Will a good power cable replace the need for a PC?

The first step to problem solution is problem Identification

Here are 10 common conditions that can effect your power delivery and skew the sound of your system

By applying the right type of filter application for the electrical anomalies you can correct the problem

Not knowing what your problem is and just adding some ones recommendation for a power conditioner or power cord that works for someone else can be a catastrophe as their problems may not be the same as yours

I'm sure Elizabeth has different issues in her down town Midwest condo vs Albert's issue in suburban Texas

Knowledge with out understand can be a sure fire receipt for disaster

Here are probably the top ten problems issues in power delivery

1. Blackouts: A total loss of utility power
2. Frequency variation: A change in frequency stability
3. Transients: Instantaneous high voltage increase in the range of nanoseconds
4. Harmonics: Distortion of the normal waveform, generally transmitted by non-linear loads
5. Over Voltage:Increased line voltage for extended periods of a few minutes to a few days
6. Brownouts: Reduced line voltage for extended periods of a few minutes to a few days
7. Sags: Short term low voltage
8. EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference): High Frequency waveform - often referred to as noise
9. RFI (Radio Frequency Interference): Also a High Frequency waveform - often referred to as noise
10. Surges: Short term high voltage

Here are 3 that can be equally as deliberating but get little to no consideration on this and other boards

1 Power Correction Factor ... when current and voltage are out of phase efficiency is reduced ...
2 DC offset ... this is a silent killer that attacks transformers reducing their efficiency limiting dynamic and head room
3 Noise (RF/EMI) traveling on the third wire / safety ground ... main reasons systems sound better when ground is lifted ... but not a recommended solution

Tell me how a power cord can remedy these situation and a properly applied power conditioner can't or won't

One more thing ... dedicated lines ... will someone please show me how they isolate when all the neutrals in the house are bonded to a single bus bar and all the ground wires/3rd wire safety are bonded to a separate Bus and then these two Buses are tied together before going the the ground rod out side

Looks like noise on the safety can easily be coupled to the neutral at the main panel box through their bonding to the ground

Now noise on the safety plus any noise you pick up on the neutral will work it's way back into your equipment's power supplies degrading the sound on the AC's back side or return trip back through the power supply ... after all we are dealing with alternating current

So I guess a power cord can correct all these issues and can correct all this but a power conditioner is detrimental

Apply the right type of filtration to the specific problem usually works every time

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results" ... Albert Einstein

yeah, i don't know whats up with it. not from the power, but by running the coax from the wall into it then out to the cable box. The thing that made the biggest difference in my cable TV quality was swapping out the splitter at the wall (for internet) with a higher quality/higher bandwidth splitter. go figure.

Until recently I agreed with Albert but have recently started using conditioners. I have dedicated lines, which are lines run directly to the outlet from the 'fuse' box and quality receptacles. I now use a Hydra 2 for my amp and a PS Audio Quintet on the other line for everything else. Martin Colloms has done considerable work on this and his conclusions are in line with the above posts; that is IF you have dedicated lines AND good power the conditioners are little if any help and usually degrade the sound to some degree. BUT the worse your power the more they help. So it all depends on your individual situation.

Hmm, well I'll still need some type of surge protection/power strip. Now that Im thinking about it, I may be able to stick with the same one since I only really need conditioning to 6 devices at the moment. Once I get component amp's ill need a couple extra though. In the other PC thread, someone mentioned that they had audible compression of sound stage, etc. by connecting their amps to the PC, so I might avoid that, but no surge protection scares me.

How important is surge protection If my home has circuit breakers? I haven't actually experienced even one power surge that would damage equipment, but I guess the whole point is to have this bit of security "just in case".

So based on what Stanwal had said about what dedicated lines are, sounds like it requires in wall wiring and such. rewiring the home isn't really an option, especially since my living situation is constantly changing (I'm a student).

I've recently been looking at the Panamax PM-5400. provides power conditioning, voltage regulation, surge protection, 5 isolated outlet banks, and 2 high current outlets for amps. opinions?