Upgrade them power cords!!

Early B. · September 2004

I realize there are naysayers out there who believe power cords don't make a difference, but I'll share my experience with what I did today. I upgraded the power cord to my pre-amp. Actually, it was a non-stock "audiophile" power cord, but I upgraded the female end with a DIYer from partsexpress. The orginal female end was soldered and had some filler gunk (not sure what it's called) at the solder points to keep it all together. I wanted clean connections (no solder).

I gotta tell ya, there was an immediate and noticeable improvement in detail and clarity. The sound is more airy, the vocals are clearer, blah, blah blah. In essence, it sounds more "musical". Made it sound a bit brighter, too, but a change in interconnects higher quality should fix that. That's why I highly recommend that folks upgrade their power cords, especially in 2-channel systems and on HT subwoofers.

I ordered new interconnects and bi-wire speaker cables, They should arrive this week. I'll post the results.

dcarlson · September 2004

What's a non-stock "audiophile" power cord?

Glad to hear you're happy. Just be mindfull of upgrading all at once. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. If you know what I mean.

Early B. · September 2004

What's a non-stock "audiophile" power cord?

A "stock" power cord comes with the component. What I term a non-stock "audiophile" power cord is one you buy aftermarket specifically for your audio gear. It's considered "hospital grade" (whatever that means??). In this case I bought mine off audiogon.

Just be mindfull of upgrading all at once. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. If you know what I mean.

Yeah, you're right. I'm just trying out different stuff to see what works. I'll return whatever doesn't seem to work in my situation. You see, that's the problem with this hobby -- you're constantly trying out different things and it never seems to end. But I'm convinced, pretty soon I'm going to put an end to all this madness (Or the WAF will do it for me!!!).

dcarlson · September 2004

I see. I was wondering what you meant.

Are the cables you bought all of the same brand?

Early B. · September 2004

Are the cables you bought all of the same brand?

Most of mine are the DIY variety from parts I order from www.partsexpress.com. I use 12 ga. Carol wire and hospital grade connects. They worked very well and can be made for about $30. It's idiot-proof. No soldering required. Just need a screwdriver, a pair of scissors, and wire strippers. You can make them prettier by adding tech flex, but I don't care how they look 'cause no one's gonna see 'em except me.

Here's the link:
http://www.partsexpress.com/resources/110-400.html

sowen010599 · September 2004

Originally posted by Early B.
"hospital grade" (whatever that means??).

It means that it follows design requirements and specifications set forth by UL. It seems that when people die when hospital equipment fails, even the plugs are important. Who'd a thought!?

Most people don't know what it means, so here's the info......

1. The plug must be marked "Hospital Grade" and with a permanent green dot sized 4.8 to 6.4 mm in diameter.

2. The strain relief must prevent any force applied to the cord from reaching the electrical connections inside the plug.

3. The blades must be made of solid brass.

4. The grounding pin must not be easily bent or remove without the use of tools.

5. The plug body size must allow insertion of two plugs into a duplex receptacle.

6. Minimum flexible cable types allowed are type SJO, SJT, SJTO, SVO, SVT, and SVTO.

Performance requirements are as follows:

1. Three strain relief tests which, after each separate test, the conductors must not be displaced more than 0.8 mm and the plug and flexible cable must not be damaged.

a. The first strain relief test is a static pull test. The plug is held in a fixture with the flexible cable hanging downward. A 30-pound (133N) weight is applied for one minute.

b. The second strain relief test is a rotary pull test. The plug is held in a fixture with the flexible cable hanging downward but at an angle. The cord is then rotated at nine rotations per minute in a 3" (76 mm) diameter circle 6" (152 mm) below the cord.

c. The third strain relief test is an abrupt removal test. This test simulates the plug being violently jerked out of a wall mount receptacle. The plug is tested with the cord being jerked straight away from the receptacle. The plug is also tested with the cord being jerked at a 90 degree angle, the worst-case situation for the plug-and outlet. The plug is held in a fixture with the cord hanging downward. A 24" (610 mm) rod with a 10 lb. (4.5 kg) sliding weight and a striker plate are hooked onto the flexible cable. The weight is allowed to drop vertically, sliding down the rod, impacting the striker plate, jerking the plug out of the receptacle.

