Power cables - am bewildered!

[kanwar]

Any chance of us mere mortals laying our hands on one of these PSU's?

Have look at this module in pics:

It depends on the application you need, one such module is rated at 2.5KW and is down scalable to 1000W.

 

[kanwar]

I agree Kanwar, that one must educate oneself, but then one must also like the sound quality produced by equipment as well. I agree not all home audio produces good sound, but similarly not all pro audio produces good sound. Please see my earlier comment on Pro Audio vs Home Audio, and I will let it rest at that.
Cheers,
Sid

In that case go for those products which give you best of both worlds, good EMI/RFI rejection along with great Sonics. But refrain yourself from falling into traps of snake oil charmers. For example:- Band-aids don't cost much if you can DIY them in case of power cables.

 

[gvenu]

Now that all these discussions nailing back to my experience on good Home Audio front- Instead of putting your money in exotic cables as we can't modify the power supply inside our system, invest that on a good on-line double conversion UPS (similar to RT series of APC). This will give you multiple benifits.

- Venu

 

[sidvee]

Band-aids don't cost much if you can DIY them in case of power cables.

Actually Kanwar, I recently priced out a DIY power cord of 10ft which needed a 20amp IEC on one end and US plug on the other. It was cheaper for me to buy an Audio Art cable from a retailer than importing a 20 amp IEC, for which I could not find a supplier in India, and buying a decent guage cable and the US plug. So at least for me this generalization is not true. It may work in many cases, but not in all.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[kanwar]

Now that all these discussions nailing back to my experience on good Home Audio front- Instead of putting your money in exotic cables as we can't modify the power supply inside our system, invest that on a good on-line double conversion UPS (similar to RT series of APC). This will give you multiple benifits.

- Venu

The thread on power regenerators/conditioners already providing ample of insights and our FM Nikhil has already done the solution with APC UPS.

http://www.hifivision.com/av-enhanc...r-conditioners-regenerators-4.html#post508955

 

[kanwar]

Actually Kanwar, I recently priced out a DIY power cord of 10ft which needed a 20amp IEC on one end and US plug on the other. It was cheaper for me to buy an Audio Art cable from a retailer than importing a 20 amp IEC, for which I could not find a supplier in India, and buying a decent guage cable and the US plug. So at least for me this generalization is not true. It may work in many cases, but not in all.
Cheers,
Sid

From DIY cable , what i meant was make your own cable, not buying a cable which is done by someone else[what is the point of DIY-ing then?]. I don't think making a cable from Finolex wire is that difficult which you cannot do it by yourself.

Our FM Trittya has done excellent DIY-ing in making Interleaved Twisted cables from military grade wire.

 

[sidvee]

From DIY cable , what i meant was make your own not buy a cable which is done by someone else. I don't think making a cable from Finolex wire is that difficult which you cannot do by yourself.

Yes I understood that Kanwar, but even for DIY you have to buy the wire and the terminations. All you are saving is on the labor. What I meant is by the time I priced these components on various web sites (no 20amp IEC in India), the cost for getting all of these was so close to buying an Audio Art Cable (readymade cable), that it was of no advantage. Also it seems that there is an impression that any manufactured cable must cost thousands of $ and full of snake oil. Not true. A decent 12 guage cable can be had for $50 to $100 from many mainstream manufacturers. I believe our very own Magma is providing some great cables as well, though I do not know the prices.
Here is one that I use and highly recommend:

http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=260
and please ignore the marketing spiel with the pangea cables, they work well for what they are priced at, at least for me.

Cheers,
Sid

 

[Nikhil]

So in otherway around its like if someone has spent a good amount on its system which is LACKING in power supply area[presuming he swapped different power chords to find that difference] and then he finds that a certain power cable makes a huge difference, so must be applied as Band-Aid[Rather then going for an equipment which is not affected by power cables at all]....What say, Irony here is that he cannot go on spending each time for a new system but is happy to spend a good amount on power cables everytime :clapping:

I am referring to the fact that power cables have sonic signatures that are of interest to those who care to explore more options.

Since you seem to have all the answers - why don't you just come up with a well written response to the OP?
I'll be glad to hear your opinion on the subject.

 

[gvenu]

our FM Nikhil has already done the solution with APC UPS.

