Any shielded power cable recommendation?

[bplatypus]

Hi,

Do you have any shielded power cable recommendation? On aliexpress or best performance/price ratio?

Because I see power cable which are like more than 50$/meter.... I cannot afford that, but still want to shield some of my cables because I have power cables coming from my xbox, ps, shield, apple tv,... which pass very close to my audio cables.

I tried to separate them the best I can but it's still pretty close.

 

[DonR]

Length? plug? If it is UL rated then just about any shielded cable will do for those low-power devices.

 

[bplatypus]

Living in Switzerland, it's a 3 wires cable. Length would be ~5-6meters

 

[HarmonicTHD]

Living in Switzerland, it's a 3 wires cable. Length would be ~5-6meters

No need for special power cable. Just get the ones from Jumbo, Obi, Hornbach, Bauhaus etc.

Everything else is a marketing gimmick to part you from your CHFs. For proof look at the cable reviews from Amir here in this forum.

 

[egellings]

Shielding a power cable makes little sense, since all the wiring leading to the cable is not shielded. If line noise is an issue, you would be better served using an LC type line filter circuit to remove the HF garbage. Best would be to have this built right into the equipment.

 

[Speedskater]

A couple of decades ago, some PC computers and printers came with shielded power cords. The purpose then and now is to reduce radiation of interference generated by the powered unit.
While seldom needed, Ram has some very nice ones.

Power cables - Power cables for computers and Audio Video equipment, custom power cables

Power cables - Power cables for computers and Audio Video equipment, custom power cables

www.ramelectronics.net

 

[kongwee]

Shielding a power cable makes little sense, since all the wiring leading to the cable is not shielded.

You don't need to shield every core of the wire. Just surround the 3 core is good enough. It will emit less outside the cable or getting in. There are test kits out there to test. Shielding isn't restricted to power cord, I mean your USB C cable should have shielding connected to drain wire in order to pass 10 gigabyte of data.

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

Hi,

Do you have any shielded power cable recommendation?

Lapp ÖLFLEX® ROBUST 215 C

 

[dorakeg]

It's not really necessary and it's not effective. Shielding is mainly in the form of braid or foil shielding. While they work against EMI, they cannot shield against magnetic field generated by the power cord.

The bulk of the noise isn't emitted from the power cable, it's the noise in the power itself.

 

[wiiuu]

APP ÖLFLEX Classic CY 110 3G2,5 Power cable

 

[izeek]

Audiocrast High Fidelity Power Cord 125V 15A, Hi-End Braided Sleeve Amplifier Power Cable, Audiophile AC Power Cord with US Plug+IEC C13 Connector (4.9FT/1.5M) https://a.co/d/7Mh4Ibj

 

[CleanSound]

Shielding is mainly in the form of braid or foil shielding. While they work against EMI, they cannot shield against magnetic field generated by the power cord.

I'm not power expert, however, I was under the understanding that EMI is the result of EMF? And shielding to prevent EMI, you are shielding against EMF since EMF causes EMI.

Anyway, I went down the rabbit hole on this. As I went down the rabbit hole, I brought some faraday tape from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097HC9HR7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and I so happen to have a decent EMF meter. I taped up a power cord and I measure the EMF of power cords with and without the faraday tape. Results? essentially no difference. Luckily the faraday tape was cheap.

The EMF meter I have may or may not be calibrated by now, but I know it works. When the load is high, the EMF is high, when the load is low, the EMF is low. Took it by the power line transformer on the street of my house, it lit up. So, even if it is no longer calibrated, I am measuring uncalibrated meter on high EMF vs. same level of uncalibrated meter on low EMF. And there is essentially no difference between power cords with and without faraday tape on it. All this test (assuming the test itself is scientifically valid) tells us is that the faraday tape doesn't work (at least the one I got off of Amazon).

However, the question I have is can EMF from power cords cause enough electromagnetic interference in either your signal cables or in your system to be audible?

