Power Cord Possibilities
 

I have to keep the naming conventions consistent . . .

First, unlike my preamp and speaker threads, this one starts out not as a "what if" but as "plan to buy." I would like to clean up my power cord situation, not for sonic but for style reasons.

Currently there are three brands of power cords in my setup, as you can see from my signature: WW Stratus is on the CD, main BDP, Furman SPR-20i (via adapter) and the TV; WW Aurora is on the C2300; and WW Electras are on the 501s; all are 5.2. There are PS Audio Jewel ACs on the LD player, tuner, Oppo BDP, VPI SDS, the Duo VP and the Furman Elite. Finally, I have a Shunyata Venom extension cord connecting everything to the wall. The extension is necessary due to the room layout. I plan to replace the Jewel ACs on the LD and tuner with WW Stratus, thus sources will be uniform (except for the TT, which is a captive cord). My Aragon IPS (power supply for the phono preamp) is using the stock cord also.

It's the power setup that I'm most concerned with. I have nothing against the Jewels, but the two Furmans are on adjacent shelves and I don't like the 2m Jewel connecting them; I want something shorter. I could move the 1m Jewel from the Oppo to the Furman Elite and put the Oppo's stock cord back on (which I just thought of), but the stock cord is too long also. The Oppo doesn't play through the system, so I'm not concerned about uniformity, but that may call for another Stratus.

The biggest question is how to handle the power conditioner connections. There is a 3m Stratus on the SPR which the Venom then takes to the wall. I am thinking of a 3m Venom or Venom HC to replace the Stratus. The concern there is that the cord would be useless or create clutter in a future setup where an extension or long cord isn't needed. The other option is the 12AWG, 25 ft. extension cord I have which would allow me to get a better power cord for the SPR. The problem there is that the 25 ft. is WAY too long for my current needs and would create its own clutter. The idea is to shorten power cord runs, not make them longer.

Transparent also makes power cords, the Performance and High Performance PowerLink in particular. I could get a custom Performance (5m) and run it all the way to the wall. Or a 3m High Performance, and keep the Venom in place. Now that's four brands of cord! Whatever I decide on the SPR will be duplicated on the Elite in a 1m version.

There is also the matter of speaker cables. I would like shorter runs on my speaker cable. The choices are Kimber 12TC (Hero IC is currently on all sources) and Transparent MusicWave Plus (MusicLink Plus IC connects pre and power amps). We're talking about two 4 ft. pair of either. The Transparent would be $1790, the Kimber about half that. I don't necessarily like the color of the Kimber's jacket, but at $900 less I could learn to live with it (by the way, anyone who has experience with both is welcome to chime in).

For whatever reason I obsess with these things. If anyone has an idea which will clear through my clutter, whether philosophical or practical, feel free. There are too many expenses (plane tickets for one) coming up for me to spend a lot of money, but I am set to resolve this and want the most sensible way. I've thought of one as I've typed, but will sit with it for a day or two.

You are giving us a lot of information with a lot of dfferent components and PCs. It would help if you made a diagram showing the physical layout of the room with accurate scale locations of racks, power conditioners and the location of the outlets.

Then give a more clear understanding of what you want to achieve.

Some wide-angle photos of the room and eq might help also.

Perhaps deal with the signal cables separately as this is complicated.

cg

Hello Mr. Gabriel,

What I really want to do is streamline my cord setup and in the most practical, affordable way possible. This is not about sound, really, but about efficiency and reducing clutter. I am in the midst of a massive clean-up and don't have any current photos. I do have some pre-clean-up ones from a few months back and earlier, and am a bit embarrassed with them because I hadn't dusted in a long time and it's an old building so dust gathers quickly, especially around electronics. Nevertheless, I've attached a few.

