@jea48
I use IG receptacles because they keep the ground isolated, are of better quality, reduce RF. These are used in IT instalations and for medical equipment in hospitals. My runs are 12-2 solid NM wire bonded at the panel and the outlet only. I am very happy with the results. |
- @ cerberus79,
Just curious why did you use IG receptacles. What type of branch circuit wiring/wiring method did you use for the two dedicated branch circuits? Example NM MC Metallic conduit/single conductors Jim |
I am an Electrian and for each of my two systems I ran two dedicated 120V 20 amp isolated ground lines. Providing me with 80% of 40amps at each location. I use hospital grade isolated ground receptacles. I make my power cords with 12-3 SJ cord to minimal lenth using hubble connectors and they are all plugged into a power conditioner that in my opinion makes the most difference, for those that do not know isolated ground means that the ground is connected back at the panel and nowhere in between. This reduces interference from RF noise. The isolated ground and the power conditioner is all you need, IMHO, though others may differ. By the way I dont know of any Electrician that will run a dedicated line from your equipment to your panel for $200. |
Notice that Nordost`s top pc`s are solid core, not single core though but 6-7 conductors. Wery close to the famous pc Electrocompaniet came up with in the 80`s wich lead me to try out the nowegian 12awg Romex-equivalent.
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@buckhorn_cortez. I think you should re-read my prior post, you are adding words/points in there that I did not state.
Nonetheless, we are in agreement on the basics.
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The Authority having Jurisdiction, ultimately the local government often passes laws/bylaws that accept in full the NEC. They have to to have legal authority to enforce compliance. Lack of compliance is a civil violation not criminal but you are still breaking the law. Negligence can become criminal of course.
UL ensures a level of safety compliance and UL standards also have relevance to NEC. That power cord may not need to comply to UL, but it would likely need to comply with NEC (and your insurance policy). Outside the US, many countries require only conforming products to local standards. A UL is not good for "5 years". It is good till a new standard is released and while you maintain your listing.
I am curious about this internal distortion and dynamic loss of stranded conductors at audio frequencies science seems to have missed.
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Electronics and power cords do not need to be UL listed. Certification is an optional process that costs $5,000-15,000 of dollars per model and is only good for 5 years. The only reason large manufacturers do this is because many retailers and contracts specify certified products only. Clearly very few (if any) boutique power cables and audio components are certified. There is nothing wrong or illegal about solid core power cables. They were sold by a number of manufacturers in the past and Anticables still only sells solid core power cables. You just need to treat them a little more gently and don’t beat and twist of them like that orange extension cord you have in your garage. Properly constructed with decent plugs solid core can sound great. Easily better than any stock power cord and they can also compete well with the big bucks cords. The best part is you can put one together for <$50 (a little more if you want to sheath it and make it look professional). But don’t take my word for it. Check out this PS Audio blog. https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/my-first-cable/ https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/cable-geometries/ |
Not quite right...the zoning departments do have the ability to enforce zoning compliance. I never said they didn’t have the ability to enforce zoning compliance which is totally different than complying with a building code. I was addressing the NEC - and not compliance with ZONING ORDINANCES which are different than building codes. If you put up a building in conflict with a zoning ordinance, such as a commercial building in an area zoned residential - then, in all probability, the building department will make you remove the structure as it does not meet the zoning requirement for that area. You seem to be conflating a zoning issue with a code violation - not the same thing. However, you are correct, in that the AHJ can make the contractor either fix or completely remove and replace work that is not building code compliant. How the work is corrected is at the discretion of the AHJ. If it’s simply redoing connections in five junction boxes - that’s one level of correction. If the AHJ directs the contractor to remove and replace all of the wire for all of the circuits because it’s the wrong type or size - that’s a different level of correction. The statement was made that the NEC is a Federal Law - it is not. That’s all I was addressing in my post. You somehow conflated that with zoning - a completely different building issue and it’s hard to see how a builder or client would get plans approved and permits issued by a building department if they did not meet the correct zoning requirements. |
Your non-audiophile friend is spot on. Solid core cable is the only way to avoid internal distortion and dynamic loss. No twisting or turning will improve anything but shielfing might reduce noise depending on your setup.