Check out this thread/video out: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...erference-in-interconnect-cables-video.35314/
at 8:20, Amir demonstrated that once the signal cable is plugged into the source (8:52 he said "that is how you use your AC cables, right?" I think he misspoke, I think he meant to say "signal cables."), the low impedance of the source will eliminate/drastically mitigate any effects from the EMF. But then there is this video of @pma test (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...wer-cords-what-are-the-asr-tests-about.37335/), which shows that an unshielded power cable does cause noise.

I know if you use a star quad signal and speaker cable (such as Canare 4S11 speaker cables and Canare L-4E6S signal cables), it does help mitigate EMI; not to mentioned that most signal cables are shielded (assuming those shielding are more effective then the faraday tape I used in my test) and if you use balanced cables it will cancel out noise caused during the signal transmission.

@amirm, any statements on this question of EMF from power cords causing enough electromagnetic interference in either your signal cables or system to be audible?
Maybe a more thorough video on effects and mitigations of EMF (if one does not already exist)?

 

[egellings]

I'm not power expert, however, I was under the understanding that EMI is the result of EMF? And shielding to prevent EMI, you are shielding against EMF since EMF causes EMI.

Anyway, I went down the rabbit hole on this. As I went down the rabbit hole, I brought some faraday tape from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097HC9HR7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and I so happen to have a decent EMF meter. I taped up a power cord and I measure the EMF of power cords with and without the faraday tape. Results? essentially no difference. Luckily the faraday tape was cheap.

The EMF meter I have may or may not be calibrated by now, but I know it works. When the load is high, the EMF is high, when the load is low, the EMF is low. Took it by the power line transformer on the street of my house, it lit up. So, even if it is no longer calibrated, I am measuring uncalibrated meter on high EMF vs. same level of uncalibrated meter on low EMF. And there is essentially no difference between power cords with and without faraday tape on it. All this test (assuming the test itself is scientifically valid) tells us is that the faraday tape doesn't work (at least the one I got off of Amazon).

However, the question I have is can EMF from power cords cause enough electromagnetic interference in either your signal cables or in your system to be audible?

Check out this thread/video out: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...erference-in-interconnect-cables-video.35314/
at 8:20, Amir demonstrated that once the signal cable is plugged into the source (8:52 he said "that is how you use your AC cables, right?" I think he misspoke, I think he meant to say "signal cables."), the low impedance of the source will eliminate/drastically mitigate any effects from the EMF. But then there is this video of @pma test (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...wer-cords-what-are-the-asr-tests-about.37335/), which shows that an unshielded power cable does cause noise.

I know if you use a star quad signal and speaker cable (such as Canare 4S11 speaker cables and Canare L-4E6S signal cables), it does help mitigate EMI; not to mentioned that most signal cables are shielded (assuming those shielding are more effective then the faraday tape I used in my test) and if you use balanced cables it will cancel out noise caused during the signal transmission.

@amirm, any statements on this question of EMF from power cords causing enough electromagnetic interference in either your signal cables or system to be audible?
Maybe a more thorough video on effects and mitigations of EMF (if one does not already exist)?

Unless currents are stupidly high, I don't see magnetic radiation from a power cord to be an issue because the cord has 2 closely spaced conductors with current always going in opposite directions in the two current-carrying wires. The result would be local magnetic field cancelation, and any leakage field would be minimal, sort of like a low leakage inductance scenario in a transformer. I've not had trouble with power cables being in the vicinity of signal ones. It certainly does not hurt to keep power cables from signal carrying ones in a setup, since RFI could be a problem that could be helped by proper cable placement.

 

[CleanSound]

Unless currents are stupidly high, I don't see magnetic radiation from a power cord to be an issue because the cord has 2 closely spaced conductors with current always going in opposite directions in the two current-carrying wires. The result would be local magnetic field cancelation, and any leakage field would be minimal, sort of like a low leakage inductance scenario in a transformer. I've not had trouble with power cables being in the vicinity of signal ones. It certainly does not hurt to keep power cables from signal carrying ones in a setup, since RFI could be a problem that could be helped by proper cable placement.

My gut feel is that it will have measurable impact, but under "normal conditions," no audible impact. It would befuddle me that audio companies did not take any action if power cord EMF can cause such an issue.

Even so, for my own edification, I would like to know what the best practices are and/or what products out there that can help minimize any adverse effects of power cord EMF.

