Power Conditioning done by IC's & Speaker Cables


Can proper power conditioning be addressed in the middle and at the end of the chain by some of these new technology ic's and speaker cables?

I have about $5k retail tied up in 3 excellent in-line power conditioners from Foundation Research and the rest of the $5k tied up in interconnects and speaker cables.

I've been quite pleased with my power conditioners and cabling. But I'm also all for simplicity. If I could have superior cables and no need for line conditioners, I'd do in a heart beat.

To rephrase the question: Can some of these new ic's and speaker cables act as passive line conditioners and do as good or better job than active or passive power conditioners that you plug you components into?

I did have one manufacturer tell me that his cables would do exactly that.

For several reasons I don't buy it, but I'm all ears if anybody has had first hand knowledge or experience at this.

I would think that even if his cables did exactly that, one would still benefit from leaving the power conditioners in place.
stehno

Showing 3 responses by sean

Psychic: What is the difference of employing some type of "filter action" in a power cord or putting it inside of a fancy box ? Granted, one can go "whole hog" if you have a larger platform or chassis work with, but other than that, i don't see much of a difference as to how it is done or what it looks like. The bottom line is that the "junk" gets filtered / attenuated out of the AC line, whatever the means. Sean
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LCR means:

L= Inductance

C= Capacitance

R= Resistance

When you combine all of the above aspects into one circuit, it gives you what is termed a "complex impedance". Most people confuse "resistance" as having the same meaning as "impedance", but they are quite different. One can only have what is considered a "pure" resistance if it is free of ( or extremely low in ) capacitance and / or inductance. When you add those two to a circuit, it is no longer "simple resistance", hence the term "complex impedance" to show that you have multiple aspects at work simultaneously.

What Bybee is trying to say is that his "filters" do not work like "common" filters using "common" parts.

As to Psychic's comments about power cords having a sonic signature and not wanting to confuse this with how it is filtering the system, they are one and the same. Due to the specific electrical characteristics of how the power cord mates with a specific component, the result is the "sonic signature". This "sonic signature" is a direct result of "filtering" or the "complex impedances" that take place when mating components / cords together. As such, you really CAN'T separate the "filter action" of a power cord no matter what you do. It will always show various amounts of inductance, capacitance and resistance, which are all the variables that it takes to make up a "filter". Whether or not these factors are "beneficial" to a specific system or high enough in value to be noticeable would strictly be a matter of personal preference that one could only find out by trial and error.

As such, i would rather have a power cord do as much filtering as possible than to have to go through current limiting devices that eat up more rack or floor space. The only problem with this is that such a power cord would be pretty darn "thick", making it less practical. With that in mind, both consumers and engineers have to pick and choose which methods that they prefer and where they are willing to draw the line / make sacrifices in terms of total performance and cost. Sean
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Audioengr: As i've stated before, there is nothing wrong with shielding a power cord. You've probably based your opinions of this matter on the commercially available models that are out there. I don't think that any of these do it "right", especially for high current devices like a power amp.

Other than that, i agree that power cords should be as low in inductance and series resistance as possible. If it sounds like i'm "dodging" specific design criteria, you are right. I am trying to say something ( as i have tried to do in the past ) without giving away the whole bag of marbles. Sean
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