I came to "discover" solid core pc`s back in the 90`s and have never looked back. |
@buckhorn_cortez. Not quite right...the zoning departments do have the ability to enforce zoning compliance. This means that if one were to build a structure without the necessary permits --and thereby also not meeting building codes, said department can enforce the removal of the non-permitted construction, if remedy is not made. The option of removal is typically given to the non-permitted building owner...or can be accomplished by the department, if the building owner fails/refuses to comply.
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And, It IS federal law.
NO. The NEC is NOT Federal Law. If it was a Federal law it would be a CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) and it's not. Local building codes are also not laws. Local building codes generally reference national codes like the NEC and NFPA 101 as the basis of the local code. Local codes may add additional requirements to the NEC, but rarely delete a requirement. The NEC is also NFPA 70 (National Fire Protection Association) code. There is no police agency that is going to enforce the NEC/NFPA 70. Police agencies enforce laws, not building codes. There is no direct punishment if you decide to not adhere to the NEC. There are certainly liabilities and that may result in consequences of not following the NEC, but those are not direct punishments for not adhering to the NEC. The NEC forms the basis for local electrical codes as part of local building codes enforced by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). In most areas in the United States that is generally a local government agency with a title like "Planning & Development Services Department," or "The City of XXX Planning and Zoning Department," etc. This is not a police agency with the authority to arrest and detain people. Codes are enforced by the AHJ through construction inspections. If the inspection shows that the installation does not meet the local building code - nobody is arrested, and no one is going to jail. If your installation does not meet code, you cannot proceed with additional work until the work is corrected and inspected for conformance to the building code - that's it. Most electricians will not do work that violates the code because they can lose their license, and be held liable for any damages associated with the non-conforming work. If the damages can be proven to be the result of performing work that does not conform to local building codes and the NEC, then their liability insurance will not cover the settlement - meaning they have a lot to lose professionally and personally if they do non-conforming work. |
Along with the light show there was the occasional blip from any other light or appliance down stream that I wanted to clean up.That said the current draw is an expected non-issue.
Two separate 12-2 wires to outlet box "splitter" style, using separate non-tandem breakers. Well posted in the panel, and at the very commercial looking outlet behind equipment. Code, over kill, and successful.
Cheers |
The "light show" is the huge current draw charging up the capacitor bank of the power amps, which is not necessarily indicative of a significant continuous power draw. Those peak currents can easily be 50+ amps.
Are you running a common neutral for the two outlets or completely separate live/neutrals? Are you using a tandem breaker with a common throw? .... if not, you should put a sticker on the outlet warning of dual supplies.
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An observaction, 2 of the 3 amp's in my system require each a 20 amp breaker. This was very evident with the light show when eather was turned on.Lucky thing, service panel is 15 feet away so we opened the wall. Installed two 12-2 wires each with its own 20 amp breaker leading to a split high grade 20 amp outlet close to the yamaha Pc4002m,Pc5002m amps. Still using the like new factory cords from outlet to amps and all eq. grounded, end of start up light show !!
Now our observation, before dedicated wire feed my sound at idle was dead quiet and to all involved with flac type recording...life like sound !
Happy to report post wiring "0" differance in sound... still life like !
With an electronic engineer in the family, and a little factual science, I don't waste money and time in the endless snake oil market.
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In an effort to get the Romex out, I once ran a thick stranded extension cord from my rig to the breaker box. It sounded worse. So I went back to the wall receptacle and it sounded better.
