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Wrapping power cords and interconnects with copper foil.

Ok..not sure other people have done what I tried recently but I’ve found a night and day difference in sound quality after I wrapped my tube power amp power cord (rogue Zeus) and my cheap audio quest interconnect cables with copper foil. I even wrapped by phono cable coming out of my turntable to phono pre-amp. The detail retrieval and pin drop silence after doing this has made by jaw drop. Cost was $40 worth of foil wrap. What do you audiophiles think? Have I changed the sound signature in a negative way somehow? 

tubelvr1
howardlee's avatar
howardlee
65 posts
 

Sorry. The Apple "I'm away and unavailable" monster got in there. 

 

jea48
4,451 posts
 

Can’t say I have seen, ever used, unshielded phono interconnects from the TT to the phono preamp.

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@tubelvr1 said:

@carlsbad2 no didn’t ground it, just wrapped it with self adhesive foil. Seems to work wonders.

It doesn’t need to be grounded to work as a shield, Faraday Cage. You might want to experiment, then listen for any differences.

You may find ungrounded sounds better. Especially on the AC power cord. It really depends on the equipment the power cord is feeding.

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richardbrand's avatar
richardbrand
186 posts
 

Just like to point out that, weight for weight, aluminium is a better conductor than copper.  Copper usually weathers to a green colour - verdigris.

Consider whether the RFI carried by power cords is actually generated by the components they power, not by the wall supply!  Much more plausible ...

jea48
4,451 posts
 

@richardbrand Said:

Consider whether the RFI carried by power cords is actually generated by the components they power, not by the wall supply!  Much more plausible ...

Agree.

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mitch2
4,007 posts
 

Shielded cables have been around for years and do not have to be expensive.  Copper braid and/or foil are pretty standard.  Most/all of them are grounded at both ends.  The Iconoclast paper on shielding and grounding is interesting.

Here are 10 bulk power cords by Furutech.  Nine of them are grounded.  I believe the ungrounded FP-Alpha-3 was intended for power amps.  I have never heard a shielded cable degrade the sound of my system.

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