2. A crushing test in which a 500-lbf (2,224N) force is applied to the plug body, then removed. The plug must not break or deform in any way, making it unusable.

3. An impact test in which a 10 lb. (4.5kg) weight is dropped from a height of 18" (457 mm) onto the plug body. The plug must not be damaged in any way, making it unusable.

4. A drop test for plugs made of materials other than PVC and rubber. A 45" (1,143 mm) long power cord assembly is held at the end opposite the plug, raised horizontally, and allowed to drop and impact a block of maple wood at least 500 times. The plug must not chip, break, or become damaged in any way that affects the safe operation of the plug. The NEMA 5-15 plug must then pass a dielectric voltage-withstand (a.k.a. hi-pot) test of 1,250V AC between line, neutral and ground.

The hospital-grade NEMA 5-15 plug is subjected to all of the above tests in addition to the "standard" tests for a "regular" NEMA 5-15 plug. The objective of this testing is to simulate normal hospital use.

Early B. · September 2004

Thanks for the clarification. Once we remove all the technical jargon, the bottom line is that "hospital grade" power cords have better build quality, which is precisely what we look for when buying high end audio components. Better built usually translates into better sound.

Willow · September 2004

can we upgrade the power cord when the power cord is attached to the receiver ? and not a female male power cord ? if yes is this tough to do ?

dcarlson · September 2004

Originally posted by Willow
can we upgrade the power cord when the power cord is attached to the receiver ? and not a female male power cord ? if yes is this tough to do ?

You could remove the powercord and install an IEC inlet to be able to swap powercords. The only problem is you'll probably void the warranty on your receiver.

Willow · September 2004

good point !!:rolleyes:

dcarlson · September 2004

If your warranty has expired, I'd be very interest to know results of doing so.

I'm sure there would be gains to be had.

Willow · September 2004

hmmm ot sure how log war. is on yammies.....it's only 1 yr old maybe I could on my kenwood !!

dcarlson · September 2004

I think it's 2 years.

Another thing is powercords can be and are fairly expensive unless you build your own.

Early B. · September 2004

can we upgrade the power cord when the power cord is attached to the receiver ?

I wouldn't fool with it. Most mid/high end components have detachable power cords, whereas most lower end models do not. I would imagine that you could achieve a greater benefit by upgrading power cords with mid/high quality equipment versus mass market gear. It's akin to putting high quality interconnects on low quality audio components -- why bother?

Willow · September 2004

the same reason people would say you are buying expensive gear...why bother

it's part of the hobby

RobXant · September 2004

You're only going halfway if you don't bother upgrading the actual wall receptacal to hospital grade. That is where you will see the biggest difference in the electrical continuity.

Inside the outlet are a set of brass "springs" that are what grip the prongs of your plug. The hospital grade variety grip tenaciously for decades, while most builder qualty ones will begin geting loose after several years of repeated plugging-unplugging.

Although a little used recepitcal of any grade will provide good contact at the connection point, a high-end receptacal will put more contact area together... They are best used in the kitchen, actually... Look for Hubbell 5362, I found a box of 10 on ebay for 19 bucks. You can always buy a cryogenic treated one if you want to reach the point of diminishing returns even faster....

Rob

dorokusai · September 2004

Originally posted by RobXant
You can always buy a cryogenic treated one if you want to reach the point of diminishing returns even faster....

I agree, I'm not buying that idea.

ezc · October 2004

I agree! Upgrqade the ac cords! I have done all my cords & even my Mits 55 & Yamaha dvd player that dosnt use a IEC. Noticable improvement! If you want maximum improvement use Audio Grade Plug & Iec ends! Hospital grade works well but if your trying to squeez out as much improvement possible audio grade. I use the Wattgate 330i power connector & 350i iec ends. Also concider using audio grade receptacles like the wattgate 381. Mine took real long to break in & got better & better as it did! pjdami built a bunch of power cords for himself that he has been using with very very good results!

Upgrade them power cords!!

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