Power cables and power conditioners

The cable feeding your PP12 needs to be high ampacity.  all the power going to all your other components must come in on that cable.  So it needs to be 12awg and preferably 10awg.

Jerry

Sorry; as is usually the case, I wasn’t clear enough. The power cord to the PP12 is a 10 awg PC, but not particulary ’Hi-Fi’. It’s a heavy duty PC I pilfered from an old battery back-up from my computer system. I’m wondering if I should invest in another FrankenCable for it.

@mbarrett635 the answer is very simple. Get a 10awg high quality power cord for the PP12 from a retailer that offers a good return policy. Audition it and decide for yourself.

I saw an interesting video with a top person at benchmark. He said the order of things which were most important for good sound were, from top to bottom:

1. Room

2. Speakers

3. Amp

4. Preamp, DAC

5. Cables, power.

Have you got 1-4 as good as they can be? If not, it's not yet time to worry about power.

@hilde45 - good advice. I have ##2-4 covered, at least as far as my budget and desires are concerned (my new amp, e.g.).  As for the room, I have it addressed it as well as I can; it’s not an ideal listening space in several regards, but the problem areas that exist are architectural ones I can’t change (like a large open archway).  So now I’m down to #5. 

@hilde45 - good advice. I have ##2-4 covered, at least as far as my budget and desires are concerned (my new amp, e.g.).  As for the room, I have it addressed it as well as I can; it’s not an ideal listening space in several regards, but the problem areas that exist are architectural ones I can’t change (like a large open archway).  So now I’m down to #5. 

Generally speaking, in high-end audio the more transparent the audio chain, the more high quality audio cables matters. Transparent components have lower noise floors which usually comes with a higher cost. Lower ambient noise helps as well.

So a better PC would likely produce better Sonics, but no guarantee

Maybe try a used PC then sell if Sonic uptick is lacking.

+1 @carlsbad2    I have two PS Audio units (PP10 and PP12).  I called tech support about the cable coming in from the wall and was told that at least 12 awg minimum.  And if the wiring gauge in the wall is heavier, then match the power cord to that gauge.  They also confirmed the key was amperage and not low noise, etc.  so @mbarrett635 , your thought about not spending $$$ on high end power cable to the wall was correct.  Paul McGowen confirmed this in one of the PS Audio forums as well.  I'm using a couple of  Pangea AC9's that I had purchased used years ago and they are working fine. 

OP: But, again, I could be looking at this all wrong.

. . . while gear with wallworts or fixed plugs . . .

As others have suggested, simply get an affordable 12awg or 10awg power cord to start.

You’ll probably hear more improvement in SQ by replacing all of the wallwarts with LPS’s.* After that, start addressing other tweaks - incrementally.

- - -

* As your system improves, you’ll discover that even the quality of the DC umbilical from the LPS will affect the SQ.

Every time I ask a question it costs me more money. LOL. Seriously, I’m not averse to spending money, but I try to spend it wisely. In that regard, I probably should explain a bit more.

I have two systems that sit side by side. For music/2-channel, I have my Eversolo streamer/DAC/preamp > Parasound JC5 amp > Usher Mini 2 Diamonds and Monolith sub. Streamer, amp and sub are plugged into PS Audio PP12 using Ice Age Audio PCs, and are connected with Ice Age Audio interconnects and speaker cables.

Home Theater is: Fios cable box > Marantz AV7706 > Deer Creek Audio 901 Platinum equalizers > Parasound A51 amp > Klipsch and Bose speakers and Monolith sub. The Marantz and Parasound are also plugged into the PP12, but the cable box and equalizers are plugged into the Panamax. Interconnects are also Ice Age Audio, as is the center channel speaker cable, but speaker wires to the Bose are just plain vanilla speaker wires. 

The cable box and equalizers currently have wallwart power supplies. I can swap those out for LPSs, but are there recommendations for moderately priced ones? Maybe in the $200-500 range (each)? My home theater setup isn’t intended to be really hi-fi; just looking for clear sound. I’m really happy with my ‘music system’ as it is

I'll add that whatever you might think the high end power cable does to the electricity coming it, it will be totally undone by the PP12.  the PP12 rectifies the power to DC and the inverts it back to AC.  the quality of the power coming out of the PP12 is 100% a function of quality of the inverter.  The whole point of the PP12 is to be impervious to the poor quality of the incoming power.  With my bent toward physics, I achieve more satisfaction than is really warranted by comparing the shape of the power signal coming in and going out.