I had thought it might be good to have both Furman units (on the bottom shelves of the center rack) with the same brand of cord. Currently the Elite bottom right) is connected to the SPR via a 2m PS Audio (it's the one on the floor, looping out from the pack in the rear shot of the system). That's much too long. The easy thing would be to get another WW Stratus since that's what is on the SPR, but your gracious, helpful presence on this forum has me thinking about Shunyata cords, and whether I should get perhaps a Venom/Venom HC for the SPR to use with the Venom extension already in place, or use my 25 ft. extension and move up to a Viper. I don't know which of those options, as a practical matter, is better (I do think the longer extension cord defeats the purpose or reducing clutter, however). Perhaps you'd have ideas on that.

I also made a PDF of an old floor layout of the living room. This is a one bedroom apartment so space is limited. The room is 14 x 18.5. The black boxes are where the wall plugs are. The one the system is plugged into is just to the right of the rack in the last photo and on the left wall in the PDF.

I have some velcro strips to use for the interconnects, and that will help some. I also want to go from 6' runs of speaker cable to 4'. I won't be doing all this at once, as there are too many other expenses to contend with in the coming months, but I'd like to start, at least.

Well, without being there and sitting down with you I don't see a way to make specific suggestions by using your existing cables. So, let me make some general suggestions.

You have a complex system with many components including audio and video. In such a system, there are many cables to interconnect and power everything. Then you end up with the tangled mess that you have in the back of the system. This is also one of my personal pet peeves about entertainment systems. The ultimate and best solution is to build a false wall or custom cabinetry that allows access to the rear so that all of the cabling is hidden.

The racks you have are a very open type that allows you to see through. If you acquired a different entertainment cabinet with a baseboard, you could achieve much of the same effect that you would get with a false wall setup.

Most power cords are about 6-8 feet long whiich is usually too long when you have a central power distributor. This means that there is a lot of excess wire that drops to the floor and can potentially interfer with the signal cables. Try to first organize your equipment so as to minimize the lengths of interconnects to each component. Then if possible arrange the components that are vertically stacked by the location of the power inlet. This means to pay attention to which side the power inlet in located. Arrange the componenets with the inlet on the left together vertically and vice-versa right sides. This allows you to run the power cabling vertically up the rack on a single side of the rack. Then these cords can be bundled together with velcro straps. (You should never bundle power cord AND signal cables together but it is allowable with power cords. BTW, never wrap power cords around a rack column or support if made of metal. This will induce harmful currents in the rack.)

With the components arranged, then you could have custom power power cords built to specific lengths so that the cords do not hang down to the floor. Usually it is best to use power cords that are not too thick, stiff or oddly shaped (flat) because this makes it difficult to route the cables where you want them to go. This creates a more orderly appearance and can improve performance by minimizing potential interference issues. This is what we do in PRO installations where the number of components and cabling is very complex.

Very sorry I couln't help you with more specific advice.

Let's see if the guys here have any good suggestions.

cg

Actually, that's good information, even if general. Some I'd thought of, but some I hadn't, and that was the point of putting the whole scenario out there. My audiophile genes don't run as deeply as many here, and it made sense to me that someone else may have an idea I wouldn't think of (for example, not wrapping power cords around metal; I hadn't thought of doing that and now won't, for sure). Shorter speaker cable runs will get them away from the outside racks, as I have them running inside the racks to minimize the slack; they're those blue/black cables in the foreground of each rear photo. I will velcro the interconnects, as I had them before, but will velcro the power cords separately if necessary. Looking at the back of the racks, I could get away with 1.5m cords and even 1m in some places if I arrange things right. Some of the source components are set based on their power inlet, but mostly are set based on nearness to source material (i.e., the laserdisc player is positioned near the laserdiscs) and according to rack spaces (the same player doesn't fit in the center rack).

This could mean replacing more than the 2 or 3 cords I first thought, if I want to do it right; even most of them, perhaps. This project isn't going to be complete quickly, for sure. The more I think about it, the bigger it's getting.

Thanks for your very helpful input and suggestions, Mr. Gabriel.

