AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Flat Panel General & New FP Tech › Will a new power cord actually improve performance?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Will a new power cord actually improve performance?

post #1 of 16
4/11/10 at 6:42pm
Thread Starter 
So I'm listening to a local radio show today that discusses home theater, audio, video, etc. At one point they mention that replacing the factory power cord with an $80+ alternate power cord will improve performance and improve video quality. I think they mentioned the replacement cords should be solid core.

I've never heard of this before. True?

(note they also stated it would impove the quality of audio equipment too)
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #2 of 16
4/11/10 at 7:12pm
No.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 16
4/11/10 at 7:24pm
I'll second that no
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 16
4/11/10 at 7:34pm
No x 3.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 16
4/11/10 at 8:43pm
You guys are cheap with that 80+ low ball price. A 6-foot NRG WEL Signature Series AC cable retails for $4,800.

http://www.audioquest.com/pdfs/aq_pb...retail_web.pdf
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 16
4/11/10 at 8:46pm
Buying the expensive power cord will improve the performance of the sellers financial statements.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 16
4/11/10 at 9:47pm
To their credit the dealers I called said that their sense of decency would not allow them to offer a $5k AC cord even to a millionaire.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 16
4/11/10 at 9:54pm
My toaster hasn't been performing up to expectations of late. I think I need a better power cable.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 16
4/12/10 at 12:21am
lol I had a guy at hhgregg show me a tv, it had 4-5 dead pixels right next to each other. He swapped the power cord with another one to see if that would fix it lol.
Reply
Reply
post #10 of 16
4/12/10 at 1:41am
There is a theory in audio that better cables make better sound. In a blind test the connected speakers using a coathanger and one with fancy cable and the people thought the coathanger sounded better.

Reply
Reply
post #11 of 16
4/12/10 at 7:24am
oh boy.

James
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 16
4/12/10 at 8:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8:13 View Post

There is a theory in audio that better cables make better sound. In a blind test the connected speakers using a coathanger and one with fancy cable and the people thought the coathanger sounded better.



Never heard of a test using coat hangers as speaker wire, but there was a project where a coathanger was used as a digital coaxial cable between a CD player and pre-amp.

Not surprisingly, the coathanger passed every zero and one in the digital signal to the pre-amp.


There was a comparison of speaker wires that included 8 gauge copper battery jumper cables to represent a somewhat absurd curve-ball into the mix.

In fact, the frequency response of the battery jumper cable was down 0.25 db at 20,000 Hz, and was the worst performer in the test.
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 16
4/12/10 at 12:00pm
Unless a piece of equipment had a power cord that was inadequate for passing the correct voltage/amperage to a device, then there is no scientifc basis for using a different power cord.

If you do need to replace a power cord, an excellent cord with 16 gauge (maybe 12 gauge if driving some insanely high powered audio amplifier) would be adequate for almost any situation. Cords as described above should be available from most retailers for approximately $1 to $2 per foot.
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 16
4/12/10 at 1:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spyboy View Post

Never heard of a test using coat hangers as speaker wire, but there was a project where a coathanger was used as a digital coaxial cable between a CD player and pre-amp.

Not surprisingly, the coathanger passed every zero and one in the digital signal to the pre-amp.

Maybe your right and I remembered wrong. Something about a coathanger being better in blind tests.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 16
4/18/10 at 10:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by rec630 View Post

So I'm listening to a local radio show today that discusses home theater, audio, video, etc. At one point they mention that replacing the factory power cord with an $80+ alternate power cord will improve performance and improve video quality. I think they mentioned the replacement cords should be solid core.

I've never heard of this before. True?

(note they also stated it would impove the quality of audio equipment too)

It's a scam, and people who should know better still fall for the marketing double-talk and parrot the information as if it's true.

Think about it, even with a $500 micro-strand 24K gold-conductor diamond-encrusted power cord, you're still plugging it into a residential builder's grade wall receptacle with tiny contacts in a house that has old Romex or knob-and-tube wiring, getting power from a cheap $5 circuit breaker in a panel that's getting unclean power from a transformer somewhere in your neighborhood that's getting it's power through a regulator in your utility company's local substation which gets it's power from a power plant that's possibly hundreds of miles away from your house.

Do you honestly believe that simply changing the last few feet of cable between your wall receptacle and your TV or Audio system will suddenly make your equipment look and sound better? The answer is NO.

FWIW, i have 34 years in the Electrical Contractor industry
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 16
4/18/10 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWalters View Post

It's a scam, and people who should know better still fall for the marketing double-talk and parrot the information as if it's true.

Think about it, even with a $500 micro-strand 24K gold-conductor diamond-encrusted power cord, you're still plugging it into a residential builder's grade wall receptacle with tiny contacts in a house that has old Romex or knob-and-tube wiring, getting power from a cheap $5 circuit breaker in a panel that's getting unclean power from a transformer somewhere in your neighborhood that's getting it's power through a regulator in your utility company's local substation which gets it's power from a power plant that's possibly hundreds of miles away from your house.

Do you honestly believe that simply changing the last few feet of cable between your wall receptacle and your TV or Audio system will suddenly make your equipment look and sound better? The answer is NO.

FWIW, i have 34 years in the Electrical Contractor industry

So Randy should we take that as a definate no?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Display Devices › Flat Panel General & New FP Tech › Will a new power cord actually improve performance?