Power Cables and Wall Sockets

Please ignore those offering the best theoretical advice they know - w/o having heard the difference a genuinely good power cable can make in a typically competent, electrical system. 

Upgrading the socket to at least a hospital grade outlet or a better audiophile one further helps of course, as do other expensive, electrical system upgrades written about elsewhere, even more.

@ghdprentice 

Hearing your system was spectacular! Thank you.

Even though hard to quantify, I believe a major difference between your system and mine was how “present” yours was. I attributed this to your dedicated AC lines.

Inspired, I have set out to run the best dedicated line I can.

Always impressed by the products of the Japanese company, Oyaide, I got 50’ of their very special 10 gauge, three conductor cable. Also, 2 copper duplexes with heavy faceplates. Just this was $4500. And electromagnetic breaker and an electrician. About another $1K+.

My power chords are all Shunyata King Cobra. Not to mention Shunyata Triton/Typhon power center. All that about 10 years ago was close to $30K.

However, it waits to be seen if I still will need the T/T.

But you might say that I am focused on power…

Forgive me if this has already been addressed or if it's just outright naive, but, are the issues of circuit breakers, house wiring and receptacles all moot if you're using a power regenerator like a PS Audio P12? 

Thanks Mike. It was a pleasure meeting you. If you are game the pandemic has wound down enough for another visit. I’d be happy to have you over again. The Audio Quest amp power cord has really notably improved the imaging, depth, and taken away the rose cast. I am really happy that it is perfectly on target… finally. Also, I still have the Audio Research Ref mono blocks as well as my stereo ARC Ref 160s. John is leaving me the monoblocks for a while longer.

I am going to be very interested in hearing the results of your electrical investment… now that you went one more step with specialty in wall copper, as you know I went with standard contractor 10 gauge wire in the wall.

@imaninatural - regarding yout original post

it seems to me that power cables can only be as good as the in-home wiring coming to the wall socket. Is it possible that those who use expensive cables have improved the wiring to the socket?

Having a dedicated line is beneficial, but it is not the whole story, i.e. in order to achieve benefits from using a quiality power cables.

Here’s how it was explained to me

• at each connection point in a "power supply line" you have a voltage
  • so at the breaker panel you have 120v
  • the attached outlet socket also has 120v
  • the component end of the power cables has a 120v
  • but here’s where it gets interesting...
    • provided the voltage i.e. AT THE POINTS OF CONNECTION, is stable, the energy transfered is subject only to the "properties" of the attached wiring
    • so the "quality" of the energy conveyed to the component by the attached power cable is subject to the quality of the wire and connectors used in that power cable
• this occurs at EVERY point of connection within a power supply line
• granted, there may be some transfer of noise, but that tends to be a result of interference or distortions imposed on the 120v sine wave. In which case it’s the voltage that is actually no longer "stable"

So while installing a dedicated line will have benefits - a good power cable on a component will ALWAYS prove to be benefical regadrless of the quality of the in-wall wiring

What to look for in order to enhance a power supply line (i.e. other than a dedicated line)

• good outlet sockets
  • I use MRI grade hospital outlets
    • they clamp like a vice, which is very important
    • they are better at preventing arcing
    • there are no ferrous metals used
• quality power distribution bars (if needed)
  • like those from Furutech
• quality power cables that use
  • UP-OCC wire - this improves dynamic performance
  • Silver plated copper connectors - improves details
  • insulation with low Dielectric Constant - improves clarity

I, and others have observed improved in sound quality on systems costing from $200 to over $70k just by upgrading the quality of the power cables and all of them attached to generic house wiring.

Take a look at Zavfino power cables

• they use UP-OCC copper
• Advanced cable geometries
• Quality conenctors
• they have a range of products to suit most budgets
• https://zavfinousa.com/collections/power-cables

So how much benefit will a power cable provide?

• Power Amps tend to have a very robust internal power supply
  • so they have a tendency of not showing as much of an improvement as Source components do
  • they generally require higher quality power cables
• Source components (i.e. those built to a budget ) will generally exhibit noticeble improvements
  • because the designer tends to "skimp" on their internal power supplies - e.g. those using...
    • wall wart power supplies
    • the use of USB power
    • poor transformer design
    • small two pin plugs

Regards - Steve