The Bold. The Outrageous. The Projects You've Done. And, the One's You Shouldn't Have.

@tomcarr You're too kind. Thank you.

Okay, here’s the story:

Premium Power Cable -- Special Orville Ridenbacher Edition

If there’s anyone who understood the laws of thermodynamics, it would be Orville Ridenbacher. Apply heat (thermal) and things go "pop" (dynamic). But, movie night microwave popcorn was a bit underwhelming in our house. If you don’t cook it long enough you have unpopped kernels. Too long, you’ve got shriveled up puff balls that look (and, taste) more like raisins than high end movie snackery.

To say I "drank the Kool-Aide" on premium cables may be a bit of an understatement. I pretty much chugged the whole pitcher. I yank OEM cables out of anything that makes noise and replace them with better stuff every chance I get. I had some recent involvement with power cables (including upgrading internal cables in vintage gear) and upgraded wall sockets. I developed a new appreciation for power delivery, to say the least.

During one of those movie nights involving a great flick and mediocre popcorn, it hit me. What would happen if I upgraded the power delivery on my Panasonic microwave? I had come bulk cable on hand from a respectable cable manufacturer that I’d used on customer projects and some of my own. And, an extra power plug. And, a spare audiophile wall socket in the warehouse. To be somewhat scientific, I wanted to establish a base line, so I measured how long it took to bring 2 cups of water to a boil, and made a note of it.

The Panasonic was unmounted from it’s perch above the oven and into the shop it went. The OEM power cable was stripped away and replaced with a decent (at the time $150/M if terminated) power cable. The cable was routed into the chassis and silver soldered to the appropriate terminals. A compatible plug was attached, and wall socket upgrade performed. The unit was plugged back in, the panel lit up and it was time to put up, or shut up. Using the same power circuit as before, the 2 cups of water was brought to a boil -- 10% faster than before!

Now it was time for the REAL test -- popcorn. They say a watched pot never boils. And, a watched microwave cooking popcorn never pops. But, then it happened. The glorious sound of popping corn with energy and intensity I’d not experienced before. When the frequency of pops became extended, it was time to yank the bag out of microwave and dump it into the popcorn bowl. The popcorn was hot, moist and delicious. And, nary an unpopped kernal to be found. Premium cables improved movie night in a demonstrable way. Better sound. And, better popcorn. It just doesn’t get any better than this.

I thought it would be fun to write up a review of the cable/popcorn experience and send it to the manufacturer. I got a few chuckles from the folks I knew there. Then, the paper found it’s way to the desk of their new (well respected) power products designer. I was preparing myself for a full rebuttal and a highly embarrassing moment dished out from a pretty smart engineer. After a short delay, the person on the phone said that it actually made sense to him that their premium cable would boil water faster. My rep liked the review so much that they wanted to include in their newsletter, but after careful consideration decided not to include it. They were having enough trouble trying to convince a group of people of the benefits of premium power cables for audio reproduction and catch quite a bit of flack from them. Suggesting that they could improve the taste of microwave popcorn would open them up for a major thrashing. I get it.

The Panasonic finally died a few years later. It’s boring popcorn on movie night. Until I get the soldering gun out again.

@waytoomuchstuff  Hey John. Love the speakers.  You didn't limit this to stereo stuff so I'll go in a different direction.  From a couple years ago.  I'll just give you the start and the finish.  Did this without any help.  Not sure I would to do it again.  

OK.  I did have help one day.  My grandson decided to get involved.

@bigtwin

Okay, you win.

Great pics. Looks like your “help” is well qualified. “Heads and shoulders” above other contractors I’ve used.

I really was attempting to stay within the discipline of high performance audio. A high end power cable on a microwave may have been a bit of a stretch.

Thanks for sharing your project. You’ve got skills!!

Aftermarket microwave oven power cables.

HAHAHAHA!!!