[Illah]

With interconnects I can see some small reason to do it, but power cords just seem like a gimmick to me. I figure a 3' run from a power conditioner to the amp should be fine with just about ANY power cord unless it's near a wild electric motor

Any reason to consider a nice DIY cord or just get a $4 computer power cord?

--Illah

 

[Wolffy]

If you have read all the opinions on this forum and others as to the effectiveness of power cords and still think there should be no difference, then you have already answered your own question and saved money. You may be able to get a used computer cord for a $1.50 which would even be a bigger savings.

 

[Welly Wu]

We have virtually no reference or context with which to couch our opinions. How can you expect us to give you credible, trustworthy, opinions without such important information?

Do you have a speaker system? Do you have a headphone system? Do you have a home theater system? Or, are you still contemplating building an AV system whatsoever?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then how many components do you require a power cord and what are those components?

Of paramount importance, what are your musical listening habits and how much do you listen to music? If you listen to less than one hour of music due to work or other conditions, then I would advise you to consider building an audiophile headphone system starting with a quality power conditioner as the foundation and a dedicated source component (preferably a universal DVD player) that comprises approximately 50 percent of your budget. Do not forget the importance of downstream equipment and keep it all to a minimum for simplicity and the sake of your wallet. The last outcome you want to inadvertently pursue is to dump $10,000 USD (or Deutsche Marks, Lira, Yen, or British Pounds Sterlings) only to sell it at a depreciation loss of 30 - 40 percent because you did not plan for an unexpected financial crisis in the ensuing months.

 

[fyrfytrhoges]

i have been happy with two of the aftermarket power cords i have bought over the last couple of years, a signal cable digital powercord which i use with my rega, and my virtual dynamics cord used with my amp. both have made improvements in my system.

 

[daycart1]

Certainly a power cord would be one of the LAST upgrades you look at. But as a finishing touch, they have lots of advocates on this board. (I've got some entry level VD's).

 

[Czilla9000]

Even though I am very skeptical about Cables and Power Cords, I would actually think that from a logical standpoint Power Cords with somesort of ferrite module (for EMI filtering) would make more a difference than an interconnect would. I am currently using a Tortie group-buy power cord, which uses ferrite. The PS Audio powercords and the Virtual Dynamic powercords also use some sort of ferrite.

 

[PhilS]

I have found that upgraded power cords made a significant improvement in my system, although I do think the benefits of upgraded power cords or interconnects are very much system-dependent. I would also check out latinternational.com on the use of ferrrite in power cords, for their point of view. Check the link under "cable myths." Don't know if they are right, but it's another point of view.

 

[bifcake]

This is the position Bryston takes on the subject. Scroll down to see what they have to say about power cords. In case you're not familiar with Bryston, they're famous for their electronics primarily amps.

 

[daycart1]

The Bryston take is interesting. Slightly off topic, I was also interested to see that they reco short speaker wires and long ICs over short ICs and long speaker wires.

 

[dstroot]

Funny - I came here to start a thread on this very topic!

Interconnects: I absolutely hear differences although usually quite subtle - generally once I get to a certain quality level (good termination, good shielding, proper impedance) I start to have trouble hearing differences.

Speaker Cables or Headphone cables - yep, I hear differences here also. In some cases more than the interconnects. My first experience here was the the Clou Red HD600 cable and that made a large difference in the sound of the HD600's - particularly the treble.

Power cables: If your Source or Amplification is designed well it's hard to believe AC noise can be a factor. If you think it is factor, then a solution that isolates your sources and amplification seems the best choice (i.e. some type of balanced power device). If the device is doing it's job then I would expect that *any* cord could deliver the clean juice to your devices. On the other hand simply putting an expensive cord between your device and the wall socket? Well I guess I agree with Bryston on that and I haven't heard sonic differences. Do you really hear them? Can anyone comment on the science behind it?

 

[bifcake]

I am not an engineer and I can't comment on the veracity of these articles, but you may want to check these articles out.