Power cable management

[Amit Shetty]

So here's the thing - I have about 7-8 components in my stereo set up, and that means a lot of wires behind the console. Currently I'm using a belkin spike buster with surge protectors to plug them all in. It's a mess back there! And difficult to clean.

How do you guys manage your power cables? Is there a product out there that allows for cleaner set up and provide power stability? Keen to hear your thoughts.

 

[Shivam]

I use Nylon tags, similar to these - Pack OF 2 200pc Colored Nylon Cable Ties Tags Attach Sealing Food Plastic Bags | eBay

Power cables are loosely bundled on one side of the rack. The interconnects are on the other side. I let the cables cross each other at 90 degrees whenever they cross and I try to keep some distance between power cables, analogue interconnects, digital interconnects and speaker cables.

I don't keep my components on standby. Either they are being used or they don't have any power supply going to them.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

We put together twenty-foot interconnects in each of these seven cables. Now, the task was to expose them all to a high-energy, low-frequency source of interference. To do this, we strapped them all tightly to a heavy-duty extension cord. We plugged in the extension cord, and plugged a space heater into its outlet to get a significant current flow running through the cord; this was important because the strength of the magnetic field around the cord, and hence of the EMI exposure of the cables, is directly related to the amount of current flowing through it.

We listened to the induced 60-cycle hum in each of these cables through an amplifier

Taking things to extremes to get audible hum out of interconnects in a Blue Jeans Cable test.

However, even without 20-ft runs and high-current mains cables, and without any audible sign of trouble, there is always good practice, and Shivam has described it.

I'm afraid I go more for the dust-trap mess approach :lol:

But where I do try to control my cables, I find that velcro straps are better than cable ties. They are easily adjusted/removed/reused, and, being wide and relatively soft, cannot mark or damage the cables.

Beware of coiling power cables... It leads to build up of heat in the cable with a potential fire risk. This is not just theory: I have seen it happen, with a room heater plugged into one of those plastic-drum extension leads. Most of our hifi systems probably do not use power in kilowatts ...but still, there is good practice.

 

[Santy]

I have the same headache. Once I tried to distance the power cords from interconnects with some foam bars placed inbetween but it didn't last long.

Now I am considering these
MX Easy Cable Management Cable Organizer MX 2975 | eBay

 

[hydra]

I use ordinary cable zip-ties, the kind we can buy in any electrical supplies shop. They are one-time use only (we need to cut them if we want to change things), but they're really cheap, and reorganization is not very frequent.

I also organize once and then, uh, don't clean back there (pun not intended) for months altogether. This works for me because I take special effort to keep my listening room very dust free anyway. All windows are blutacked closed (have been for ages) heh heh, and I'm the sole resident of my house. My too-many-to-count cats don't have residency permits and they are kept out of the house itself. (They have a house of their own next door, where my parents manage to live with them). I'm also somewhat obsessive about keeping the house clean, so there's rarely enough dust to cause trouble.

I clean all contacts once in 3 months and that's when the rack gets pulled off the wall, and the cables get vacuumed and wiped clean.

I switch off, and pull all plugs when I'm done using the kit too. I recently bought FM Magma's Barracuda Distribution box, and that helped to organize and manage the power distribution a lot!

Thad, velcro straps are very convenient, but in my experience, they're a dust magnet. The grippy part of the velcro and the sides of the straps invariably gather and hold a lot of dust that manages to put up a fairly good fight with the vacuum cleaner.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I also organize once and then, uh, don't clean back there (pun not intended) for months altogether.

There is no such thing as cable burn in...









But hey, the dustier they are the better they sound. :lol:

Yes, hydra, I agree on velcro attracting dust.

 

[volksjger]

Hey guys, your suggestions and advices needed. I am working on cable management for my hifi system and TV and my doubt is, can I run an Ethernet cable along with surround speaker cables in a single wiremold raceway ? And would it cause any electrical interference ? And do i need to seperate analog cables from electrical cables at the AV receiver end and TV? What i mean is, do i need to have 2 seperate MX cable organisers for speaker, subwoofer, hdmi, cables & power cables ? Need your help on this.

 

[Viki]

I use industrial cable trays - they are quite cheap, and if you use two, you can separate power from media cables. I have two running down the back of my gear from top to bottom.