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Ooh...Nice:clapping:

 

[Nikhil]

For claimed effective rejection of external RFI/EMI try a Maillot braid. Look it up. If you can't find information, let me know and I'll dig it up from my notes and post details. Can be used for IC's too. Whether it works or not - I'm not going there. Suffice it to say that my system is maybe not resolving enough

Hmmm ... will have to take you up on that Keith.
Although I think you mean Milliot Braid

 

[kanwar]

Since you seem to have all the answers - why don't you just come up with a well written response to the OP?
I'll be glad to hear your opinion on the subject.

Nikhil,

Don't make me look like 'know it all', which i am not, learning is never ending process and it continues till you are alive

I think i have already done that in some of previous posts that "how, when & why" the cables make difference. I suggest you to read some previous posts which are directly pointed to those questions posed by many FMs.

If you think something is still missing, let me know if i can help.

 

[keith_correa]

Hmmm ... will have to take you up on that Keith.
Although I think you mean Milliot Braid

Sorry, pardon my French. It is Milliot Braid.

 

[kanwar]

Yes I understood that Kanwar, but even for DIY you have to buy the wire and the terminations. All you are saving is on the labor. What I meant is by the time I priced these components on various web sites (no 20amp IEC in India), the cost for getting all of these was so close to buying an Audio Art Cable (readymade cable), that it was of no advantage. Also it seems that there is an impression that any manufactured cable must cost thousands of $ and full of snake oil. Not true. A decent 12 guage cable can be had for $50 to $100 from many mainstream manufacturers. I believe our very own Magma is providing some great cables as well, though I do not know the prices.
Here is one that I use and highly recommend:

Pangea Audio-Audio Advisor
and please ignore the marketing spiel with the pangea cables, they work well for what they are priced at, at least for me.

Cheers,
Sid

Still i feel that a 12-gauge cable + IEC termination can be made at lesser price then the Pangea cables.

Btw are those cables Twisted? Just asking because one of the pics is showing something else.

 

[kanwar]

Sorry, pardon my French. It is Milliot Braid.

It has another name as well : Interleaved Twisting used by MIL/Communication industry.

 

[sidvee]

Still i feel that a 12-gauge cable + IEC termination can be made at lesser price then the Pangea cables.

Btw are those cables Twisted? Just asking because one of the pics is showing something else.

Not sure Kanwar, if they are twisted or not. Sure one can make it cheaper, but what I am illustrating is that not all power cables are snake oil, there are affordable options, that one will not feel cheated.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[kanwar]

Not sure Kanwar, if they are twisted or not. Sure one can make it cheaper, but what I am illustrating is that not all power cables are snake oil, there are affordable options, that one will not feel cheated.
Cheers,
Sid

Bro,

If they are not even twisted and asking price is 50 to 100 $, what benefit you are getting then? just the interface of different terminations i guess.
For me 50$ of untwisted cable is expensive with what ever terminations are provided.

 

[sidvee]

Bro,

If they are not even twisted and asking price is 50 to 100 $, what benefit you are getting then? just the interface of different terminations i guess.
For me 50$ of untwisted cable is expensive with what ever terminations are provided.

Well I guess to each his own. I personally do not consider a Rs.3000 power cable expensive.
For instance what I consider just decent terminations, not that they will alter sound, but provide proper grip and safety in a functional manner
http://www.partsconnexion.com/ac_wattgate.html
will alone cost a lot more.
And like I said I am not sure if it is twisted, so one has to check that. BTW I am not endorsing Pangea, am just giving an example. Anyways this will be my last post on this topic, I think my point of view is abundantly clear, aftermarket power cords are required in most cases, whether you buy a $50 or a $5000 is entirely upto you. It is your choice and what you are comfortable with.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[manoj.p]

Any power cable costing more than 5 (or may be 10) times more than its manufacturing cost is not expensive. I personally consider it as a rip off. Especially when a simple power cable either cannot clean up the power or alter its signature.

It's like people worrying about the contamination caused by piping in their house when nobody knows how much contamination is caused by city water lines.

 

[arj]

Ok to summarize will the below be ok ?

Power cords do make a difference- although are a "bandaid" to which the root cause solution is a more Rubust Power Supply ?

 

[keith_correa]

Ok to summarize will the below be ok ?

Power cords do make a difference- although are a "bandaid" to which the root cause solution is a more Rubust Power Supply ?

I would put this way: Power cords MAY make a difference to equipment which have inadequately/poorly designed power supply units [topology??] and in the quality/design of the components used in that unit.