What Is The Best Geometry For Power Cables?

[DaveC]

Dave the concept of a good PC is deliver more current with less noise.

I was just thinking the increase in dynamics we commonly perceive in good PCs is the result of a high current slew rate ability. The voltage drop across any reasonably sized PC is going to be nearly identical, but there may be a BIG difference in current delivery rate of change due to the propagation speed of the wave in the wire.

It is said that the electrons in our wiring moves at the speed of light, but that is not the truth. The LCR of the cable affects the propagation speed, and while many cables may be near the speed of light, a super low inductance ribbon cable (Goertz) might have a propagation speed only 1/5 that of light.

So, I think some balance of noise rejection or filtering, along with high propagation speeds are key. Also, this explains why larger diameter conductors usually sound better, it's not that the wire is not capable of supplying the correct voltage and AVERAGE amperage, it's that a larger diameter wire is capable of a higher current slew rate vs. a smaller diameter wire.

Because of this, I am thinking when I modify my power cords to have two 14g wires for hot and neutral vs one, it should make for a slight improvement. And probably more of an improvement in a power amp vs. a source component... I think this is why different PCs are best in different components, it depends on whether current slew rate or filtering will be a bigger advantage.

It is telling that no "industry" types have replied... I think that anyone can buy the same receptacles and connectors but it's the geometry that makes the difference between a decent cord and a great cord.

[Werd]

A great cord to do what? Any power cord will power your system. But there is no criteria here. Where is the strategy here? Power cord placement and ic placement are used in accenting a person's personal sonic identity. Thats what makes cords and ic's so appealing. Some are fast and some are colored, some cords lift bass off the ground while others give you fat bottom clear bass sounds. All are competant designs. Creating a very a low impedance connection sounds great and works but it may not be what i would want as a main motive, specifically with a particular component feeding a particular speaker.

Oh and i think its cool you are building your cables btw and posting pics. 

[DaveC]

A great cord to do what? Any power cord will power your system. But there is no criteria here. Where is the strategy here? Power cord placement and ic placement are used in accenting a person's personal sonic identity. Thats what makes cords and ic's so appealing. Some are fast and some are colored, some cords lift bass off the ground while others give you fat bottom clear bass sounds. All are competant designs. Creating a very a low impedance connection sounds great and works but it may not be what i would want as a main motive, specifically with a particular component feeding a particular speaker.

Oh and i think its cool you are building your cables btw and posting pics. 

At this point I don't know, which is why I started this thread... I was looking for recommendations on PC geometry. But I haven't got much feedback so I'm doing what I can. At this point I have a hypothesis, but testing that hypothesis is probably more trouble than I want to go through, so I'm putting it out here for discussion.

I think for source components the filtering ability of the PC's geometry is probably somewhat more important than low impedance. For amps and preamps, I'd guess that a lower impedance geometry that would give you high propagation rates through the cable would be best, which would also mean large gauge conductors to minimize R.

To do any meaningful test I would have to build and test a lot of cables, which as I said, I don't want to do. I'd rather have someone who has done it already tell me what they think.

[BobM]

I'm actually of the opinion that the connectors at the end almost make more of a difference than the wire itself, as long as you are using sufficient gauge.

[DaveC]

I'm actually of the opinion that the connectors at the end almost make more of a difference than the wire itself, as long as you are using sufficient gauge.

I agree that the connectors are very important. Actually, my old boss did a study about PCs in one of his past jobs, which involved a lot of very precise TIG welding for an instrument manufacturer, and determined connectors were the most important factor.

But I think in audio, the geometry is also an important factor, as it can affect impedance and noise rejection/filtering, which will in turn determine how the PC "sounds". Anyone can buy and use the same connectors as anyone else, but geometry is much more variable. Also, connectors get very expensive beyond the entry level Wattgate stuff or similar, and I'm not up for that. I also can't figure out how Wattgate can charge double or triple the price for the same entry level connector with a gold or silver plating. It doesn;t cost that much, and I'm not sure there is any benefit vs. unplated brass. Sure copper would be best, but I don't think anyone is making AC receptacles out of pure copper, it just wouldn't work using conventional receptacle design. Plugs maybe, but still too much $ for me...

[rollo]

    Dave there appears to be many ways to skin the proverbal Cat.
    There is no best just different. There are so many areas to consider such as harmonics on the line, resonance, wire type [ ribbon, stranded, solid core, all of the above] , connectors, shielding, dielectrics, type of connection [ soldered , crimped ] etc.
    I think what is more important than winding is the "overall design". One size does not fit all.
    It would be helpfull if measurements were correlated to sonics. Voicing of powrcords can be achieved by the wire Ga. of the ground wire alone. Go figure.
    Different winding techniches have different LCR and propagation measurements. Which one is desirable for what components power supply is the 64,000 question.
    BTW do you really think a powercord manf. would give input on your DIY project ? R&D costs time and money which is key to their final product and sales. Maybe some general info might be expected but that's it.



charles