One of the advantages of the Sanus Euro racks is the cable management openings at the rear of each shelf. I haven't taken full advantage of those, in part because my IC lengths don't accommodate that in a few cases. I do use them to help offset the extra-long (in my current setup) speaker cables, and maybe I could reroute a power cord or two once shorter speaker cables are in place.

And though it's the least problematic in terms of clutter, for the power conditioners I have contacted Shunyata for help on ballpark pricing for 5m and 1m (15A) Venom HCs, as well as a 3m and a 1m Venom 3. Since my system doesn't pull much power (around 5.5A when watching DVDs) 12AWG is plenty, so I have the option of keeping things as is or going for at least a 1m version of something to connect the two Furmans. The 2m Jewel AC there now must go!

But before I replace every power cord with a shorter one I should work things through more carefully first. Holiday season is coming and I've already spent extra on plane tickets, so money might be an issue short-term. For now the only obvious move is replacing the speaker cables with shorter runs. I haven't had much chance to do detailed analysis because it's been so hectic. I worked OT every day but one for the last 2 weeks, plus a full day yesterday. Combined with necessary time for lesson preparations (I'm a Sunday school teacher at my church), there's been little time to concoct any serious plans of action. My first thought is to simply bundle ICs and then power cords with velcro strips to see how that looks first. That may tell me where to go next.

Still considering whether to put Venom HCs on my MC501 amps. Not because I need them but I'm curious about the sound and if it would be different from the WW 5.2 Electras I have now. The same curiosity exists about the Kimber PK10s. If I went with something else the question would be what to do with the Electras; I think they're too good to sit idle. I have one idea, which is to chain them via WW's adaptor and if they don't quite get to the wall I'd keep the Venom extension in place. That's extra length (6m vs. 5m), but that's okay. Or chain one Electra to the Stratus already in use, eliminating the extension. All this must be considered in light of an expensive vacation, about $1700 total, plus the real possibility of having to replace my home printer. While in Texas I came across a dealer who sold both Kimber and Shunyata, but he was appointment only and I wasn't in a position to wait for a return call to set up one, and certainly not for a power cord. Again, this is more about efficiency and clutter reduction, but if the sound improves as a result, that's fine too.

Meantime I got some shorter HDMI cables for a reconfig with my VP just before leaving for the holidays. I have ideas on that, too.

Maybe I'll work on things or at least decide some things and make progress before returning to work Monday.

My rack consists of four maple shelves, one 4" thick, and three 2" thick. They are supported by six 48" steel rods. I do have power cords, Z Cobra, Velcro attached to the two end rods in the rear for strain relief. The cords are not wrapped around the rod, but just touch the rod where the Velcro is applied. My feeling is since wood is an insulator the cables being attached to the rod are not causing any interference. At least I hope so.

No problem.

:thumbsup:

It was an interesting time while away on vacation from 12/19 to 12/30. I watched the Weather Channel and saw the crazy weather all over the country with winter storm Gemini. I watched with some concern that the southern part of it would spin up strong, even dangerous storms over the weekend before Christmas. I would be flying into the path of this by flying into Nashville 12/19. Sure enough, the nasty weather was to hit Nashville Saturday the 21st.

I was at an extended stay hotel, on the first floor, watching weather updates during the day on the 21st. I finally turned off the TV after the New Mexico Bowl, won by Colorado State in a real interesting game, especially at the end. At about 8:45pm I hear what sounded like a tornado siren. I went out to the front lobby but saw no one behind the counter. The siren stopped. I went back to my room.

