Alembic Guitars Club
Connecting => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: jazzyvee on December 03, 2013, 11:09:18 PM
-
No, I'm not going to buy one but this came up on a web search and out of curiousity I just wondered if there is any clear audible and tangible merit to the claims for these power cables given all the variables there are to getting a good bass tone and this not even being in the audio chain.
http://www.essentialsound.com/musiccord-power-cord/index.htm (http://www.essentialsound.com/musiccord-power-cord/index.htm)
Jazzyvee
-
No. My first thought is 'what's the wiring like inside the wall on the other side of the receptacle' ? Not to mention dimmer noise, fluorescents, sagging / surging voltage, the ice machine is on the SAME circuit, and there's only two receptacles for the whole band? Doesn't fix any of that ! Regardless of your AC cable, it's only as good as what it's getting from the wall, and often, it could be a lot better, which this won't fix.
This reminds me of those $1000 a foot speaker cables. Then you open up your high-end speakers only to find cheapo 20 guage wire from the crossovers to the drivers and a solder job that looks like it was done by a crackhead.
J o e y
-
Jazzy,
In many pro audio blogs folks make fun of such products . I have seen very expensive short power cords and the laughable oxygen free copper wire speaker interconnects sell for more then just hundreds of USD $$$$, but in four figures. Some folks buy them ! LOL ______!!!!!! If you want really good speaker cables 12 gauge or even 10 gauge cables with heavy insulation can be made cheep by ones self.
Upon reading the specifications this cord is constructed ONLY of 16 AWG with a power rated load of only 13 AMPS. I recently acquired an old Crown Macro Tech 2400 power amp with a higher AMP load rating then that with a thicker power cord.
I have made my own from 250V rated 10 Gauge 3 conductor that will handle the current draw of my table saw @ 15 to 20 Amps and higher for less then half their price with a much longer length. I used all of the best connectors with clamp strain relief and even used shrink tubing.
From a sonic standpoint in my opinion you would invest your money better in a top of the line surge suppressor like a Trip-Lite ISO BAR Ultra or a Furman type unit with line noise filtering and filtering for EMI/ RF interference .
Wolf
-
Joey ,
I see that you were thinking all the same stuff that I was !
Wolf
-
I've read about an A/B listening test with high end speaker cables vs. auto jumper cables.
Guess which came out on top. ;)
-
Looks like a way to separate folks from $150. The only thing that really matters in a power chord is voltage drop due to resistance. This only becomes a potential issue with long runs. In this case the chord is so short it doesn't matter as long as it is capable of handling the current draw of the attached device. I would just stick with the OEM power chord the equipment came with. For cases where you need longer runs, over 10 feet or so, I would use either 10 or 12 AWG extension chords.
For speaker cables again it is resistance. Oxygen free copper is just an more expensive way to reduce resistance. Same with some of the silver conductor speaker cable I've seen pitched to audiophiles. Using a larger gauge cable can accomplish similar results. For most folks the runs from the amp to speakers are so short resistance won't have a noticeable effect anyway. A lot of the audio industry is based on selling folks improvements that can only measured in a lab. People don't seem to realize there are lots of things that can be measured that will never be noticeable in the real world.
Keith
-
FWIW: sometimes you might not want to hear what those expensive cables are revealing...
Case in point: I've tried using relatively expensive Zaolla (high silver content) cable with my electric guitars and basses and discovered that it delivers a pronounced harsh clacky high end that is not very musical to my ear.
However, when used with my amplified acoustic guitars, it delivers a nice shimmer to the high end with rich full mids and solid bass.
As such, I prefer either George L's or Bullet cable with my electric instruments and I use the shortest lengths possible for the intended purpose. Low noise and good tone.
On the other hand, the Zaolla speaker cable is very nice and does improve the sound much like removing a towel or blanket from the front of your speaker cabinet or the difference between old and new strings.
And I agree with the remarks above that the quality of the power coming out of the wall has a greater impact on overall sound quality than cable - especially with tube-powered equipment.
-
Well, I by no means count myself as an expert, but this product strikes me as a huge, steaming mound of bu..., er, marketing.
Peter
-
Over my time I've seen speaker cables made out of regular lamp cord (it is AC after all), a PA contractor I worked for swore by welding (!) cable, and another friend waits to catch to catch those big 50-foot orange 12ga extension cords on sale at Home Depot or Lowes, then cuts them up into several speaker cables !
J o e y
-
Joey ,YES ___ those orange 12ga extension cords make good speaker cables , I have put dual banana plugs on them for a certain set of speaker cabinets once or twice !
-
I've used bulk rubber jacketed power cable to make speaker cables for my PA's and bass rigs for years. It holds up well to all of the abuse that PA cables get.
On a side note here is a link to an analysis (http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cables.shtml) of instrument cables.
Keith
-
the victor wooten model...
why did vic endorse this?
http://www.essentialsound.com/wooten-musiccord-pro-power-cord/index.htm (http://www.essentialsound.com/wooten-musiccord-pro-power-cord/index.htm)
-
Because he was compensated.
Keith
-
Theres this awesome bass that sounds really great.
No impossible. The best sounding bass was made in the 1950's by Fender.
Go Listen.
Nope, don't need to.
You guys should go LISTEN for yourselves. See if you hear it or not.
I'm glad Ron uses Belden 3424 and not some stuff he found at a hardware store.
Standing Waves
http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_2/chpt_14/6.html (http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_2/chpt_14/6.html)
-
____LOL ___!
-
Some years ago I got a bunch of high end Furutech cable stuff from work...I made speaker cables and interconnects that made a HUGE difference in my stereo; I also got a Furutech wall outlet and power cable parts...the outlet was amazing in how well it was made; imagine all your wiring done by Ferrari, quality beyond...thing is, I don't think you improve anything in the power section unless you go this far back, so spend the money on interconnects and speaker cables...I know they make a difference..
-
Remember that the power behind the wall was installed by an apprentice using the cheapest components available, and he/she was probably hung-over at the time.
John