Ideal power cord lengths?

OP,

Great question on having two, two meter cords, or two one meter one cords.
 

That sounds like one that is going to be system dependent. If you can, get your dealer to loan you enough cords to figure it out. I would get a 1 meter for the power conditioner and a two meter for the amp. But I am getting older and have a greater interest in getting to the final system in my lifetime. 

I have not done the study. But recently, when I asked my dealer (when he was at my house) to order me a one meter Audio Quest Hurricane power cord… he responded with, “two meters will give you more conditioning”. I was shocked… I never thought of it that way. But I respect his opinion.

I am currently running ARC REF 160m monoblocks, one with a 1 meter AudioQuest Hurricane and one with a 2 meter Audio Quest Hurricane. Well, guess what, I can’t tell the difference. But unless it was enormous, I can’t imagine being able to.

I really respect my dealers opinion… which seems to be… the longer they are the more they sound like they sound.

OP, Glad to hear you get sucked into listening to your system. Hence a great time so carefully choose the details. I struggled getting my power cord correct for my amp for a year, long after getting all my components correct. 
 

If I were you I would start by getting the brand correct. I swapped every level of Cardas, one level of Transparent, WireWorld Silver, DH Labs and was not happy with any. Then my dealer brought over a Audio Quest Hurricane. The difference was simply amazing… it was completely right… the perfect balance of detail and highly refined bass.

I realize in writing this I have a 1m and 2m Audio Quest Hurricane and a Audio Research Reference 160s amp. So, I have what it takes to do the experiment. I’ll see if I can get motivated to switch amps and do some testing. My REF160s has not been used for 8 months so it is going to need some additional break in. But maybe I’ll give it a go.

As a follow up. I switched back to my Audio Research REF 160s. First listening to my 1 meter Audio Quest Hurricane power cord for a couple hours. Then switched to the 2 meter Audio Quest Hurricane. I was really hoping not to hear a difference… since I own the 1 meter power cord. But I do.

The shorter cord provides a bit more immediate and forceful sound but a little reduced soundstage and soundstage depth. The longer is overall better sounding. I would call the longer more detailed and refined. Darn. 
 

So, of course, is it worth the extra cost and extra cord in back? I have to say, absolutely yes for me.

OP,

Your welcome… I learned something as well. (Every thing matters and more money, more better… oh, I already knew that.)

I have two direct lines. One for my power conditioner and one for my amp. I found plugging an amp into a power conditioner has never been a good thing for me… and that is the rule of thumb. Amp direct to the wall.

My amp is most effected by power cord changes of all my components. I have a good power conditioner, but it does not allow power cord changes.

Judging by the fact that virtually all power conditioners allow and frequently place really high end cords on them… I would say it is likely to make a substantial difference as you are going to be effecting most of your components.

@soix 

👍😊

@curtdr

Welcome to the world of high end audio. Many of us started with highly skeptical thoughts on effects of various components. Then pretty quickly ran into objective reality… it doesn’t conform to logical thought. Power cords, interconnects, cables make small to huge differences. I was a practicing scientist when I first got into high end audio and quickly learned to listening to determine what made a difference and what didn’t. Hint, it all does.

My $17K to $22K Audio Research products ship with heavy duty 20 amp power cords. Replacing with a number of good quality power cords made large improvements in the sound. I spent nearly a year finding the best, and it was worth the effort. My system sounds significantly (and cost effectively) better.

OP,

Good idea. When I was new to high end audio I quickly heard important differences in speaker cables, interconnects and realized that this little stuff really makes a difference. Then I read an article in The Absolute Sound, in the 80’s… that one of the important writers had heard many good systems… but that every great system he had ever heard had all the details perfect… cable lifters, cables crossed at 90 degrees… etc. the point was… the little stuff is additive and matters.

So I bought vibration reduction platforms… and heard the difference. The power conditioners, and heard the difference. But when it came down to cable lifters… they are so cheap… I just bought them (ceramic electrical isolation devices) and put them under my cables. My time is not worth doing the comparison. They are universally known to improve sound… they cost almost nothing. After, the last 12 things I was told make a difference, and did… direct lines… power cords. I am happy to spend $100 on my $50K system on faith. Only my system is now worth $150K and those $100 of electrical insulators are there, and I feel confident they are doing something… and if not, I don’t care… my system sound great.

OP,

I am happy to hear you want to hear the difference yourself with cable lifters. Tell us what your impressions are. When I was younger, I can’t tell you how much testing I did with interconnects and power cords… many, many hundreds of hours). It was time consuming but incredibly eye opening.

Vibration control. I have quite a bit of experience there as well. I have not had vibration control effect the tonal balance. Not from the old pneumatic (inner tube in a box), heavy composite platforms, springs, or high end platforms like the Silent Running Audio Ohio Class +++ made specifically for my turntable. They reduce the sound floor and focus images and sound… not change the tonal balance.

Electrical insulators (like from power poles) are available on eBay from $15 to $35. I think they look great… and I have had mine for 30 years. 

OP

+1

I have always actively not wanted to hear a difference in accessories. I did not want to add more layers of difficulty to the pursuit. But virtually anything I have done… wires and others including springs and other vibration control stuff has demonstrated it matters.