A couple of minutes later, the sirens start again. I go out to the front desk; the clerk is there. Yes, he hears the siren and is monitoring the storm's progress on radar. He has it up on the display at the front desk, in fact. The storm is currently in downtown Nashville; the hotel is northeast of there. It should get to us in about 15 minues, he said. If need be he will take necessary action. Not being reassured much by that, I went back to my room and gathered some essentials should I need to bolt quickly. I turned on the TV for another update. A brief image of what looked like high wind reports, then the screen went black. The sirens start again as a stark message appears:

EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM
TORNADO WARNING
SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY

I go into the hallway and sit down on the floor, waiting. I try calling a friend, whom I first had to convince this was a potentially serious circumstance. After a short talk, I wait for . . . whatever. Others are in the hallway, not seeming to take things as seriously as I. The rain starts, the wind picks up. It rains REALLY hard for a bit along with gusts. A bit of lightning and thunder. That's over in about 15 minutes or so. The rain slacks off some but is still steady. The tornado warning is cancelled at 9:15pm, but a tornado watch continued until midnight. I decide to stay up until then just in case. Other than an occasional flash of lightning not much more happened. Ultimately, there was an inch of rain, 40 mph gusts, about 9400 people who lost power, and perhaps some minor flooding in parts of the city (A local reporter was reporting from a partially flooded parking lot).

In Texas to visit my sister 12/22–12/28, it got progressively warmer each day, and by the end of Christmas week it approached normal temps for the area (low/mid 60s; it was 47 when I arrived Monday). I couldn't get her to agree to a record cleaning machine for Christmas, so I got her a Pro-Ject record cleaning brush and some Nitty Gritty sleeves to replace the paper ones. A minor victory, as she's not a gadget person at all. I wanted to go by a store selling Shunyata and Kimber power cords hoping to make some comparison, but the store's appointment only; not for a power cord, I thought. Plus, I was leaving town the next day and didn't want to wait for the guy to call back. Oh well.

In my battle against cable clutter, I've had an idea. I hooked up my VPI 'table directly to the C2300 originally, but abandoned that due to the fact that I was impatient to break in the tubes and knew I'd use the line stage far more than the phono section. Plus, I had to fill in empty shelves on my racks, right? So the phono preamp went back in.

Now, it occurs that if I put the phono into the 2300 I will be able to eliminate one power cord and one pair of interconnects. Plus, I could even take out two shelves. Time to do some sample reconfig diagrams, before I start unplugging or pulling stuff out of the system though. One friend already doesn't like the idea; she says things are nice and balanced as is. I attached a current configuration photo from a few months back, and one with the 12TC in place to see how that looks.

Two PDFs, one of the current setup and one without the Aragon 47k and its power supply. Perhaps it does give the TV a more prominent look.
Meantime, a dose of reality in the form of a 4% rent increase for the next lease. That'll be in the back of my head as I consider how to approach the cable clutter/power cord issues here.

The 47k power supply could get a shorter cord running to the Furman Elite, but the umbilical from the supply to the turntable is hard-wired at the supply, so no help there.

I just ordered a Venom 3s for the TV, and a 1.5m WW Stratus for the CD player. The Stratus now on the TV will go to the tuner.

I just received my Venom 3s cord. On it, there's a tag that says, "Caution. The drain wire in this cord is not terminated to any of the terminals in the connector." What does that mean?

Dude how many places have you posted this. I have answered this in Welcome to Caelin thread.

Looks like only three... :sigh:

Yes, I was torn over where to post the question, where it seemed most appropriate versus where I'd be most likely to generate an answer, then didn't go back to delete at least one of the posts. Sorry.

Anyway, the Venom 3s is on the TV and at first I thought, not much difference. But I think it's begun to open up more. And the sound seems to be more dimensional, meaning sound beyond the speaker borders. This seems to happen more often than it did with the WW that was there before. I'd need to listen/watch more familiar material to evaluate this, but I'm not much one for critical evaluations. I'd rather listen normally and if I notice anything then, it's meaningful.

Meantime, the WW Stratus (5.2) that was on the TV is now on the tuner, replacing a PS Audio Jewel. Preliminary indications are it has done something similar for the tuner. Sound itself is about the same, but it seems to have more dimension to it. This is listening to NPR mostly. I'll have to try stations that play more music.

This doesn't help my clutter issue, but the performance changes I perceive are nice. I would have to replace everything with shorter power cables (say 4 ft.) and the dilemma there is an unnecessary expense versus helping things look neater. We'll also see if the WW cables become problematic for bundling.

