Power Cord for Power Conditioner

To answer the OP's question, no, it is not "absolutely" necessary to use any company's power cord with their power conditioner. However, good companies design their power-products with a technical goal in mind, intending them to be used as a system. I would suggest weighting your choice for a power cord toward the manufacturer of the power-distributor/conditioner while remaining open to other options.

It is surprising to still see so much argument over whether power cords make any difference in the first place, as well as whether they have any explainable technical or objective relevance. Not all people will hear a difference based on a host of variables and that's fine, but that is no reason to sling mud on others who do, or to state that _all power cords_ are a rip off and do nothing.

There is an overwhelming amount of anecdotal evidence from the world's foremost studios, mastering labs and electronics engineers --who evaluated and purchased after-market power cords for use in electronics design, film systems and for recording and mastering projects.

Dozens come to mind, including Sony, Bob Ludwig, Astoria, Skywalker and many others who carefully test _everything_ before buying. People convinced of conspiracy can always try to explain these away with more innuendo. They do exist however, and these professional sound engineers firmly believe in their value.

There is also easy to understand measurement data that shows dramatic differences between the average stock power cord and almost any well made (crimped and soldered 12 gauge or better) DIY or after-market power cord.

Yes, we measured this with an in-house designed peak-current analyzer but there is a common electricians measurement tool that provides almost identical measurement, absent some of the fine detail and scope. There will be an article on this fairly common device and its results published soon.

Whether these measurable differences can be directly linked to any one individual's experience in their own system with this or that make and model of power cord can be endlessly debated--which seems to be occurring here.

So, lets stick to a few facts:

A/V electronic power supplies pull current off the peak and trough of the AC sine-wave. Their rectifiers are switching on and off 120X per second. They are pulling current hard,--dynamically.

Compared to a simple motor or fan that pull current in an even flow, A/V power supplies are pulling impulse current in short, sharp bursts off the line. Any amp playing dynamic program material is a good example of this but all AV electronics are similar in the way current is received and processed.

For this reason, AV electronics are sensitive to in-line resistance to peak current. Meaning, the less impulse current that is put in front of the rectifiers when they open for each micro-second, the longer it takes to fill storage supply capacitors. For amps or passive power distributors that feed multiple components, we believe this is a very relevant measurement.

The vast majority of stock power cords have extremely high measurable resistance to peak-current. They are at best 14 gauge, but that's not their biggest liability regarding the efficiency of impulse-current and voltage delivery.

Common stock power cords are not using minimally crimped metal-metal connections, much less soldered ones. Their thin conductors simply rest against slits cut into the back of the three pins and then the mold itself holds the tiny connection points in place. That may be fine for a toaster-oven or your table lamp, but its objectively, measurably inferior when used with any good AV component power supply.

The _fact is_ that a 14 or 16 gauge stock power cord will drop close to, or more than 50% of available peak voltage and peak current that is measured at the wall outlet. No matter what the impulse current measurement is at your outlet, the majority of stock cords drop HALF of that. Now, whether one person or another can perceive a difference in sound or visual based on that objective difference can be debated, the measurement cannot.

Another fact is that you do not need a fancy (expensive) power cord to dramatically improve this measurement. Most crimped and soldered connection power cords of 12 gauge or better will improve peak current measurement significantly and yes, we believe that is related to sound and visual quality in a base-line manner.

There are many other considerations related to subjective performance of power cords in any single application, including component generated power supply noise and the radiated high-frequecy fields that are ever-present around electronics systems. Any decent quality, shielded or braided DIY design could address these issues, but there are also some good commercial designs from companies that know what they are doing.

Contrary to some peoples conclusions about commercial power-cord manufacturers, most are reputable, knowledgable people. There is the good and bad within all commercial categories of electronics manufacturers, speaker manufacturers and wire (maybe more because they are easier to make in theory and there are a of a lack of established "standards") but certainly there are also many that have legitimate designs and solid science behind them. To say that ALL commercial design power cords are snake oil or their makers are corrupt or ignorant is simply an unsupportable statement.

Anyone that claims all power cords are based on junk science or made by crooks are entitled to their opinion. However, they are also ignoring or discounting a massive amount of professional opinion, explainable science and anecdotal evidence to the contrary.

