DIY AC cables

[carlmart]

Having the following dilemma:

I am about to buy some raw wire to make several AC cables, including one for my gainclone. But all DIY suggestions around seem to be based on USA house wiring methods.

Where I live (Brazil) there's no ground being used. Wirings are done with just two wires and once that I did try connecting the electrical company ground on one kitchen AC terminal, what I got was a blown microwave oven. Apparently the ground is not at zero potential.

Doing a proper earth wiring, with a copper stick on the ground and so on, was not possible either when I moved here years ago, because of the type of building this is. We have 3-phase wiring though, and I can have my audio/video AC separate from fridge/wash machine or computer AC wiring.

So all my AC wiring floats respective to ground. That may not be proper for safety (still don't know why), but we never had any accidents of any kind, besides the one I mentioned when trying to do things "properly".

No RF noises that I can see or any other type are present either.

The DIY AC wire designs I have seen have a third wire and/or shield, but I am worried any of them might act as an antenna. Right?

Suggestions on how to go about it?


Carlos

[BrianDonegan]

Aside from a special link between a power conditioner of some sort and your equiptment, I wouldn't bother making special cables for power (other than heavy gauge wire).

The power you conduct from a wall outlet is run to that outlet with (in the US) 12 or 14 gauge solid copper, connected to other wires with twist-on wire nuts, etc, nothing special. Not to mention the typical rats nest of wire on the poles outside your home.

Shielding or special cable geometries in the last few feet isn't going to help in any way. It will cost a lot of money, however.

-b

Note: Please make sure you read the first sentence of my post before you start yelling at me...

[Ren]

Sorry, but I have to disagree regarding the audible effects of AC power cords. I have heard surprisingly large audible improvements from switching out standard power cords (i.e. the cords provided by the manufacturer) with PS Audio cords. This isn't an endorsement of PS Audio per se, just using their product as an example from my personal experience.

I agree that I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation of *why* a power cord should make any substantial difference, beyond the gauge of the wire. But I know what I hear. The aftermarket power cords tend to be thick, stiff and expensive. So, I wish I could say they don't make a difference. But they do.

- Ren

[analog_sa]

I am about to buy some raw wire to make several AC cables, including one for my gainclone

For cheap raw wire i like Kimber hook-up a lot. Also tried Cardas but didn't like it too much.

I'll be curious to know how important is geometry.

[carlmart]

If anyone thinks it's not worth upgrading the AC cable, please refrain from any comments on this thread. It is not my intention to polemize over cables and whether cables have a sound or not. If you don't believe they do go read other threads.

In my opinion quality audio is an add-on of very small improvements, and maybe copper paths is one of the last frontiers.

There are several recipes for AC cables that may know of, like Chris Van Hul's, Bob Crump's and the Audio Asylum's. They all have one thing in common: use Belden cable. Teflon types.

Because of the dielectric, the metal can't be plain copper, so it's tinned or silver-plated.

The third wire and the shield it's the reason for my question.

This one of those designs:

http://venhaus1.com/diymains.html





Carlos

[leadbelly]

As for how you should wire your projects, I myself would like to know how exactly your house is wired. Could you poke around this site http://kropla.com/electric2.htm and describe exactly what voltage and outlet style you have? And is there no grounding technique being used for outlets at all? Or is it a case where 2 conductor wiring is run inside a metal conduit that conducts the ground?

As for the other issue on whether quality AC cords make a difference in sound, I am a BIG believer in that one although I am generally a skeptic on all the esoteric audiophile stuff. Just stick a scope on the various portions of a power supply and the wild looking waveforms will show you that a LOT is happening on that portion of your circuit.

EDIT: sorry, you posted while I was composing.....