Power cord - 5 ft vs 10 ft ?


I've heard many things about the length of a power cord. What is the ideal length of a power cord to give it a chance to perform at its best before connecting to an amplifier?

jumia

1 meter vs 2 meters.  The biggest advantage I see in the 2 meter PC is you have the option of moving your equipment around a bit, 1 meter to be exact, without having to purchase yet another PC.  And that reminds me of the lousy carpenter who complained "I've cut this damn board 3 times and it's still too short!"

The Cable Co also suggest 2 meters and mentioned that the capacitance can be good beyond the filtering and noise in some cases. It may also depend on how much you want each PC to influence the sound, but I wouldn't go to 10ft unless I needed the length. I use 1.5M for most but do have some 1M to avoid loops.

I'm also a big fan of larger AWG (girth) for improved macro dynamics. It's odd to me that a short length can make such a difference, but that's what I hear. It does seem harder to make a large AWG cable sound good and balanced in other ways.

I personally like Jason's posts, always succinct and to the point.

There is always so much pseudoscience involved with Hi-Fi it's hard to figure out what is actually real and what's not.

I'm a firm believer in the fact that 1, 2, or 3, meter cords, I'll never hear the difference.

Two days ago I borrowed a mains noise analyzer from my local dealer. I learned how much noise is on the regular ring circuit in my listeningroom. I was surprised at how much noise was on my dedicated 20 Amp circuit. Radio broadcast, static,etc. I was also surprised at how much noise was coming off my 100 pound lead acid battery.

I inserted a transparent audio powerwave which tested at virtually noiseless. I used a high quality "audiophile" type power cord to provide power to the powerwave.

I was gratified that it greatly reduced the hum from my two 45 tube monoblocks.

I checked the noise off of an extension cord that was plugged in to the powerwave and was surprised at how much noise it picked up. It was not a shielded cord so perhaps that should have been expected.

From this I’ve decided that I’m going to have some kind of power conditioner in my system.

So this comment is not purely about power cable length. But I thought experience. 

I have a transparent power isolator and many of their Power cords. Glad to hear it reduces the noise. I’m skeptical about noise analyzers because they tend to make the problem sounds really bad by amplifying the noise so you can hear it. But if you move them around to different outlets in your home you’ll see differences. How meaningful this will be to your system is anyone’s guess.
 

Even dedicated circuits Will share noise from everywhere else in your house.  I installed a dedicated circuit with 10 gauge wire so the electricity supply would be more responsive to audio system demands, ie. Not impeding those electrons.

Also skeptical of really nice power cords being recommended to attach to a company’s power conditioner. They contend it makes it even better. It may make things better like they say.

Nevertheless, if your system is very revealing and on the upper end, having well shielded power cords and an unrestrictive power conditioner has merit.