Regards,

Grant
Shunyata Research

Jeff,

Nope, no hanging curve ball. If the romex is properly terminated at the panel and the outlet (if the outlet is not the dime-store variety), very little impulse current is being "lost". That said, a dedicated 30 amp circuit (no branch lines) with 10 gauge wire will measure better when pulsed than a common branched circuit with 14 gauge wire.

That wasn't my point, however. The point was, that whatever the peak-current measurement is at the outlet is a relative constant. If you place a common 14 gauge or 16 gauge power cord between the outlet and measurement device, there is up to a 53% drop in available peak current versus a 12 gauge, crimped and soldered power cord with decent connectors.

Inexpensive ways to improve peak-current availability include installing a 20A or 30A dedicated line --or two (a separate one for amps). Use a better grade of outlet, such as a Hubbel 5362 ( $25) because they use FAR superior, heavy gauge contact area compared to the tiny metal contacts in the $3 hardware-special models. Have your electrician tighten your main and breakers once every five years as they tend to vibrate loose over time. And yes, consider and test alternatives to stock power cords. In fact, if the electrician hasn't tightened your breakers, have them do that and you should "hear" what I'm referring to without ever having to dirty your hands with an aftermarket power cord...

I'm not interested in on-line argument. I just wanted to add some information to be considered alongside all the "it's all a world wide conspiracy and hoax" comments.

Regards,

Grant
Shunyata Research

>>>I just hate it when people find flaws with my explanations:).<<<

good one :o).

Having had experience with these types of threads, I wanted to be clear that I was interested in being informational rather than confrontational. I don't want to disabuse anyone of their belief or experience, just wanted to share an informed p.o.v. since some, er, strong opinions had been put forward.

I wont link to the article here when it publishes, but those that care can write and I'll send it to them. Should be just a few weeks.

Regards,

Grant

Tarjin, No question, for those that are able to have over-rated dedicated lines installed that should always be the priority, before power distribution or after-market power cords are considered. Having two separate 20A dedicated lines is a great base-line because you increase current availability for the system from 15A or 20A to 40A and you can isolate high-current (amps) from low-current electronics on separate lines. Ground loop hum can be avoided by making sure each AC line is of equal distance going back to the panel (this avoids impedance to ground differential that causes hum). For those with dedicated lines, the benefits of decent power-ditribution and AC cords becomes even more noticeable than for those without. This can be explained.

Regardless of whether there are dedicated lines installed or not, whatever the available peak-current measurement is at your wall outlet, you will lose in the neighborhood of 50% of peak current and voltage going through a cheap 14,16 or 18 gauge power cord. There are several reasons for this. Primary among them are the way molded cords are terminated and their insufficient gauge.

Stock AC cords are not crimped or soldered at either end. The blades behind the AC pins in molded cords merely cut through the insulation and scarcely make contact with the wire. This is fine if you are powering a toaster or a light, but AV electronic power supplies pull power dynamically off the peak and trough of the wave-form. Contact integrity at the initial outward AC junctions of an amp for instance, is of paramount importance to preserving peak-current availability to the rectifiers. The longer the rectifiers stay open in order to fill storage caps, the greater potential for high-frequency noise contamination to the power supply (that part is educated theory).

AC delivery to AV gear is a dynamic, two-way process. Components don't sit at the end of a power hose. They represent the inception of an electrical interface. Therefore, near field contact integrity matters as much as contact points and over-rated AC mains downstream from the system.

Large amounts of money need not be spent to make power cord connections with electronics better. There are less expensive DIY options using good connectors and 12 gauge or better wire. There are also less expensive commercial power cords available that don't cost "hundreds of dollars" from any number of companies. This isn't to say that the only purpose of a better power cord is to improve peak-current transfer, but because stock cords are SO poor at this one aspect, it is a fundamental reason people report hearing improvements when using them.

None of this is meant to infer that after-market cords are more critical than dedicated lines; they are not. However, if you consider AC delivery from a "system" approach, power cords are the first outward link in your AC chain, not the last. Whatever sits behind your wall, whatever it might be, is what it is. Better to have a decent cord to the amp (at least) than to measurably lose 50% of whatever peak-current you have available at your outlet. By the way, that is also a reason to spend $25 on a Hubbel 5362 spec grade outlet than the el-cheapo hardware-store special. Huge difference in metal to metal contact area eliminates still more points of near-field resistance.

Hope that clears up more of the "mystery"

Regards,

Grant
Shunyata