Jerry

@mbarrett635 one inexpensive cable that I like on amplifiers is Audience Forte F3. It is better than a 14awg stock cord and I’ve run Pass X260.8 mono amps with these power cords with great results. I would recommend trying this cable before you spend more with the PP12. 

Yes, there are only subjective conclusions in the press, nothing objective I know of.  For example, I have read reviews conclusions that the Audience T series produces better system SQ with the expensive Audience First row power cable.  I will give you MHO.  Theoretically, the power conditioner will provide pure filtered power at the outpur, not requiring an expensive cord. Considering, you have a cable with an appropriate amperage rating for your application, electromagnetic radiation (EM which includes RF) will enter an interconnected system at the weakest shielded point (the weakest link principle).  That is why you should not have inferior cords and cables mixed rotting the same signal path.  So the theory is that you tax the conditioner less by introducing a better quality electrical signal to the conditioner, as indicated by the press and by the manufacturers with vested interest of course.  Practically, when I upgraded my power cords, I found little audible improvement with the cord to conditioner but substantial improvement with the digital, phono pre, and integrated amp cords.   

Apologies for typos and spelling check issues.  Reviews = review. Rotting = in.  

Your power cords don't affect sound. At all. Scientific fact. 

That's funny, I tried 4 different power cords on my amplifier and could hear drastic differences from one to the other. It's also funny that in the end I preferred the stock cord that came with the amp. There were improvements with the other cords, but also things I didn't like which is why I went back to the stock cord. It depends on your equipment too.

Imagination is a wonderful thing!

I am involved in this exact thing and actually still in the middle of my testing.  There are a few threads here that dance around the topic. Consensus that I have read seems like you should put your best cable from wall to P12, next best cable to source, then pre, then amp.  Decided to test that on my own.  My testing for cables usually takes me weeks, not an hour usually as differences are so minor usually.  Like you, I assumed that my p12 was regenerating, so as long as it has current, it can be "junk" current going into it, as it will regenerate and make "good" current out the other end.  I used the stock pc to run the regenerator for years, then used my high/better quality aftermarket cables to the components-decent consistent results.  I recently picked up an aftermarket pc and threw it behind the p12(from the wall to the p12) what a difference!  I was in the camp that cables don't make big changes for me, and I always look at them as minor EQ's at best, but this was the biggest difference I have ever experienced from a PC-and instantly. 

Point is, the regenerator DOES benefit, in my case, from a good cable.  I now have a new theory/analogy why this makes sense to me. As a car guy I always go to cars. May not help you if you are not a car person sorry!  Never dawned on me before, but I wouldn't put a tiny carburetor and use low octane gas in a race car, and I believe this is similar. The engine can only make power based on what you give it even though it is just converting gasoline to power.  A high flow carburetor(like the gauge of cable) and good race gas(the quality of cable) the high performing engine(the p12 and then the system) will certainly perform noticeably better.  The car will reward you with good gas and a lot of it, just like the p12 when fed quality/ample power. The car will convert good gas into great performance, but it will in turn convert bad gas into only decent performance. In a normal sedan, lets say,(or like a mediocre system), the difference in gas may not be as noticeable-this only applies to a fairly resolving system, if that makes sense. Yes the p12 is regenerating, but WHAT it is regenerating makes a remarkable difference in my case.

Another thing to try is maybe try to run the panamax out of the output of the p12 and see what that does instead of out of the wall?  I cannot speak for conditioners as I do not use them.  I would like to think of them as fuel filters LOL. The fuel filter will likely not gain you any horsepower, but it can, if a poor design, choke your system.  Only a silly theory of coarse.  If you ask me about room treatments, I may go into body work analogies lol-I shouldn't drink so much coffee- hope that helps! 

Power cable and power conditioners do make a difference. I do have the ps 300 using van den hull pc. I was about to buy 2 pc budget $1500. I saw my old model 11 by costum power cord , they are I think $150 each 20 yrs ago. They did match my tube mono. I was able to save $1500. My friend always tells me start from the mid price going up for audition.