Power cables - advise
- Thread starter rmihai
- Start date
Hi,
for a very good cable - three wire with screen and transparent surround - I pay less than 5 EUR. And that's only because of the looks, the same electrical and mechanical performance/quality could be had for less than half of that.
Don't get me wrong, but paying 40$ for a bare meter of asymmetrical mains wire is pointless with any kind of equipment. Of course manufacturers claim differently, but guess why...
...but this discussion is ages old, too...
Sebastian.
for a very good cable - three wire with screen and transparent surround - I pay less than 5 EUR. And that's only because of the looks, the same electrical and mechanical performance/quality could be had for less than half of that.
Don't get me wrong, but paying 40$ for a bare meter of asymmetrical mains wire is pointless with any kind of equipment. Of course manufacturers claim differently, but guess why...
...but this discussion is ages old, too...
Sebastian.
Hi richie00boy,
It's a german brand, so I don't know about availability near you. But the manufacturer Lapp-Kabel also has many distributors around the world.
I've seen it at www.conrad.com, but this one is usually not the cheapest.
I attached a pic from the Lapp website.
Hi analog_sa,
Well, I guess you either misunderstood me or want to 'turn my words around'...
Neither did I state that I want my cable to look 'expensive', nor does it 'sound bad'!
I wrote that I like how it looks, that's the reason why I accept the still relatively high price. If it was only for the superior sound, paying more to replace a very good mains wire is what I consider pointless, as I said.
Cheers,
Sebastian.
richie00boy said:I agree fully with you sek, but maybe instead of teasing people with how cheap your cable is, what is it and where do you get it from?
It's a german brand, so I don't know about availability near you. But the manufacturer Lapp-Kabel also has many distributors around the world.
I've seen it at www.conrad.com, but this one is usually not the cheapest.
I attached a pic from the Lapp website.
Hi analog_sa,
analog_sa said:
Well, I guess you either misunderstood me or want to 'turn my words around'...
Neither did I state that I want my cable to look 'expensive', nor does it 'sound bad'!
I wrote that I like how it looks, that's the reason why I accept the still relatively high price. If it was only for the superior sound, paying more to replace a very good mains wire is what I consider pointless, as I said.
Cheers,
Sebastian.
Attachments
Does anyone have a link to something explaining the benefits of "audio-phile" power cables? I can't think of any benefits, unless they link my equiptment to a power conditioner of some sort, as otherwise, they are giving me an exact replica of the power at the outlet, which could already be full of EMI/RFI. I assume I am missing something...
I don't want to start anything here arguing about it, just looking for some more info, so you can email me the link(s) if you have them.
Thanks
I don't want to start anything here arguing about it, just looking for some more info, so you can email me the link(s) if you have them.
Thanks
Nor can i. All the explanations i've heard don't hold much water . RF filtering? Gimme a break, why is then so difficult to create an RF filter out of discrete components which sounds the same as an excellent power cord?
So, as with so many other things that really make a difference (at least to many of us) in audio i am happy to enjoy the benefits without understanding them. Dumb attitude, i know, but it works.
WorkingAtHome said:
A 800VA transformer with primary connected but secondary not connected consumes about 400VA of reactive power. The corresponding current generates a rather strong low frequency electromagnetic field (H field). No mains filter can filter that.
So, mains cable geometry counts for sure. One can find enough info in EMC books to evaluate "how much".
A transformer has also inter-winding capacitance (it can be measured approximatively with a multimeter). At least this provides a path for high frequency currents (example: diode switch-off noise if no snubber or capacitor across rectifier bridge). This HF current must return to its emitter else it won't go anywhere. For exemple, the current loop may pass through mains, another audio device, and interconnects. This is quite a huge loop, so it's quite susceptible to be noisy. Past a frequency, any cable reacts as a transmission line (with +/- losses). This impacts the "how much sensitivity vs/frequency".
So, HF behavior of mains and interconnect cables may count. And it is maybe the reason why a "fantastic" cable used by somebody can sound "dull" on somebody's else equipment.
Yoghourt
P.S. not talking about HF, a mains cable gives a replica of *voltages*, not *power*. And electromagnetic compatibility is most of time a matter of *current* (so say my books, burr-brown, analog device, etc...).