Looking For 18awg Audiophile Power Cable Options


Hi Friends,

I'm trying to find some 18awg audiophile power cables and am looking for recommendations. It seems the only ones I can find are of the AudioQuest variety, but I don't like the sound of AudioQuest cables, as they sound too sterile to me (or something, it's hard for me to describe).

I have a music production system and while I use expensive Triode Wire Labs Digital American cables on the DAC, ADC, and production computer/DAW with fantastic and stable results, I've had problems with my other components running on any thicker-gauged cables (powered KRK monitors, microphone power supply, and preamps).

I've tried several different cables on these other components, but I find any cable with a gauge thicker than 18awg results in issues of sound stability. The system needs to run for 12, sometimes 18 hours at a time, and I find that thicker-gauge cables, after about 8 hours, start to render the sound compressed, maybe slightly overloaded, and not as open, which is problematic for mixing and recording.

I started using some 18awg cables with hospital-grade plugs, and while they're definitely a big step up from the stock cables, and the stability of the sound is great, I'm just wondering if there's any 18awg audiophile-type cables out there that would give me improved performance, smoother top end, etc., just from better noise/RFI rejection. The sibilants were smoother when I used the audiophile cables, I think from better shielding, but the stability of the sound of system and vocal chain is of the upmost importance.

It's weird but I guess it has something to do with the digital components handling the thicker gauged cables better for some reason, compared to the analog components.

Any ideas/recs appreciated, thanks for your time!

 

acar83

Showing 5 responses by raysmtb1

I’m not trying to be a smart ass, but the way that I’ve always viewed this larger power cord or smaller power cord for that matter is that it doesn’t matter how let’s say large it is as soon as it enters the component it goes through a fuse. So if you’ve got a 18 gauge cord or a steel rod that’s an inch in diameter. The power still hast to go through the fuse. then, after the fuse, there’s other electrical things that happened like changing the power to DC that happen. My point being is that don’t these things like the fuse, and then converting to DC act as the smallest common denominator?

@thyname i’m not sure what you mean by that everything I say is conjecture…. If you mean, my ideas are based on bad information or incomplete information, this would not be true. i’ll follow the manufacturers recommendations. It doesn’t matter what I think about the fuse, it was put there by an engineer, who knows more than I do about what size fuse belongs there. As far as the power cards, go, I trust underwriters laboratories…. Not some guy who decided to make power cables are on his kitchen table. I can’t believe that people will spend 50 K on a system and then put power cards on their systems that are not. Underwriters laboratories approved. If God forbid something happened and the house burned down,  it would suck if the claim got denied because they found all these aftermarket power cords that weren’t approved. Those are the kind of things that they look for when there’s an accident…. Things that have been altered.

@thyname making fun of other peoples equipment is the part of the hobby that I could do without. Yes I’m a Macintosh  add a tekton guy. I think they both make fine equipment and they’re both made here in the United States. I think I could probably find plenty of people who wouldn’t have a problem with any of my purchases.

I’m not a full on cable denier. I think it’s a little over blown, I think that interconnects and speaker cables can make a difference. I’ll stand behind the power cord argument. Especially since none of the aftermarket ones, are underwriters, laboratories, rated.I hope that you never have a problem with one of these aftermarket cords, messing up any of that fine foreign made equipment that you have.

I probably should’ve taken up knitting. It would’ve been a lot cheaper than the money I spent hiring people… specialists, helping me build my new idea in Speakers called  blueprintacoustic.com. That’s kind of what’s wrong with being an audio file. It’s not really a hobby……riding a bike is a hobby unless you’re going to buy and sell equipment home audio is not really a hobby. Home audio is like buying an expensive home Appliance that you have fallen in love with. I think many people get bored and wish that they could have more interaction with their equipment than just turning it on and listening to music. That explains away why there are so many bizarre tweaks that are available to purchase. There is some seriously bizarre stuff that I’ve seen come up for sale. I don’t think I’ve ever seen things like that and other hobbies. Unless you are a electronics tech, there’s really not much else you can do with your equipment except listen to it.. I don’t know just a crazy thought. 

After I had my accident (riding my bike) and became a quadriplegic. I was looking for something to do. I can’t use my hands like I used to so streaming music seem to be something fun. Then I started buying and selling equipment. Three years ago I decided that I thought I had a pretty novel idea and started doing my research and hiring specialist to see if my speaker idea would work. I’m very proud at what I’ve created, along with some other very talented people. In a way it tries to solve some of the hobby issues. I spoke of previously. We designed a hands on speaker system that encourages you to make changes and gives you hundreds of options that no other speaker company does. We’re very proud of how they sound and how they look. 

when I retired at 40 I thought I would get to ride my bike until I was around 80. That didn’t work out like I planned….so If any of you out there are bored… I’d love to get to know you better, and let’s talk about speakers!

I apologize to all those out there who love their power cables. I wish I could hear what you do, it would give me something else to goof around with. Best wishes to everyone may you find contentment in our audio hobby.

 

 

The fuse is no longer than an inch long and I think probably around 26 gauge and isn’t it in a vacuum like a lightbulb?