Mercury Mag AC cable?

[rooster]

Not a plug bit asking who here has tried one with their TW. I had to throw the dice here and make the buy, $16@ on sale plus shipping. They arrived today (I bought two).

The reviews are fairly positive, saying that in the various amps the EIA fitted cable has been tried with, the bass is more defined, the treble more defined, blah blah blah, etc.. I have to assume - being that the cable is using 14 gauge wire - that going directly to the wall outlet you will experience the most bang for your buck.

The cable is heavy, btw, which the reviewers also pointed out.

Has anybody else tried this AC power cord and would they care to comment about their experience with it?

[potatofarmer]

It will have zero tonal effects, because it's impossible for it to have any tonal effects. Unless, of course, you were using a power cable that's far too thin to begin with, but then the benefit mostly lies in not burning your house down every time you go to practice.

Compare your amp's power cable to your vacuum cleaner's; gauge and length. Then compare how much current each draws.

Believe it or not, there are similar AC power cords available that cost as much as $700.00 (we're not kidding!) that probably won't give you more noticeably better sound.

^^ Boy, they really aren't kidding, huh?


On the other hand, it is supposed to be rugged and easy to recognize in a pile of cables. Still disingenuously marketed, IMO.

[rooster]

Potatofarmer, ha, I totally appreciate your thoughts here. Until a week ago I said the exact same things when people would ask me about AC cords and guitar amps. However, now I have tried the product/koolade.

Here's what I now think about AC cords and guitar amps. Guitar amps - unlike transistor hi-fi amps - do not have enough DC storage capacity in their power supply to actually reproduce the signal as it actually is. We live with it, and we accept it as the sound of the amp. If we did 'over' cap the amp, it would slow the amp down too much and cause it to feel like shite. (Been there.) So....enter the 14 gauge pure copper AC cord and plug it directly into an outlet - not an extension cord. The amp does not have more voltage, but it does have a faster AC supply, which in turn allows the DC to charge faster - and surprise - this does change the tone of the amp.

K, that's my theory. It's the only logical explanation I have for what I am hearing.

Has anybody else on this forum tried these AC cords?

[ToneMerc]

Has anybody else on this forum tried these AC cords?

I picked two when they when 9.99 and since they were being shipped with an existing odrer, I said what the hey. I can honestly say that it's a nice HD red power cord that looks nice on the bench.

TM

[Colossal]

Yes, I've tried them and yes, they did make a small but audible difference. Your koolaid mileage may vary and regardless of any metaphysics or lack thereof, it's a nice power cord.

[M Fowler]

I haven't tried this new fangled red Hemi Power Ram cord, I'm still running hospital grade IEC cords, cheaper.

My customers bitched when I tried using 16awg so I'm back to nice, soft, and very light 18awg cords. No complaints regarding loss of tone.

Mark

[Aurora]

Honestly, guys..... if there's a difference with another power cord, there's something seriously wrong with your amps......

[Colossal]

Honestly, guys..... if there's a difference with another power cord, there's something seriously wrong with your amps......

Aurora, I debated about even answering Rooster and I immediately regretted my post when I read your reply, because this was the reaction I thought it would bring. Rooster asked a question and I hoped to provide an answer, not get into a debate about Hi Fi snake oil juju.

The difference is not huge, it is very subtle. I have tested the cord with my Express and a few Marshalls and notice a very small but audible difference. I can still hear to 17+ kHz.

[Aurora]

By all means, let's not venture into the classical HiFi flaming but I'm actually quite serious about this. Audio is a funny thing, - HiFI or PA or music, perception is a mighty powerful thing. One mechanism that has been suggested by serious professionals of psychology AMO, is that once we venture into this testing modus, we might be more focused to the actual listening process. This might make us think we hear something that wasn't there before, or... ?? The HiFI maniacs ( and I'm certainly not one of them ) claim all sorts of improvements, that when investigated have absolutely no technical or physical explanations. Is it just black magic then, or psychoacoustics fooling us ??
Given that you have several tens, maybe hundreds, of feet of cabling from an outlet back to the grid transformer, what physical explanation can there be for the last yard of angel dust cable to change the sound ?? At least my 40 yeas of pro elcetronics in the science community, can find no such things. Lousy, flimsy or worse cables, - now that's a completely different ball park, in my opinion.
Let's just leave it here ........ at Peace.... Main thing - if it makes you happy, - why not???

[vibratoking]

^+1

[Blackburn]

I'm still running hospital grade IEC cords, cheaper.

+1!

Green Dot is where it's at! I can't imagine a better cord for rugged road use. If it meets hospital standards, I think that says it all. They really aren't much more expensive than your standard 16 AWG cord.

[Colossal]

By all means, let's not venture into the classical HiFi flaming but I'm actually quite serious about this. Audio is a funny thing, - HiFI or PA or music, perception is a mighty powerful thing.
Let's just leave it here ........ at Peace.... Main thing - if it makes you happy, - why not???

I concur, let's just leave it there. I completely agree with the problem of trying to prove what is audible, and if it is, how to measure the difference. Only then is it science.

As Tonemerc said, it is a nice red cable

[Aurora]

As Tonemerc said, it is a nice red cable

How 'bout for playing the Blues...

[Clyde]

If I were to come to your house and change out the cord without you knowing which one was in circuit, I'd guarantee that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. I'd even put ten bucks on it.

[Bob S]

Red !
We all know red insulated wire is best.
Sorry - couldn't resist.