters.

So I bought vibration reduction platforms… and heard the difference. The power conditioners, and heard the difference. But when it came down to cable lifters… they are so cheap… I just bought them (ceramic electrical isolation devices) and put them under my cables. My time is not worth doing the comparison. They are universally known to improve sound… they cost almost nothing. After, the last 12 things I was told make a difference, and did… direct lines… power cords. I am happy to spend $100 on my $50K system on faith. Only my system is now worth $150K and those $100 of electrical insulators are there, and I feel confident they are doing something… and if not, I don’t care… my system sound great.

3-4 meters is suffice for me.

@ghdprentice , good point, and I agree, everything is additive. Might be worth just installing the cable lifters. That said, I’m still curious as to whether or not they might help.  I know there is consensus (of those who have actually done the comparisons) that cable lifters work, but I’m curious to hear the differences myself.

I’ve also read that vibration control for components do change things, but can impact tonal balance, and not always in a good way. There are so many anti-vibration products and different schools of thought. I do know enough to be aware that the mass of the component does factor into the equation, with ideal vibration being a function of mass, stiffness, and dampening.

@nyev I have moved several times since the pandemic and so have had multiple times to hear the difference between before installing the cable lifters, and after. I use a variety of them with different heights to create a power cable height and a signal cable height. Every time, I procrastinate a little, thinking it will not make a difference, and every time I am shocked that it does. It’s as if the whole system was picked up and transported to the recording venue. It is like the system is not in my room anymore, but where the recording was made (not wholly, as my system is not perfect, but it moves in that direction). And there is just a sense of magic and wow that comes with raising the cables that I can’t put better words to. I use a a mixture of various Shunyata lifters and Audioquest Fog Lifters (good value, but I have not figured out how to get them apart for re-transport). All power and signal cable are up. Network cables are still on the floor and thinking about get more lifters to get them up. Makes a difference on both carpet and wood flooring. Enjoy!!

@ghdprentice

👍

Often the best solutions are guided by pragmatism and common sense. Nothing beats actual hands on experience/engagement and simply listening. It seems some rely too heavily on preconceived beliefs and specs/numbers on paper. This is woefully inadequate. As you have learned, trying products and ideas in your own audio system is the definitive approach.

Charles