Old thread, but I am considering replacing the current setup on my Furman SPR-20i. Now, there is a Wireworld Stratus with a Pangea 20A-15A adapter connected to the SPR; the Stratus gets to the wall via a Shunyata Venom extension cord. Because of concerns about the connection's stability, I'm thinking of getting a cord with a true 20A IEC (Venom HC perhaps) and getting it to the wall via a regular 12AWG extension. There are Transparent and Kimber ICs in the system, so the replacement could be either one of those brands as well, just with a 20A IEC. Alternatively, I could get an adapter to connect the Venom HC to the Stratus and remove the Venom extension.

I wonder if there's any virtue in making such a change other than improving the IEC connection. Wireworld cords don't offer the best IEC grip on my gear, and that's my main concern.

Or, another idea is to get a WW adapter which will allow me to use my 3m Stratus or Aurora with the SPR's stock 20A cord. Not sure which is the best way to go vs. a premium cord and regular extension. The cheapest move is the adaptor.

Can anyone recommend decent budget power cord to replace the factory one on my mcintosh mx150 and mc205? Thanks!

The term "budget" may mean different things to different people, but based on my concept of the term there are several options.

Despite my writing about their less-than-tight IEC connections in another thread, Wireworld makes good power cords at reasonable prices, notably the Stratus, Aurora, and Electra. There are the Shunyata Venom and Venom HC. Transparent makes the Performance PowerLink and High Performance PowerLink. And there's Kimber's PowerKord 10 Base and Ascent.

All the above are under $500, some are well under. These are for 2m lengths (6 feet in the Kimber's case).

Thanks prepress. the wireworld Stratus is exactly what I've been looking for.

Yes, I have no complaints about how things sound with them, or the Electras either. I have Stratus cords on my sources (except the turntable, which has a captive cord).

I use Transparent premium on sources and Transparent Reference on Bryston amp.

My experience with Transparent's Plus interconnects suggests their power cords would be good also. But my wallet would limit me to the High Performance or (maybe) Premiums. Reference is way out of my league. My main thought now is a power cord for my Furman SPR-20i VR, which is a 20A unit. I'm considering a Shunyata Venom HC for that, then a heavy-gauge extension to get it to the wall. This would replace a Wireword Stratus/Pangea adapter combo.

Well, I bought a VooDoo Cable 15A to 20A IEC adapter for the WW cord on the Furman. I ordered it from Masterlu. What a difference! Much better grip than the Pangea adapter. I'd be much more confident poking around behind the system now, not concerned about dislodging the cord or breaking the connection.

I also got a C7 adapter for my LD player. Not as solid a grip, but I should untie the velcro strip holding the cord up to really test that.

I'm more off the deep end than I thought. I keep coming back to these Transparent power cords and wonder if they'd make any difference on my MC501s: High Performance and Premium. This is curiosity more than anything, as it's not about sound, and I certainly don't need to buy anything. I need to start watching my discretionary spending more.

But, since I have Transparent Plus ICs from preamp to power amp, perhaps it would make theoretical sense? The Premium PC and Plus IC are in the same family. Or Kimber PK10 Ascent PCs, since I have 12TC speaker cable? On the other hand, all PCs are Wireworld currently, so is that consistency preferable?

I think my sense of completeness is showing. Perhaps, unless someone has experience with these Transparents or the Kimber to share, especially in comparison, I should let this go (if I can; so far the answer is no).

I can see how all this audio stuff can become a hobby. And if one isn't careful, an obsession . . .

The other option to consider is the previous generation mm2 reference power cord. Since transparent released the new G5 reference cables, the mm2 can be had for around $600. While not as good as the new G5 reference they are an awesome value. I purchased one and felt it was a noticeable upgrade from my power link premium.

The Transparent store offers only up to Premium level for PCs. So if I wanted to take the plunge, I'd have to look around. Thanks for the suggestion.