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If we take this scenario one step further, and agree ( or not?) that Romex is the material/cable that is the limiting factor in the power supply SQ to our gear ( particularly our amps) then the question becomes how does a different kind of cable from the wall to the amp ( or other gear) better the sound of the cable in the wall. Maybe the answer is that it doesn’t actually better the limitation of the cable in the wall, but that the connectors to our after market cabling are what makes the only real difference....thoughts on this? You’re warm. For sure the wire in the wall is "a" limiting factor, but it is far from "the" limiting factor. Be careful who you get your ideas from. Like "the connectors to our after market cabling are what makes the only real difference". That comes from DIY’ers who frankly haven’t a clue. Notice the guy who said that never said anything about comparing to professionally made PCs. They never do. I have long experience with this. They are so wrong it makes me laugh. Read through my posts for the stories of the 30 year DIYer and how hopelessly lost he is. I’m not in the mood to write it again. Oh, and I tried it myself. Just to be clear I’m not just dissing, but telling it like it is. The "answer" is that everything matters. The trick is to find the things that are cost and time effective and do as many of them as you have time and money to do. House wire matters, but winds up pretty low on down the list. At this point I hope you are sitting down because I’m gonna tell you something so shocking you will find it near impossible to believe, considering its on Audiogon, Galaxy Central for parroting unfounded and unsupportable pontification. But its true: I know what I know not from reading but from doing. My system first ran on a perfectly normal house circuit. You know, 120v romex, half a dozen outlets before the system, another few after, with a few light switches thrown in for good measure. I then replaced this with a normal "to code" circuit direct to the system. Then after that with a 120v circuit of 4 gauge direct. Then ripped that out, had it cryo’d and put back in. Then changed the 4 ga 120v to 240v, added an audiophile step-down transformer, and hardwired its output direct into my power conditioner. This all happened over a period of years, assuring plenty of time to settle in and become familiar with the sound and be sure of what changed each time. Each step did indeed get better. Some like cryo were extremely cost effective- but also extremely the opposite in terms of time and difficulty. Live and learn. I write to inform and save others the trouble. Okay, so like I said its everything. But not equally. The closer you get to the action the more it seems to matter. Let that sink in. Go back and read my experience. Pause. Breathe. Let that sink in. The closer you get to the action the more it seems to matter. Granted this is not a reason, its an observation. An observation that goes a long way towards answering your questions. As to the real reason, here’s a hint: the wires bringing power to your system have a lot in common with the walls of your listening room. |
@delkal. I don’t think many(any?)of us actually have much experience with anything else in our walls. So, the actual SQ is a hard point to debate.
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The 40-50 feet of Romex in your house can cause voltage modulation of the AC under high loading from an amplifier, even more than the wire from the transformer to your house.
It really does not matter if the sine-wave is perfect 60Hz or not, the current draw isn't. It has high frequency components from the conduction angle on linear supplies or switching sources.
I am not advocating one way or another for cables, just stating the reality.
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Daveyf
If we take this scenario one step further, and agree ( or not?) that
Romex is the material/cable that is the limiting factor in the power
supply SQ to our gear ( particularly our amps) then the question becomes
how does a different kind of cable from the wall to the amp ( or other
gear) better the sound of the cable in the wall.
Sorry but I don't agree that Romex is bad. Romex in your home is fine (good thing). That happens between the hundreds of other miles between you and the power generating plant and your neighbors on the same grid using hair driers and noisy electronics is another story though. Unlike what goes on in audio, AC power is easy to comprehend. You don't worry about high or low frequency effects of the wire or if you need 6 nines pure copper.
All you need is a perfect sign wave at 60 Hz (only). You may have a
small voltage drop of a few volts between you and your transformer but
that is inconsequential. All power cords do is give a chance for some of the RFI to dissipate in the last few feet of its thousand mile journey to your home on the grid. |
Ground connection between equipment can be critical. That is not covered by in wall Romex. |
I'm grateful that jollygreen did not get into "Physics" today. ;-)
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Just to be clear. Everything that skipskip posted above is completely correct and I agree with it 100%.
My OP was questioning the aspect of whether my friend would have a valid point.
