Audio Grade power cords - all hype?

[Randall]

Mercury Magnetics is touting a large red 14g power cord that they say will make any amp sound better. The argument is that it continues the 14g run in a building right up to your amp without bottle necking the current in your 18g power cable, or cheap power strip for that matter I suppose. Their 14g cables also have larger strands with more copper content.

I understand the argument, but what about the wiring inside the chassis? Wouldn't everything on the primary side of the PT have to be 14g for this to hold true?

I know amps sound worse on a long extention cord on outdoor gigs, and that they even get hot. But for a 6 -8 foot power cable, does it really make a difference? Plus did they have to make them red? Couldn't run one on a vintage amp build, total vibe killer.

And now I see the $130 cord from ESP.

[M Fowler]

I look for hospital grade IEC cords which are 14ga at least and some have in line filters.

Saved $130 that way and some come with angled IEC plug.

[ToneMerc]

Mercury Magnetics is touting a large red 14g power cord that they say will make any amp sound better. The argument is that it continues the 14g run in a building right up to your amp without bottle necking the current in your 18g power cable, or cheap power strip for that matter I suppose. Their 14g cables also have larger strands with more copper content.

I understand the argument, but what about the wiring inside the chassis? Wouldn't everything on the primary side of the PT have to be 14g for this to hold true?

I know amps sound worse on a long extention cord on outdoor gigs, and that they even get hot. But for a 6 -8 foot power cable, does it really make a difference? Plus did they have to make them red? Couldn't run one on a vintage amp build, total vibe killer.

The premise that the benefits of 6 or 10 foot of 14AWG outside the chassis is far more beneficial that any negatives of the last 8-10 inches of 18AWG that terminates the primary winding.

I picked up a couple of the HD cables when I ordered an OT awhile back. At around 9 bucks a pop I wasn't too concerned if it lived up to the hype or not, I just figured they were kind of different and it balanced out for all the free 16 and 18AWG IEC cables that I had run across in the past.

They would have been absolutely crazy not to make them red, it's all about Mercury Magnetics marketing and brand recognition. Why would MM market a "mojo" cable that from 6' away looks like any other black IEC cable?

TM

[ampgeek]

As you rightfully suspect...it is snake oil for our neck of the woods. Uber sensitive electrical circuits.....maybe not.

You can buy a whole butt load of 14 ga SJ/SJO cable at Home De-pot for that kind of money!!

Punch in some numbers here to get a feeling for voltage drops across wiring.

http://www.southwire.com/support/voltag ... ulator.htm

You will see that for 20 ft'ish lengths of cable we are talking less than ~1% drop at a couple of amps. Anyone here (me included) who checks the wall voltage at their home/playing venues will likely tell you that they see +/- 3 or 4% from day-to-day and time-to-time. And...if there was a negative impact on amp performance from that...we would have certainly heard about it here by now.

So..save your money. Or...use it to buy some nice NOS tubes for your favorite rig!!

Cheers,
Dave O.

[Phil_S]

I'm not going to comment on the silliness of the $130 line cord.

Read here: http://www.stealth316.com/2-wire-resistance.htm
What this tells us about extension cords is that they need to be heavier gauge for longer runs. Otherwise, the wire gets too hot (dangerous) and you get a brown out at the amp. Sure, it will affect the tone.

[Reeltarded]

Latex paint makes your speakers sound better. That power cable has to work. They wouldn't sell it if it didn't.

[M Fowler]

I think the power cord does make a difference I have my long gray hospital grade IEC cord plugged into my PCB Express and it sounds great.

Paid $3.50 for that 10ft gray cord at my local surplus center.

[LeftyStrat]

I think even more important than selecting the power cord, is realizing the need to put a figure eight knot in it approximately three inches from the IEC connector. This scrambles and accelerates the electrons right before they hit the power transformer which helps to saturate and thicken the sound. It also tends to throw the bad electrons off the track, sort of like those old slot car tracks we had as kids. Try it, you'll be amazed at the change in sound.

