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Why does an audiophile grade power cord matter?

probably another beaten horse topic but I cannot find answers to quell my question.

Basically, most of us have homebuilder standard supply solid core copper wire with nylon, plastic or rubber sheathing that runs the length of our homes from some cheapo metal utility company supplied junction box to a 5 dollar leviton outlet Joe General Contractor buys at Home Depot. So the current at that 5 dollar outlet is what it is until we hook it up to our system.

So why does plugging in a 1.5 meter or what ever length of audiophile grade xxx hundred dollar power cord matter to go that last couple of feet to our components???
photonman
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Why do cables or NOS tubes matter? It's the same thing as in most of audio, it cannot be explained, only heard or not heard. I didn't buy the fact that a power cord could make a difference either, but listening has changed my opinions.
If you can't hear the difference, count your blessings and move on. :)
jea48
4,265 posts
 
Photonman,

Simply stated a power cord is an extension of the primary winding leads of the power transformer of a piece of audio equipment.

If the electrical panel, wiring, and receptacle are the weak link in the power delivery system, as you suggest, why should any equipment manufacture worry about the power transformer he uses? After all the power supply converts the AC output of the transformer to DC where it is filtered and made near pure DC, right?

I suggest you search the archives here on Agon as well as the Cables and Tweak/DIY forums on Audio Asylum. You will find the answers you are looking for.

You could start here.
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photonman OP
96 posts
 
"audiophile grade" = anything other than the cable that came with your Dell tower and costs more than 10 bucks, has really cool looking sheathing and nice shiny big connectors at each end, must have a really catchy name that plays on the fluid dynamics and wave theory.

:)
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Elizabeth, What is the price range of your Pangea power cords?
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,544 posts
 
Do a search for some pretty exhaustive discussions on power cords. There was a nice one not more than a couple of months ago. Long story short: they do make a difference but you don't have to spend a lot to get an improvement over the stock power cord that comes with whatever it is you buy.

If you can't hear a difference, you're either deficient in hearing acuity or your system isn't revealing enough or you don't feel it's worth it and refuse to come clean even though you do hear a difference (which seems to be the underlying reason).

:-)

All the best,
Nonoise
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