bypass outlet and hook wires directly to romex??

Stehno - The point made was that aftermarket power cords can produce a significant improvement in a system regardless of what type of conductor (romex or home depot power cord) precedes it.

From your post I get the impression that you do not believe this and have yet to be too impressed with aftermarket powercords in general. I might suggest that you actually try a few good high end aftermarket power cords before you start comparing them to zip cord. This will add credibility to your posts since your oppinion is clearly based on experiences that differ from those of the greater majority. I usually associate comments such as those you've made with a person who tried a cheap aftermarket cord and was dissatisfied with the results.

However, I must say you are partially correct, in some cases, cheap aftermarket cords are not much better than stock or zip cords.

Given that GOOD aftermarket powercords (such as Purist Audio's Dominus) truly DO make a difference we pondered the idea of replacing the romex entirely with an longer version of the power cord. OF course this was purly fantasy since few people have the means to complete such a project and its doubtful that electrical code would allow a power cord to be run from circuit breaker to a component.

Thanks for your help in getting this thread back on track!

Bwhite, you are assuming that I've not tried aftermarket power cords, and you are also claiming that I have said aftermarket power cords are no better than zip cord.

Don't be silly.

Yes, I am aware that SOME aftermarket power cords can make a positive difference sonincally over the zip cord you brought home from Home Depot. And I'm aware of what a good one can do. That doesn't mean ALL aftermarket power cords make the same sonic difference and in the case of some any difference at all.

Personally, I've chosen to go the in-line power conditioner route instead of the expensive power cord route. The retail price of my three Foundation Research in-line power conditioners (one for each component) would be the equivalent of 3 very nice power cords.

But I believe my in-lines pc's do much more than most any aftermarket power cord could ever do.

My earlier point/idea to Jvr was that if the romex had no breaks from the service panel all the way to the component itself via a male IEC connector, then RF is minimized (since no outlet, no breaks), AC noise minimized because it is obviously a dedicated line. Therefore, the positive affects of most aftermarket power cords is greatly diminished since they do not perform the same functions as line conditioners.

Would you not agree?

How about eliminating the powerline problem totally, including grunge from the street pole? I have a totally solar powered house with no hookup to the street at all. I use a large battery bank and a quality full sine wave inverter. I use a dedicated ofc run directly from my inverter to my system outlets and use quality aftermarket power cords. My amplifier(Berning MicroZ OTL) has a 12vdc optional power connection, so I use that for the amp to eliminate any AC power into the amp at all - and bypass the power stepdown transformer section as well. This can be done by anyone with a little space(basement?) as the batteries should be boxed and vented. Solar panels are not necessary as a normal person could just use the charging capacity of the inverter to keep the batteries up.(Do not charge while using, though). This is very clean power! It costs about the same as one of the expensive power cords mentioned above, and deals with the problem at the source instead of trying to correct it down the chain. Current capacity, you may ask? Mine is 2500watts continuous with 5000 watt surge capacity(15sec). A 1000 amp hour battery bank will supply even large systems for an extended evening of listening, and will be charged and ready by the next evening for your pleasure. For unusual applications, of course you can set up battery/inverter capacity tailored to your needs. Unusual, maybe. Effective? Definitely!

Hi Stehno, Glad we cleared that up. When I talk about good power cords, I usually speak of those which retail for more each than the cost of three Foundation Research LC1/LC2 conditioners so forgive me if I get defensive when I read claim that only SOME aftermarket power cords are better than zip cord - because I have personally never tried one which wasn't better.

A single run of Romex from pannel to component will not minimize RF unless it is twisted 180 degrees every 5 to 10 feet the full length of the run. 10AWG Romex sounds the best and a step further would be to bypass the pannel completely and install a fuse block with a ceramic fuse.
The Romex is then terminated with a male IEC connector (Wattagate (Marinco) accepts 10AWG conductors) and connects to the component itself.

While this is a minimalist approach and does a good job of limiting the number of breaks in current it isn't all that fantastic sounding.

Plugging a simple 5Kva Topaz Ferroresonant power conditioner in to the wall receptical and connecting the amp, preamp and another stand alone isolation transformer in to it (plug your digital in to the isolation transformer) will produce better sonic results and cost under $150 if you get the conditioner/transformer on ebay.

Bwhite, I perceive thou art pretentious and self-elevated. At least that part appears clear. And perhaps that you had a philosophy 101 course.

I find it funny how your power cords are ranging in the $2k plus price range and yet you are performing all these tests with the zip cord you purchased from Home Depot (doesn't make sense unless you're displeased with your power cords performance). But for the sake of this thread you now pretend that it is I who performed the expirments. This is silly and should be a waste of your time and mine.

Although I've not tried any power cords retailing at the $2k plus range, I have no problem assuming there to be some to many even at that price break and beyond that probably offer no sonic improvements over the zip cord that you purchased at Home Depot for your expirments.

For the same reason one could spend $30,000 on an amplifier that may offer no sonic improvements, and may in fact sound worse than a $995 amplifier. I'm sure you would agree with this.

Based on what you claim to have spent on your system, you more than most, by now should realize that this hobby usually requires one to spend a lot of money to realize one does not need to spend a lot of money.

And, yes at this point, I'm having great difficulty believing that you have actually tried running romex straight from the service panel to a male IEC connector which plugs into the component(s).

Per your request, I forgive you.