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A stupid question(s) about power cords

As the title indicates, I admit that this is probably a stupid question. But since I don’t know (for sure) the answer, I am asking it anyway.

The recent power cord thread got me interested in a power cord upgrade (from the stock cord) on my Maranzt SA10 (SACDP). The power cord receptacle on that particular component does not have a male equipment ground pin--only the neutral and hot pins. Therefore the cord supplied by Maranzt is a two pole (if that is the right terminology) cord. But because I have done it this way before, I do know that it will accept a power cord with an equipment ground as well as a neutral and hot.

Question 1: I went to musicdirect and looked at some power cords and I saw one (an open box Audioquest NRG Z2) that they were calling a two pole cord. The end that plugs in to the component only has a neutral and a hot, but the other end, the end that plugs into the outlet in the wall, does have an equipment ground blade (so that end has three blades). Why would that be?

Question 2: (and this is the stupid one) if a power cord has an equipment ground pin plugged into the wall, even if it is not plugged into an eqipment ground in the component itself, that cord is still connected to the neutral bus bar in the panel, right? So that being the case, since the equipment ground wire in the cord is right next to the hot wire, is there a way unwanted stuff (rf or whatever, my understanding of this is quite limited) can that dirty up the power that is traveling on the hot wire  in the power cord?

I think that the answer to the last question is probably going to be ’no’? And if the answer is ’no’, that means that I really don’t need to shop for only two pole cords, right? And I see this as sort of important because if I buy a two pole cord, the ONLY component I can use it on/try it out on will be my SACDP--there will be no playing around with a two pole cord on my preamp or my amp.

And ALSO, if I don’t feel constrained to shopping ONLY for two pole cords, I would probably have more options to consider.

TIA for legitimate insight to this, and to all others, feel free to ridicule me and my question--I don’t mind.

 

 

 

immatthewj

Showing 2 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
7,543 posts
 

Developing the “ear” to hear nuances takes time. A/B comparisons are really difficult at first and are often incredibly frustrating. A great way out of the dilema is to listen to music from a configuration or component for a couple weeks trying to listen to the music. Then change it, trying not to listen to your system… but the music, try not to make a judgement. Let your subconscious draw a conclusion and let it bubble up to your consciousness.
 

Music satisfies a subconscious need, that is why we do it. Our rational analytical mind does the choosing and system configuration. The trick is to get these two into synch. Once your subconscious is aware of a particular nuance of sound, then a quick A/B works well. But it can takes a long time to develop. There are nuance I can instantly detect now that I was clueless about for years.

Sometimes not trying to detect a difference is the best way to detect differences.

ghdprentice
7,543 posts
 

@audphile1

+1… all posts above.

 

 

As far as not hearing the difference. I think it need not come from hearing deficiency, but it is possible the person is not focused or interested in a (or a number of) particular aspect(s).

As an example from a different realm:


When my partner and I watch a movie… I might exclaim “look at that Monteblanc fountain pen”… and she will reply… “what pen? You are really observant.” Which may or may not be true, I am just observe different things. She may have observed the nuance of a dress that didn’t notice at all.

Anyway this is an attempt at understanding why some folks don’t seem to hear differences that are obvious to the rest of us. I probabably know 25 folks with extensive high end experience. We can swap a power cord or something and compare notes and make exactly the same observations… in great detail. One of these folks hardly ever hears the difference.

 

What I do not understand is why some folks that don’t hear anything and therefore adamantly call BS on it. If I am learning, I want to… well, learn and understand. So, I would be trying different things and reading, ask questions, and if I concluded I couldn’t hear a difference… I would just not read posts about wires, let alone join in. The reality is, by broadcasting “all this is BS”, you’re only broadcasting your own lack of understanding and overinflated ego.

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