If we take this scenario one step further, and agree ( or not?) that Romex is the material/cable that is the limiting factor in the power supply SQ to our gear ( particularly our amps) then the question becomes how does a different kind of cable from the wall to the amp ( or other gear) better the sound of the cable in the wall. Maybe the answer is that it doesn't actually better the limitation of the cable in the wall, but that the connectors to our after market cabling are what makes the only real difference....thoughts on this? |
Oh yeah, "I meant", to talk about the almost always overlooked importance of correctly, "Grounding", your entire system. "To the earths theoretical electrical potential value", OR, "0-Ohm".
First, you'll need to locate a fairly large, underground, "Moving, water source". apply your grounding electrode here and always "Oversize" your electrode conductor by at least 28%.
Of course, this need to be completed "before", the home is built. Because this will dictate, "Where" the home is built.
"See, (Nikola Tesla)'s, notes", in Colorado.
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THHN = Thermoplastic High Heat NYLON.
THHN is not Teflon. Teflon is used for wires 99% of the time or more for temperature rating. A small amount of time for chemical resistance. It is also used for very high frequency cables (>several GHz) and even then not always.
Long 50/60Hz runs have long been multi stranded due to skin effect. There is no magic. Big difference between 100km and 2 meters though. I am sure Siemens is well aware of why in some instances stranded matters or does not. Guess what ... The transformer wire that the expensive cable hooks up in your equipment to is not stranded, is not 6 nines copper, is not directional, is not silver, is not single crystal, is not teflon coated.
Normally for AC cables we want to limit high frequencies somewhat not encourage them. |
Wow! Um, I actually DO hate to tell you fellows this, but simply as a public service? I shall...
"All", of you are wrong! With the exception of "Skipskip", whom has it "Mostly", correct. "Skip? The NEC, IS also for how to do everything as well. But It is not a "Guide", nor is it a "Recommendation". (Plan, Build and Use) are the three main parts of the NEC.
And, It IS federal law. And for very good reason. But not "A, Federal Law" pers'e. Yes, Local code "always" supercedes. But that is actually rare. And when it is done? That code is and shall always be; "Very Specific" in it's scope, implementation AND "Intent". Most local jurisdictions have no addendum at all.
No, You "may", be able to get an electrician to do what you after. But the odds are good that anyone worth his salt would walk. But as they say, "Money talks and bull...." (You know)!
As the "End User"?
You, "Can" do any crazy wiring that you wish to. But should you?
All I can say to that is; "I did". And Yes, It made an improvement. The first person that I am aware of that followed this to it's ultimate, extrapolated and legal end? Was a fellow in Japan back in the 60's whom swore by it. He had an entire separate "Service" installed. "Including ext. power poles and transformers, plus power meter and all etc...." ….
Even "I" was not willing to go that far. But I upgraded from standard 12AWG, solid NM wire. What most of you call, "Romex". And "Romex", "IS" just a "Brand Name"! "I do not know about right now, but stranded Romex has been available and probably still is". To a "Stranded 10AWG, THHN" wire. "THHN has Teflon insulation/shielding". Why? Most of you I believe actually know this but here. And "NO", I am not going to go into the "Physics" of it today.... I am getting tired of that!
Just as the elec. "Charge", "actually", moves across the "Skin", or outside of any conducting wire. So does any "Signal". "As inside your speaker cabling or interconnects".
Therefore;
If you were to calculate the effective surface area of any "Solid" wire. And then compare that to the same area of any "Stranded" wire? Would there be any difference?
"Yes".
And that can be controlled to a certain point by the number of strands per Kcmill, insulation type, implementation of said insulation, and-"Yada, yada, yada"...About 1000 diff. variables actually.
"That I am aware of".
Also, "Siemens", "Say's So", as well. They did a HUGE study on "just" this. After finding that some of their equipment simply would NOT run correctly when wired internally or externally with "Solid", 12Awg copper wire. But ran great with the stranded wire it was designed with. "And they still do not understand the why of it". And, "Neither do I", fully.
No, "I do not work for "Siemens", never have. But they can be fun to argue with! "See last paragraph".
