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Post by waynelawkid on Oct 27, 2014 20:25:44 GMT -7
I preface this by saying I lack any practical electrical knowledge. None. Bupkis. I have purchased many Z amps without power cords, and have always picked up 18AWG IEC cords from my local electronics store. I recently purchased a Z with the original power cord and it was substantially thicker. I'm guessing 14 AWG.
Does the AWG of the power cord from the outlet to the amp have any practical effect?
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Post by muZician on Oct 27, 2014 23:20:08 GMT -7
I do not hear differences but there is people that say they do...
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Oct 28, 2014 5:11:40 GMT -7
Here in the PNW the electrical code lets them wire our homes with 14AWG conductors. Thus it probably doesn't make a hoot of difference if you go fatter than that. But it CAN make a difference cheaping out with skinnier wire, as the instantaneous current capacity is limited by the impedance of the conductor. Will you hear that? Probably not, but it depends on how good your ears are, how much power your amp has (and how far up you've turned the volume), and how skinny the wire is. Devil's in the details. Just go with 14AWG and you never have to think about it.
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Post by jesslm02 on Oct 28, 2014 5:26:13 GMT -7
You probably won't be able to discern any differences but I'm an electrician so I tend to want things oversized when it comes to wiring. In many installations it's always easier to oversize in the beginning of the job, then the capacity is there if needed.
With amp power cords, it is important to a degree. If you tried to power it with 24awg or similar (the size of wires in cat5 cables) then yes you would notice a difference when you switched back to 14awg or 16 awg. But don't try that at home, that's just an exaggerated example. Going from 16awg to 14 awg you most likely won't be able to tell.
But like I said, the bigger the better when it comes to power wires. For that reason, I bought one of the Mercury Magnetics SuperDuty cords that are 14awg. They are super nice.
Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards
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Post by texan2step on Oct 28, 2014 6:44:28 GMT -7
I too bought the Mercury Magnetics power cables. They are very well made and I use them with all of my amps. Could I tell a difference? I felt like I could with one of my amps that had a really thin cable that came with it. But, it may have been that I just wanted to justify buying them and so I convinced myself it did. In either case, they're well made and can't hurt!
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Post by BritInvasion on Oct 28, 2014 7:39:17 GMT -7
It's definitely important in long cord runs ,long undersized power cables (or extension cords) will actually heat up. For the heck of it , I plugged an 18AWG 10 foot cable into my Maz8 and then a 14AWG cable. I actually did notice the amp was quieter (less hum / noise) with the 14 , and it seemed to sound "fuller" , but that part might be my perception. But still , I felt I could notice it FWIW.
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Post by digs57 on Oct 28, 2014 8:37:32 GMT -7
I am in the "could definitely hear a difference" group...mercury magnetics awg 12 cable...wont be going to anything else.
It is more dynamic,vibrant....Imho it does makes a perceptable enough difference for me.
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Post by pcns on Oct 28, 2014 12:27:11 GMT -7
I've been through this before and was unable to hear any difference. That's just me though. If you use a long power cable I could see using heavier gauge but I am not sure if I would hear it. Others do hear it and that's fine. I have some 12/3 laying around Matt, stop by and you can play around with it some My 2 cents, Todd
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Post by Stan on Oct 28, 2014 13:12:14 GMT -7
Doesn't this question just root back to the power source, the wiring in the walls and sockets?
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Oct 28, 2014 13:49:18 GMT -7
Doesn't this question just root back to the power source, the wiring in the walls and sockets? I'm with Stan... I would think it depends upon the weakest link in the chain. Maybe sometimes the amp's power cord is that weakest link, and maybe sometims it's not?
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Post by waynelawkid on Oct 28, 2014 15:09:00 GMT -7
You probably won't be able to discern any differences but I'm an electrician so I tend to want things oversized when it comes to wiring. In many installations it's always easier to oversize in the beginning of the job, then the capacity is there if needed. With amp power cords, it is important to a degree. If you tried to power it with 24awg or similar (the size of wires in cat5 cables) then yes you would notice a difference when you switched back to 14awg or 16 awg. But don't try that at home, that's just an exaggerated example. Going from 16awg to 14 awg you most likely won't be able to tell. But like I said, the bigger the better when it comes to power wires. For that reason, I bought one of the Mercury Magnetics SuperDuty cords that are 14awg. They are super nice. Sent from my Galaxy S4 using Proboards Thanks for the input. I'll have to check out the Mercury cords.
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Post by waynelawkid on Oct 28, 2014 15:13:27 GMT -7
I've been through this before and was unable to hear any difference. That's just me though. If you use a long power cable I could see using heavier gauge but I am not sure if I would hear it. Others do hear it and that's fine. I have some 12/3 laying around Matt, stop by and you can play around with it some My 2 cents, Todd If you can't hear any difference, Todd, I doubt I could. Especially coming from the cable guru himself. I may have to take you up on that offer.
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Post by waynelawkid on Oct 28, 2014 15:37:27 GMT -7
Doesn't this question just root back to the power source, the wiring in the walls and sockets? If you're going to tell me that I need to re-wire my 1920's home, I may just wish I didn't ask . Last time I had an electrician in my house I heard him say "well... that's funny" more times than I would like to admit. Caveat emptor of buying an old house I suppose.
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Post by pcns on Oct 28, 2014 15:55:28 GMT -7
Need get yourself some NOS fuses for the electrical panel Todd
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Post by waynelawkid on Oct 28, 2014 16:30:40 GMT -7
Need get yourself some NOS fuses for the electrical panel Todd Ha! No need. I have 1920's copper pennies shoved in there .
In all seriousness, I really do appreciate all the responses. For $16, I may just pull the trigger on a Mercury Magnetics heavy duty cable. If I perceive any difference, I will be sure to report it to the masses.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Nov 4, 2014 8:33:03 GMT -7
My Maz 8 shipped with an AWG 16. That wire is plenty heavy for a cord of 8 to 10 feet in length. The AWG tables list 3.7 amps as it's power transmission limit, a very conservative rating. In open air, for chassis wiring, the same gauge is rated at 22 amps. Bear in mind that for our application, the constant current drawn by our guitar amps is considerably less than the maximum current that they are fused for. You are really interested in the wire's peak current capacity, so the amp will have enough current to respond to big surges in power, when you strum hard. But the amp's power supply capacitors come in here, and have a reserve of power stored for just such a need. So I'm comfortable with the 16 gauge, even for a 50 watt amplifier... But as others have noted, it doesn't hurt to go bigger. And for $16, you can't really go wrong!
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Post by doctorice on Nov 4, 2014 10:33:41 GMT -7
I went with red Mercury so no one else would grab my AC cord when packing up from a gig (Mixer, powered speakers and other amps all have IEC black AC cords.)
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Post by waynelawkid on Nov 11, 2014 16:25:40 GMT -7
I went with red Mercury so no one else would grab my AC cord when packing up from a gig (Mixer, powered speakers and other amps all have IEC black AC cords.) Smart! I ended up buying the Mercury Magnetics heavy duty cord. Can't beat the price and it looks cool. I suppose no one will be sneaking off with it either!
I can't really perceive a sonic difference. Just when I thought I could, I had my wife swap it blind and I got it wrong . Shows what I know! Good wife though, but I already knew that.
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Post by pcns on Nov 11, 2014 19:24:10 GMT -7
^^^ if it's durable and won't let you down its worth it. I hate cable failures
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