As a result of my IEC connection woes (detailed in another thread), I am more actively looking at brands other than Wireworld. Since My ICs are Kimber and Transparent, I thought I should look at them first, but am also including Furutech and Pangea. I see no need to go beyond these four at this time.

The budget is tight, so I won't be looking at their premium stuff. Preliminary perusals of literature reveal that Furutech and Pangea make specific mention of tight-gripping IECs. I will most likely take a chance on one of the four brands to start, and if I'm pleased with the connection, move to order more of that cord over time for all sources except the turntable, which has a captive cord (the phono preamp, however, does not, so I guess the turntable qualifies after all). Meantime, I'm trying to use photographer's tape to support the WW IECs that are the most troublesome.

My preference is Acoustic Zen cables. They are large and heavy though.

I think it is very important to note the following: I have been using WW power cords for over 20 years, and not had a single case of a sagging cord.

I employ over 200 of them throughout all my installations; here is just one system.

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attac...1&d=1469113694

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attac...1&d=1469113699

In addition, a while back I used a micrometer to measure the WW IEC end and compared them to Furutech, Pangea, MIT, and Cardas. They all varied less than .001"

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attac...1&d=1469113907

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attac...1&d=1469113912

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attac...1&d=1469113923

http://www.audioaficionado.org/attac...1&d=1469113931

Your problem is on the receiving end (gear side) not the power cord.

Ivan, that is an amazing cord management system. My head spins just looking at it.

Well, your equipment is better than mine. :D

In Furutech's case, their grip is due to a "wire-clamping mechanism" unique to them, which wouldn't have much to do with the outside dimensions. As you noted, the IEC connectors are all pretty close to one another in that regard. Pangea supposedly discovered a new IEC that has a "death grip" (not my language, theirs), which is incorporated into their newer cables. And that's probably tied to the internals of the IEC as well.

One thing about the WW cords' flat profile is that it's more difficult to maneuver them side-to-side if the IEC's not vertical; up and down is fine. The lateral inflexibility is magnified by the short lengths I have (1m on the BDP and preamp). I will be taking another look at the existing setup before I go whole-hog on replacements, but some of this is curiosity as to what difference, if any, other brands would make. That's why Kimber and Transparent come in, frankly.

The El Nino is 12AWG, not bad. Maybe I should consider that as well.

FWIW, I have quite a few new Furutech PC's and they don't grip any tighter on the IEC end than other brands.

That's good info. Thanks.

Your photos have given me an idea regarding my previous statement about "taking another look" at my setup. The longer cords might be repositioned to reduce any downward pull of the IEC, whether or not those cords have been a problem. The shorter ones, however, are another issue. With those, either the tape will work or they'll have to be replaced, whether with longer WWs or another brand. So I'll be working both ends of this.

I put an extra piece of tape on the preamp cord (the biggest troublemaker), and it's holding quite well, nice and level. The extra piece isn't all the way around, just on the underside of the IEC connector.

The extra piece of tape was put on because I took my preamp out to change tubes, and when it was reconnected the IEC drooped and didn't keep the connection. I also pulled up some more slack in the cord.

I changed tubes in my preamp this past Saturday, and again had to struggle with the power cord as it drooped and lost connection. I am now considering actively a new PC for the preamp. Since the ICs and SC are all either Kimber or Transparent, perhaps I should start with their cords. The other PCs are Wireworld, however; haven't thought seriously about changing them just yet, as they are far less trouble, not being moved as often. But I have thought about it.

Right now I'm checking out Kimber's Ascent series and Transparent's High Performance series. With the Ascents, the main difference between them and the Basics is the connector being gold-plated. The jacket seems gray, versus the Basics' black. Transparent Premium is the comparable PC to the Plus ICs I have, but comes in the 2m length only; custom lengths are optional, but not really worth it to me. Those I've wondered about for my amps, wit the High Performance ones for the sources.

I should wait, probably, until the holidays and attendant expenses blow over since I'm not rich, but these "replace" impulses tend to be insistent.