Basically, we have found through experience, study and plain 'ole, "Trial and Error". That "Stranded", wire is better for everything. And in all ways. "As I understand it". There was someone, "See Above", making claims that "Stranded wire" had a higher inductance. Yes it does, as it has "higher" numbers in nearly all of it's material properties compared to a solid core conductor. But inductance, "Only" in higher frequencies. Meaning the one's easiest to "Induct". Which also seem to be the easiest to "filter out" anyway.. "Iron ferrite cores, for instance". And if you are filtering anyway? It becomes a "Null" point. If a filter works for any given freq. set? It filters as an "absolute". Therefore the "other", gains in the materials properties outweigh that negative. Someone else also brought up the resistance value differential. That's wrong. Backwards in fact. And has to do with bad science and "Bad", terminations. But again, "No Physics today".
Well, that's my two cents.
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Excellent post skipskip. I think you definitively provided the reason nobody should do this and why it is a code violation. In my case I never tried hardwiring my sytem into the Romex because it is a code violation, but I didn’t know why it was one. Thanks for explaining that. Building codes exist for a reason, and that’s for the safety of homeowners and renters.
No offense to the daveyf who started this excellent thread, but I think in the light of skipskip’s post the moderators should shut down this thread before someone gets tempted to court fate and give skipskip the final word on this subject. When I first thought of hardwiring my system this way I thought it would be a clever way to bypass needing those extravagantly priced power cords. Not so clever to reduce the noise floor inexpensively and in the process create a fire hazard that threatens you and yours.
Mike |
For the sake of any posters within the U.S. who have other dwellers in your listening perimeter, especially younger ones, I would suggest running these "ideas" past a licensed electrician before running to Home Depot. It will be worth the $200 for the consult and that's small change for what people pay for interconnects. The mentions of "having a pro electrician do this of course" is just simply a pro would walk away from that request. Also misused UL Listing means this and that. And Romex is not "brittle". Solid copper wire is not brittle. Neither are spoons and knives. Romex is a brand name for NM (non-metallic sheathed) wiring rather "conductors" usually with a ground wire. NEC code is also not a mechanism of "best practices" whether something violates the "code" or not. The "code" is a recommendation that can be waived by jurisdiction authority. NEC (code) is not based in how to do things, it is created and revised based upon histories of sources of fires from when fire inspectors go through and figure out the origin of the fire or issues that could cause a fire hazard. Shock and safety and survival via exit distances and number of entrances are there as well as mostly for commercial situations, but these discussions about merits of running solid unsecured wiring in the open within dwelling areas is scary. Solid wires are NOT brittle but as a paper clip can be broken by repeated movement so can solid electrical wire. It could still function, but eventually could arc within the shielding and cause a fire. Hence why all power cords are stranded cable. They are tested over time to be safe for use in situations where the wiring/power cords are being moved or bended other than installation or maintenance. And it take more thickness of stranded cable to equal solid cable. But solid cable does not get as affected by oxidation as stranded cable either. Unless your circuits are protected by arc fault current interruptor breakers you may arrive home someday watching red trucks dousing your homes. Normal breakers and even GFCI won't provide any protection. New home built four or five years ago have these pretty much everywhere but it's still a hazard and hassle having solid wire running loosely where human traffic is involved. I agree most discussions require no moderators at all, some of these need them desperately. When your house burns down it doesn't matter how great your golden ears remembered how well the last "improvement" sounded. Pretty much any of the "evidence" of what these types of changes do, or the equipment otherwise suggested is simply provided by the manufacturers of those items in the first place. I think some of these posting are hyperbole just goading people into something unwise. |
Having replaced some Supra Lorad power cable in my system just recently, I can certainly attest to the significant improvement in SQ that the new cables brought. Still, my friends question seemed to have merit, even though that last six feet of cable made a huge difference in my system. |
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Not true we tried this and sure it is more direct but you have no protection ,for one, or conditioning ,#2 the wire is a Garbage
you can get much better wire from. Analysis plus awg11
sure it may cost you $$ but direct still direct to component Bad idea. For all the garbage on line even from the box log to Vh audio
they sell excellent components,and Cryoed wire for this type of thing ,conditioning from the circuit breaker box ,with the upgraded
wire. This is a much better method,all it takes is one big spike and
your amp is toast,the fuse is good for mainly small internal overloads. |
dweller: See thread titled: "wiring my house for sound" (started 3-14-2002)
My response:
03-15-2002 6:36pm "If you want to get extreme, hard wire your mains to whatever uses them. For example, cut off the male connector of what usually plugs into the wall and solder the wires directly to the leads coming out of the wall (have a pro electrician do this of course).