Another thing that can have a negative impact is letting the power cable run across the floor. You can buy expensive cable elevators, to keep the ground from making electrons sluggish, but I've found using wooden chop sticks in a teepee pattern works great, as long as you use LeftyStrat's Special Camo Duct Tape ($43.95 at discriminating sound suppliers).

But the most important key to great sound is 10,000 hours of practice time:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outliers_(book)

I was going to make a joke about how we all should be as good a driver as Mario Andretti by now, but when I did the math, if you drive on average two hours a day, it would still take a little over 96 years to hit 10,000 hours.

I guess after all this ramble, the message is that you're probably better off spending your hard-earned money locking yourself away for a weekend of nonstop practice, rather than wasting it on tone enhancing BS. After all, if any John Doe with bucks can buy the same power cable, you haven't gained any advantage. But matching those 10,000 hours is incredibly hard.

[chief mushroom cloud]

edit:
ok...after Lefty's diatribe....I redact my antagonistic response.

[Randall]

All jokes aside, I believe the argument isn't so much about voltage as it is about current draw, which yes I realize the two are part of the equation. But. Assuming the videos demos I have seen are truthful, and I know that is a stretch, how can the better tone be explained? Play an amp with this cord, and now play it with that cord. If the sound is better, what's up?

[chief mushroom cloud]

'better' is subjective.....why do half dead batteries in fuzz faces sound better?


edit: ok, to be fair....in a mix (when you know damn well you're going to be brickwalled to make room for the vocal and bass guitar)or live in a bar w/ the whole band playing, background noise, and inebriated audience...just how much of a difference does it really make?

[M Fowler]

Damn sound guy I've been down sized to a 2 watt amp now.

[LeftyStrat]

All jokes aside, I believe the argument isn't so much about voltage as it is about current draw, which yes I realize the two are part of the equation. But. Assuming the videos demos I have seen are truthful, and I know that is a stretch, how can the better tone be explained? Play an amp with this cord, and now play it with that cord. If the sound is better, what's up?

Is it better, or has the placebo effect kicked in? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo)

Could you pick it out in a double blind, where neither you nor the person throwing the switch knows which is which?

I find it fascinating that orange capacitors are considered bright. That yellow capacitors are considered mellow. That blue capacitors are great for blues.

I dare say there is not a person here that can identify caps in a double blind test. There are some differences that we can MEASURE. There is voltage related distortion in ceramics. Otherwise, I challenge every member of this board to identify a Mallard 150 vs any form of Orange drop in a double blind listening test.

Mojo is a sales tactic, just like the emperors invisible clothes.

[chief mushroom cloud]

I do believe there is a measurable difference, albeit subtle. How that translates audibly.....it would be easy to hook an amp up to a variac and dial it back a forth a few volts while the amp is on and see 'hear' if there's a SIGNIFICANT difference....
But I'm w/ Mr Fowler on this....really good 14awg cords from surplus at surplus prices is the way to go....MM is entirely hype on all their products. Unless you want red. What's a red sharpie cost?

[ampgeek]

Good call Cloud! I had my 21 yr old daughter (who is my "tone muse") listen while playing my 75 LP custom into my 64 BF Deluxe plugged into a variac. The variac ouput went to a duplex outlet so I could measure on the fly.

I played the same passages, as identically as possible, back to back at 110V, 115V and 120V and asked her to listen carefully for ANY change. I shuffled the adjustments around during the "test" (e.g., not the same order of the voltages).

Other than the unavoidable differences in each "performance" (pick attack's effect on volume, mistakes, etc..), she couldn't discern any differences. She had no idea what I was changing so she wasn't predisposed in any way.

She listens alot to me playing the the various pedals and amps that I am always building and is quite objective in her critiques. So...I trust her ears and ability to describe what she hears implicitly.

Good enough for me!!

Cheers,
Dave O.