Power Cords Shipped with PS Audio Equipment

Are the power cords shipped with new units special in any way or are they essentially the same as a three prong cord for a computer?

Pretty much not special. They are what we call courtesy cors in that they are selected as good for the task at hand of burn in, playback, etc. and were chosen to meet specifications of the amp. They are not what I would want in my system on a long term basis.

thanks Paul. Pretty much matches what i thought…

I was thinking of asking a similar question, but with a different motivation. I have Vandersteen 5 speakers, each one has a built-in powered subwoofer. The male IEC connector on the back of the speaker is recessed quite far in the plate amp such that any audiophile power cord I have seen will not fit because they use an oversized (compared to a cheapo cord) IEC female connector. Richard Vandersteen has said that power cords don’t matter here, yet I still want to get the best I can. I do have spare cables from my BHK components which I could use, but is this the best quality cord with a “skinny” IEC female plug?

Pmotz: I ran Vandersteen Quatro’s for a while, and they have that same IEC access constraint. I know Richard says they use a plenty fine power cord to their subwoofers, but my experience certainly is otherwise.

I used some inexpensive Voodoo Cable IEC extenders to take care of the access issue, and then I experimented with high quality after market power cords. I settled on some Elrod Statement (older series cords) on the subwoofers and heard distinctly improved bass reproduction in terms of pitch definition and control, and to top it off, there were undeniable benefits up in the midrange where I got a cleaner overall sound and improved palpable tonality. There was no going back after plugging those in!

I’m betting that you would enjoy similar sonic improvements in your 5’s if you tried.

I’ll be Bach, thanks for the tip on the IEC extenders! Wasn’t aware they existed, so now I have a plan.

I also saw some 5C’s that were for sale a few years back where the original owner had taken a dremel tool grinder to remove the heat sink fins just enough around the IEC inlet. Almost did that myself, but that old nagging question of “resale value” held me back…

Shunyata makes nice $30 IEC extenders as well.