My response: "If you say so." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilG8mzbHNNIMy 4 gauge dedicated line is soldered to about an inch of pure silver stranded wire that acts as a fuse and is in turn soldered to the panel bus bar. Oh, did I mention its 240v? So each leg same thing. Then at the other end just below the room its hardwired into a step down transformer with another hard wire coming out bringing 120V into the room, where it does not come out a receptacle, the wire continues directly into the power conditioner. A good SR receptacle and power cord would be a lot better than the romex. Also cost a lot more. So its a trade off, and I know it. But, extreme? "If you say so." Lol! |
Makes it little sense to me. What is going through the Romax is what I'm cleaning up with the 3 - 6' power cords. Why would I want to extend that to my amps? YMMV |
Do people know that transformers in linear power supplies are pretty effective at filtering high frequencies? Any idea the ratio of the inductance of 40 feet of house wire versus a transformer leakage inductance?
How about likely the most critical aspect is ground continuity between equipment?
I am curious what, in all these theoretical ideas do people think they they are improving and what is critical?
Solid wire is used because you don't get loose strands or broken strands, not because it conducts better.
With a small power transformer bandwidth, why do we care about 5 -9s copper or crystal grains when people who make 10ghz+ cables don't? |
@Gongli3... That's what I did. Ran dedicated romex runs direct to the breaker panel... all in steel conduit. The 'noise floor' dropped to nothing.
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I was going to do exactly as your friend described except wire the Romex into my Shuyata Denali Hydra 6000S power conditioner instead of an amp. The Shuyata Denali was intended to tale out any line interference.
Unfortunately, I was informed this was a NEC (National Electric Code) violation which might void your homeowners insurance if discovered after a fire for example. Other than that it is logical it would work if your power conditioner would take out any RF or other types of interference, rather than a ridiculously expensive power cord. Just a thought, not based on anything but common sense, admittedly not expertise.
Mike |
Didn't necessarily mean "electric" juice. Meant "juicy slurpy goodness" juice. BTW, this was seventeen years ago. |
Dweller.
Like I mentioned its not all about the juice. The resistance loss of an additional 6 foot piece of wire of any reasonable gauge and a few plugs is not as important as filtering out the RFA interference.
But........If you would take apart the last 6 feet of Romex, braid the leads like I described, then solder it to your equipment. You would definitely be on to something!
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See thread titled: "wiring my house for sound" (started 3-14-2002) My response: 03-15-2002 6:36pm " If you want to get extreme, hard wire your mains to whatever uses them. For example, cut off the male connector of what usually plugs into the wall and solder the wires directly to the leads coming out of the wall (have a pro electrician do this of course). Doing this to an amp is the most logical application (could be risky due to electrical storms, power surges, etc. unless you trip the breaker when not in use). Sounds like you’d get the last drop of juice this way!" |
Millercarbon
Is your house wired with 5 nines copper from your private generator? You do know you have 50+ feet of Romex in your walls behind your stereo.
The trick to power cords is they filter out some of the high frequency interference. Its not that the 3 foot cord of some ultraconductive big gauge wire amplifies the voltage you lost going thru the first 50 ft of Romex. You can get 95% of the way there just by twisting the positive and neutral AC leads tightly and have a loosely wound wire that connects to ground that acts as a shield. Then add some plugs that are better than the cheap injected molded nickle plated crap.
