When a power cord could obviously affect SQ

@cruising44 

Examples of duplex receptacle outlets:

https://leviton.com/products/mri83-r

/ / /

https://leviton.com/products/5362-w

.

Not this one.

Galvanized steel supporting back strap.

/ / /

Hubbell duplex outlets . 

Two Body types. Deep and Slender/Compact style body.

Deep body: Go to page 6.

Note the picture of the outlet.  Non plated brass contacts, non plated  brass Yoke. (supporting back strap.) 

HBL® Extra Heavy Duty Industrial Series. 

Hubbell, HBL 5262 (15 amp.) 5362  (20 amp.)

HBL 5362  (20 amp)

HBL 5262  (15 amp)

From my personal listening experience of the HBL 5362 outlet on my audio system it tends be a little to the side of warm.

Shunyata Research SR-Z1 ( Is a Hubbell HBL 5362 duplex outlet)

Good video comparison of a Hubbell HBL 5362 outlet to a cheap residential grade outlet.

/ / /

HBL® Compact Extra Heavy Duty Industrial Series 15 and 20 Ampere 125 Volts

Go to page #10 and look at the picture of the Duplex Receptacle. There again non plated brass contacts and non plated brass back strap.

HBL Extra Heavy Duty MAX Slender/Compact, Side Wired Only, Duplex Receptacle 

Pricing example:

Don’t know exactly why but the Slender/Compact body outlet is more neutral sounding than the deep body Hubbell outlet.

Years ago this outlet was one of the best outlets for audio equipment.

Porter Port Porter Port outlets Cryo various colors

The photos of the outlets are of the actual original Hubbell HBL 8300 (20A) Hospital grade Slender/Compact body style duplex receptacle. Hubbell discontinued the outlet many ,many years ago.

I still have several of the HBL 8300 Slender/Compact hostpital grade outlets. Cyro and non cyro. 

.

This is what Hubbell makes today. Not good for feeding audio equipment. It can sound bright and grainy sounding. Magnetic ferrous materials. Galvanized back strap.

Hubbell HBL8300HW Duplex Commercial/Hospital Grade Receptacle Nema5-20R White

Spec sheet.

.

Power cords or any upgrades never need to be a matter of belief. If the sound changes, it changes. If not, send the cables back. Morrow provides a 60 day return policy. The map4 power cord made an obvious improvement in my system. Will it in yours? It’s not guaranteed. Try it and find out. Return it if it doesn’t. Start with your power amp, then preamp. 

Going from stock cords on my power amps to heavier gauge/better insulated cords made an audible difference. Replacing the stock cords on my Streamer, DAC and Preamp also made a difference, just not as dramatic.

My experience.

Yep, experienced the same thing in 1998-1999. I bought an Arcam Alpha 9 CDP.

I had read reviews on the CDP at the time. I checked the demo unit out from the dealer for a few days to hear how it sounded in my system. Going from memory Stereophile gave the Alpha 9 a B rating. I can’t remember what the reviewer said at the time. Going from memory he said the bass was a little loose and highs slightly strained, for a better word.

The power cord that came with the Alpha 9 was a cheapo 16/3 power cord. Not sure why ArCam supplied a grounding type power cord. The unit has double insulated power power wiring. No IEC ground prong. 

I listened to the CDP for awhile using the power cord that came with the CDP. From listening to how the CDP sounded I was in agreement with the Stereophile Magazine review.

I kept thinking about that cheap power cord Arcam supplied with a $1500 CDP. (going from memory). I had the 14/3 OEM power cord that came my ARC tube amp I was no longer using. Boy did that power cord make a difference! The CDP has a max power usage rating of 20VA, 20 watts. 16/3 wire gauge was plenty big for 20 watts. 20W/120V = 0.166A. (Back panel lists 115V. 20W/115V = 0.17A) FWIW, ArCam used a massive size potted power transformer in the CDP... Why did Arcam do that? 20 watt load... 

Bass was notably tighter and highs were extended, not strained.

Why an OEM larger gauge wire made a difference? Beats me. There is not any cable build geometry used. Just three conductors twisted spirally together covered by a jacket. Nothing special about the end electrical connectors.  

Aftermarket audio grade power cords also made a difference in how the CDP sounded. I’ve never been a fan of shielded cables. Neither was the Arcam CDP. 

 .

Based on many of the ideas in this thread about the cable mitigating interference and such, it would stand to reason that you may not notice a difference if youre already using a real power conditioner.

Without getting into exotics, I do recommend the use of SHIELDED power cables after a power conditioner.  This will reduce the chances of picking up noise from nearby networking gear and cables as well as HDMI. 

Cheap one's are available from Amazon or build your own from DH Labs (affordable) or Furutech (not affordable):  https://partsconnexion.com/ac-power-bulk-wire-cable/