2. cables
  3. 167185-11297

In term of construction, what's the difference between cheap vs. expensive power cables

When it comes to interconnects and speaker cables, it is easier to understand the justification for the costs of these cables.  But when it comes to power cables, it is a little difficult to understand.

Some believe that as long as the power cable has enough gauge the that's all you need.  I've used some cheap power cables vs. some high price cables and there are clearly differences in sound, so the "gauge" of the cables is not the ONLY thing and it's a little bit more complicated than that.  

In speaker cables design, you can adjust the R/L/C parameters to achieve a certain kind of sound and it's easy to visual how these parameters will affect the sound.  For example too much C then the sound will lack leading edge.  Too much L then the sound will be brittle.  If too much R then the sound will lack dynamic.  Or if the cable has too much jitter, then the transparency will be affected.

But the power cable main job is to establish a DC source, it's not too clear how the R/L/C parameters will affect the sound the same way these parameters will affect the sound of the speaker cable.  Also I am not sure how jitter would affect a power cable either

So the bottom line is what's actually inside a power cable that make them so expensive?  Do they use fancy dielectric?  How about construction geometry?  

For a designer, I mean how do you fine-tune your power cable.  How do you know your power cable will sound good?
andy2

Showing 2 responses by williewonka

williewonka
3,110 posts
 
@andy2 - RE:

In term of construction, what's the difference between cheap vs. expensive power cables
  1. the wire used - UP-OCC copper (or similar) is best for details and dynamics 
  2. Solid wire is always better than Stranded wire
  3. Insulation on the wire - Foamed Teflon is best (i.e. next to air)
  4. Cable Geometry - e.g. having space between the conductors improves cable performance - geometry improves clarity
  5. Connectors (i.e. plugs) - I prefer silver plated copper - they seem to convey best details, dynamics and image
That's it -  simple really :-)

Of course trying to find all of these "features" in one cable is the hard part :-)

One of the best I have found is Inakustik

If you build your own from scratch you can have it all - see...
http://image99.net/blog/files/be8de0c383c5434907610d6b55049e69-75.html

Hope that helps - Steve

williewonka
3,110 posts
 
@harrypaul - RE:

How does having space between conductors improve cable performance? Especially power cable?
It’s called proximity effect - google "proximity effect in cables" and you’ll find this link
Proximity effect (electromagnetism) - Wikipedia

It occurs in ALL cables and actually creates noise within the cables themselves.- power cables generate the most noise, then speaker and finally interconnects. However, both the signal and noise in Interconnects is amplified, so the impact is very noticeable

Using a geometry that allows for space between the conductors reduces that noise.

But - INSULATION is another source of noise
  • the insulation on a wire actually "holds a charge"
  • with an AC signal, as the polarity of the signal changes the charge held by the insulation discharges and then recharges in the opposite polarity
  • but at the point where the change in the polarity occurs, more noise is introduced into the "signal"
  • Using an insulation with the lowest Dielectric Constant will minimize that nose
Having two conductors side by side with no space between them exacerbates both of these conditions even further and since power cables carry the largest voltage of all cables in a system, they tend to generate the most noise of all..

That noise permeates throughout any connected circuit and impacts the performance of those circuits, which introduces distortions into the signal

However, let’s not forget we have left and right channels to consider,

The distortions in each channel are more of a "random nature" so each channel is impacted differently.

This "random noise" impacts the phase between the signals in both L & R channels, resulting in
  • a "smeared image"
  • layers within the music overlap and become less noticeable
  • details are impacted
  • dynamics are impacted
  • poor bass performance

Other articles you might find interesting...
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-1/
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-2/
https://www.psaudio.com/article/cables-time-is-of-the-essence-part-3/

Hope that helps - Steve


More to discover