For my DIY power cable I decided against using Romex. I was seriously thinking about it but the stiffness mentioned stopped me. I tend to play around with my system too much and did consider the solid wires being brittle. But if you just plug things in and stop messing with it will be OK. Its more about the design and the way you plug your components in. Ended up going with some 12 ga silver plated Teflon jacketed mil spec wire instead and some pure copper Sonarquest plugs . It works.
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Yeah and romex is so good Synergistic Research uses it inside their $16k Powercell. Oh wait, what's that? They don't?
No of course they don't. Because its absolute nonsense.
Look, forget about power cords, UL BS and all, just think about the copper. What's the first thing you learn in Audiophile Wire 101? No not study hall, the class. Isn't it purity? Don't every single one of you know five nines copper is better than whatever crap goes in romex? Crystals, anyone? Impurities? Beuller???
Or what about the dielectric? (Insulation, for you class-cutters out there.) For sure all the big romex manufacturers have huge R&D departments chock full of people listening and double-blind testing and formulating all the best dielectrics. Oh wait, what's that? They don't? Well then at least they know which direction it runs? What? Not even that??
Why, its almost as if the only thing they care about then is being able to transmit current and not get too hot.
Romex is crap. It is however cheap. That is the reason its used.
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I agree that it is not that practical to run Romex all the way to the amp...and presumably not to code; but the question is whether this set up would compete with mega $$ power cords SQ wise that are readily available to the hobbyist? |
I did just that about six years ago. I ran 12/1 Romex straight from the breaker box into a Dynaco 400 amp. Everything worked as it should, but the Romex was so stiff and unruly I removed it in less than a week. And yeah, it’s not legal in most places.
All the best.
JD
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TBC: Solid core is not approved for cords because it is brittle. Super easy to break it and not know it, potentially causing a fire hazard.
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Solid copper makes a great power cord. The only reason you won’t find one commercially is that they need to use stranded wire to get UL approved. So cords like this are DIY only. You should be able to improve on the Romex design by taking it apart. Twisting the positive and neutral wires together, then wrap the ground with a loose twist (every 4-6 inches) the opposite way. Hook this up to a pair of Sonarquest red copper plugs and IEC ($20 shipped) and you have a power cord much better than the throw away cable that came with your system. Experiment some and if you like the sound you can upgrade your next pair. Then the sky (and price) is the limit, The reality is that a power cord made from 12-14 gauge solid copper is pretty good. The problem with this is that this wire is not UL approved for cords and is very inflexible indeed. Most electrical Romex runs to the outlet in question are 20-40 feet in length. The power cord adds an additional 6 feet or so, so this is a small percentage of the entire run. It turns out that typical "rubber" stranded copper power cords have significantly higher inductance than the Romex in the wall, even at the same wire gauge, so these are not recommended. Empirically, stranded rubber cords have been demonstrated to limit transient high-power currents (dynamics) compared to solid copper conductors when supplying power to typical audio power amplifiers. It is fairly easy to build a serviceable cable that will minimize power cord inductance. A simple 3-conductor twisted cable from 12 AWG solid THHN from Home Depot yields a very high quality power cord, although it is so stiff that it must be bent to the desired shape. It is actually superior to the Romex in the wall because the twisting and close proximity of the insulated conductors will reduce the inductance by magnetic coupling between the conductors. In the optimum configuration, the Hot and Neutral are twisted together and then the ground wire run beside or wrapped around them. The trick is to design a flexible version of this cord with the same characteristics. This is why some of the expensive cords are actually good designs, although more than $500 is unreasonable to achieve a good design. http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/technical-papers/myths-and-snake-oil |
Sure and by that same token you could always just hardwire your amp to that run of Romex. However that kind of limits your flexibility not to mention potentially voiding any warranty.
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If you have an electrician connect a direct line from the fuse box, by passing all other electrical devices you plugged in the house, the sound will be improved...
You can do this for around $200.
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