how to buy power cords that fit my components (i.e tight and snug)

My most recent and best sounding cord for my amps have been AudioQuest Hurricane… exceptional power cords. If you look around the forum, they have been discovered by many. Clearly one of the design points is the tight fitting connectors. I have to hold my amps to prevent them from sliding when inserting or pulling out. I have more than one and I have no question that this was done on purpose.

If you wish a better cord, I have heard Dragon’s are great, or lower levels of the Storm series.

CARDAS ,,,,, depending on your budget = CLEAR BEYOND, CLEAR, CLEAR REFLECTION, or the prior flagship GOLDEN REFERENCE

just ensure that if you buy pre-owned, you insist on the Certificate Of Authenticity (COA). Josh at CARDAS informally commented to me that he roughly estimated that up to 20% - 25% of the ads for pre-owned units without COAs flogged on the audio forums are counterfeit fakes,

I saw an ad on REVERB from a dealer for an pre-owned CARDAS CLEAR pc. The attractive price was tempting , but with no COA, I was skeptical, so I requested Josh for any thoughts if they looked legit.

Short answer ,,.no…based on the pics, it was a bona fide POS inferior build fake, albeit a good looking inferior one.

He confirmed that the IEC and plug were just cheap build POS ones that were never used on any CLEAR. But without taking off the plugs to expose the wires and shielding, he was unable to conclusively confirm that the cable portion was OEM legit. Intuitively, who the hell would remove high-end CARDAS connectors with cheap POS ones on an OEM cable!

I then contacted the dealer with all the info ..,.crickets…nada response….and it was STILL NOT removed from the forum, The ad continued with no changes purporting to be an OEM unit,

My take:

Josh confirmed that it was not current authorized CARDAS dealer,

- This was no longer an innocent issue. Beware the Scum ball bottom feeder, ,,,,THEY DO WALK AMONG US. ….

- caveat emptor,,,, no COA means no deal.

I’ve found this to be hit and miss, depending on the connector they use and how it mates with your power inlet. A lot of folks wrap a piece of electrical tape around the plug, although I’ve never done it myself. 

I've seen people change out the female socket in their component to tighten it up.

Manufacturers are generally not going to make it tight unless they are selling both halves and even then they will give plenty of clearance.  Won't fit in the hole is a sure way to get a sale returned.

Frankly, I'm not sure what you are concerned about.   Is the wire sagging a big as it comes out of the component?  I don't think there is any concern about the electrical connection.

Jerry

Use electrical tape.

Trial and error.

I think Synergistics makes little pieces that go around the cables to tighten them up.  If not them, I know there are others who do.  My buddy just got a few of them for the same reason.  Little film pieces molded to go around the cable ends.

Rather than focus on what will not improve sound, and maybe make things worse, why not address the root cause of the problem? Support power cords so they naturally lay where you want them to be. That way not only is there no stress on the connection, but when properly supported there is much less vibration in the cord, and far less being fed into the component by the cord. Until and unless this is done then making the plug fit even tighter is making things worse not better.

Millers right, I have a block of wood under the connector going into my amp. 

If it's a PC you like and want to keep it in your system, wrap Teflon tape (plumber's tape) around the loose-fitting connector. Electrical tape will eventually become sticky and leave residue. I have two cables wrapped with Teflon tape and no problems.

And I agree with using a support under a cable that sags. Some cables fit tightly in the IEC but are heavy and could use a support.

Listen, if you absolutely insist on shimming it up to fit tight, at least have sense enough to ignore the awful electrical or teflon tape advice. Electrical tape is soft and squishy and the adhesive never hardens so you wind up with a goopy mess. Teflon tape is designed to be slippery, the exact opposite of what you want. So if you must- and again this is not the way to go - but if you must then use heat shrink tubing.

But what you really should do is support the cable, preferably with something like a cable cradle that both supports and isolates, in such a way that it will stay put even without having to be crammed in so tight.

@audiocanada - Try the aluminum foil tape (Home Depot) used on heating ductwork.

A couple of small pieces on the underside of the plug should be adequate

• it is not spongy or slippery
• just make sure it does not extend past the end of the plug and touch the pins of the socket

ALSO - support the cables as stated above

It’s not really about how tight the plug housing is, but how tight the pins are gripped by the IEC socket that matters

I make my own PC’s and use Sonar Quest silver palted copper connectors, because they grip the pins like a vice.

Good power cables will generally have pretty good connectors

Hope that helps - Steve (Canada)

Tightening the pins of the IEC is also an option. But electrical tape or teflon tape will do the job just fine, or try some foam tape on the sides that are loose.

Or change the socket on the component.

@millercarbon is right on this and supporting the cable is preferable to tape and other adhesives. 

Greetings 

I have started using interlocking poker chips to support the cable connector at the component end. They work quite well. Stack them as required. Color doesn’t matter haha.

All my power cable are heavy and unruly, but that’s what you get with upgraded cables.

 I wanted to use the really nice adjustable SS or aluminum cable supports but they cost 50$ to 100$ each. They come in different heights. I have 10 power cords in my system. 
Joe Nies
 

I use glass tape to make them fit tighter, and support the cables by straping them to shelves or columns of the rack with small cable ties.