|
New member Username: OverdozePost Number: 5 Registered: Oct-05 | Looking for some help here. My power cords to my amp and CD player look a bit spindly to me, although the cable is rated at 13amp. The amp looks as though its not 3 core, and therefore not earthed (I will check). The CD player has a 'kettle' cord. I'm guessing that a shielded cable would be an improvement, especially given the cable congested area behind the system/TV/DVD,etc..... |
|
New member Username: MusicluvrPost Number: 10 Registered: Apr-05 | Hi Mike, In my own experience, replacing the power cords on both of my NAD integrated amplifiers helped the sound significantly, although it was not a night and day improvement that was immediately noticable within seconds after making the change. I have not tried changing the power cord on my CD player, but I am thinking about doing it after my experience with my amplifiers. I put in a new cord and after listening to my system casually for an hour or so, I noticed that there was a little more definition in the bass where I could hear the beginning of low piano and acoustic bass notes more clearly, and the trailing end of notes would ring perceptably longer than before. Further listening revealed that many CD's that I believed were afflicted with "digital harshness" actually sounded quite good and replacing the power cords removed the harshness from my system. All in all though, I would have to admit that the extent of the improvement would have been difficult to detect in an unfamiliar environment like an audition room at an audio dealer. IMHO, whether or not you get any improvment in your system by swapping out the power cords may not have anything to do with whether the upgraded power cord is shieleded or not. The cords I used are not sheilded, just a DIY cord built up from 3 lengths of 10 guage "AMP KING" cable from Parts Express. The strands are braided together and I terminated them with a Marinco "Hospital Grade" 3-prong connector on one end and a Marinco IEC on the other. It cost about $50 in parts to make. Supposedly, the braided configuration serves a purpose similar to shielding by cancelling hum and other electrical interferences, but I think that simply using the heavier guage copper wire and quality connectors is the main source of the improvement. Before you go off to buy some expensive audiophile power cord or order materials to build one, you should try cleaning up the congestion behind your gear. That alone might help some. It is probably best to reduce the need for power cable shielding rather than to rely on the cable shielding to improve your system. Here are some hints, because what looks neat and tidy doesn't necessarily equal good signal transmission between your components. Attempt to keep your interconnect cables separate from each other and away from the power cords. When they have to cross, make them cross perpindicular to each other. As much as possible, use interconnects, speaker cables, and power cords that are just the right length so you don't have to coil up a lot of excess. When you do have excess cord, whether power cord or interconnect cable, coiling it up into a circle or a figure 8 and tieing it up with twist ties may actually be worse than just leaving the excess hanging randomly. Avoid running your cables close to antenna wires, computers and appliances with motors in them. (I guess avoiding motors is a tough one though...CD, DVD, VCR, tape deck, turntable, oh well). Another consideration is whether or not you have detachable power cords. If they are detachable, making the swap is trivial. If they are not detachable, then you are faced with a couple of decisions. You can simply cut the cord outside the case and splice in a new cord. You could cut the cord outside the case and splice in an IEC receptacle that would give you more options to swap cords in and out. Or, you could pop the case and re-wire the power cord with or without mounting an IEC receptacle. After making the swap on my NAD C372 which came with a detachable power cord and finding an improvement, I swapped the cord on my 20 year old NAD 3125. That required me to open the case, cut the power cord, desolder, and re-route built in auxiliary outlet, cut a new hole to mount the IEC socket, and solder the power lines back in place. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. There was more improvement to the sound of the 3125 than to the C372. I hope you find some of this information helpful, and please report back on what you decide to do. |
|
Bronze Member Username: OverdozePost Number: 12 Registered: Oct-05 | Thankyou very much for your reply, a refreshingly unbiased response. After doing some research, I have decided to make some power cords using heavier gauge wire and Wattgate IEC connectors to a 'recipe' found on the internet. My amp is also getting treated to new speaker posts and a plug in IEC upgrade with maybe a Sub pre out stage added too. I am also upgrading my hifi stand to something more sturdy and have modified my CD player case to add more rigidity and internal damping. All in all the cost effective mods will make some sort of improvement without breaking the bank, mods based on scientific evidence without the cloudy issue of marketing hype. Thanks again, I'll give you an update when all is done. |
|
Bronze Member Username: MusicluvrPost Number: 11 Registered: Apr-05 | Mike, What is the url for the site where you found the power cord recipe? What specific audio gear you are working with? You can post your system details in your profile. If you would prefer not to disclose, that's OK. |
|
Bronze Member Username: OverdozePost Number: 15 Registered: Oct-05 | DIY Power cord. http://www.venhaus1.com/diymains.html Marantz PM-75 Cambridge Audio CD500SE Mission M73s Rel Strata III |
|
Bronze Member Username: MusicluvrPost Number: 21 Registered: Apr-05 | Those Chris Ven Haus power cords are quite a bit more sophisticated than the ones I built. I may be interested in building those some time. In addition to the "AMP KING" based cord I'm currently using, I have tried a power cord built from the Home Depot extension cord that works well as a speaker cable. Ironically, it doesn't work as well for me in the purpose that the product was originally intended. The soundstage became flatter and the imaging wasn't as precise. More questions. What were specifics of your CD player modifications and what were the results? I opened the case of my CD player to evaluate the possibility of mounting an IEC. There's lots of room for the IEC and I will eventually put one in that unit. While I'm in there I might consider other mods as well. |
|
Bronze Member Username: OverdozePost Number: 17 Registered: Oct-05 | Got some shielded Pc power supply mains cables and tried those, not much difference, if anything slightly less detail. I now have a 'huge' supply of Cat 5 cable for speaker cable projects and will be putting together some heavy duty mains cables, a la Ven Haus. The CD500SE has only been damped for now, using automotive sound deadening pads, the self adhesive type, they also work well to stop panels resonating. A 10mm aluminium alloy machined/milled base plate will be added soon. These mods will increase the rigidity of the player and reduce most internal resonance. The power transformer has been sat on and secured with double sided adhesive rubber tape to minimise it's 'hum' being transfered to the CD case. The player will sit on four half squash balls to damp the assembly and to isolate it from the stand. Nothing drastic just straight forward sensible improvements. I could replace the internal capacitors, but to be honest, it's better to sell the old player and trade up with the money saved. I'm all in favour of kit improvement, but at a sensible 'bang for buck' level. As to the sound, I'm in the middle of a house move so won't know for a while, but watch this space for an update. BTW if you decide to add an IEC connector, there are some which have inbuilt RF and EMI suspression filters, check for feasability tho, you want an improvement not a degrade. |