 

[Bleib]

I use supra ply not because I think it will improve the sound but because I got them for a very low cost. And at least it's not black, so it's easier to hide

 

[solderdude]

My gut feel is that it will have measurable impact, but under "normal conditions," no audible impact. It would befuddle me that audio companies did not take any action if power cord EMF can cause such an issue.

Even so, for my own edification, I would like to know what the best practices are and/or what products out there that can help minimize any adverse effects of power cord EMF.

The moment a shielded cable reaches the socket of the amp or the mains outlet it offers no 'protection' for EMI.
When using shielded cable for actual shielding the shield must be connected to the chassis directly and NOT via a standard mains plug.

Shielded cables are used with speed regulated motors etc. In this case shielding only works when the shield is connected directly to the chassis of the driver and the motor itself.

So using a shielded cable for mains is nonsensical.
For Audio cables the shield (is supposed to) connect to the amp chassis itself in which case it is effective.

For higher voltage cables the shield is used to drain away leakage by capacitive coupling.
230/115V mains voltages do not need it.

 

[fpitas]

The only

So using a shielded cable for mains is nonsensical.

Worth repeating

 

[Timcognito]

Internet search for a medical power cord in your language and your country. You will find some inexpensive very durable cables passes tested to IEC high standards like this one but with European prongs on it.

1.5ft 13A 16/3 Medical Grade Power Cord With IEC C13 Connector by AC WORKS® 819145024570 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1.5ft 13A 16/3 Medical Grade Power Cord With IEC C13 Connector by AC WORKS® at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[HarmonicTHD]

I'm not power expert, however, I was under the understanding that EMI is the result of EMF? And shielding to prevent EMI, you are shielding against EMF since EMF causes EMI.

Anyway, I went down the rabbit hole on this. As I went down the rabbit hole, I brought some faraday tape from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097HC9HR7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and I so happen to have a decent EMF meter. I taped up a power cord and I measure the EMF of power cords with and without the faraday tape. Results? essentially no difference. Luckily the faraday tape was cheap.

The EMF meter I have may or may not be calibrated by now, but I know it works. When the load is high, the EMF is high, when the load is low, the EMF is low. Took it by the power line transformer on the street of my house, it lit up. So, even if it is no longer calibrated, I am measuring uncalibrated meter on high EMF vs. same level of uncalibrated meter on low EMF. And there is essentially no difference between power cords with and without faraday tape on it. All this test (assuming the test itself is scientifically valid) tells us is that the faraday tape doesn't work (at least the one I got off of Amazon).

However, the question I have is can EMF from power cords cause enough electromagnetic interference in either your signal cables or in your system to be audible?

Check out this thread/video out: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...erference-in-interconnect-cables-video.35314/
at 8:20, Amir demonstrated that once the signal cable is plugged into the source (8:52 he said "that is how you use your AC cables, right?" I think he misspoke, I think he meant to say "signal cables."), the low impedance of the source will eliminate/drastically mitigate any effects from the EMF. But then there is this video of @pma test (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...wer-cords-what-are-the-asr-tests-about.37335/), which shows that an unshielded power cable does cause noise.

I know if you use a star quad signal and speaker cable (such as Canare 4S11 speaker cables and Canare L-4E6S signal cables), it does help mitigate EMI; not to mentioned that most signal cables are shielded (assuming those shielding are more effective then the faraday tape I used in my test) and if you use balanced cables it will cancel out noise caused during the signal transmission.

@amirm, any statements on this question of EMF from power cords causing enough electromagnetic interference in either your signal cables or system to be audible?
Maybe a more thorough video on effects and mitigations of EMF (if one does not already exist)?

I could (almost) swear that Armir already did a video, where he even took a regular power cord and wrapped around a transformer while recording the amp or DAC output. Showing no effect on SINAD whatsoever. Maybe it was part of the GR power cable review videos, but I might be mistaken and I am too lazy to look for it.

 

[fpitas]

But then there is this video of @pma test (https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...wer-cords-what-are-the-asr-tests-about.37335/), which shows that an unshielded power cable does cause noise.

Unless I missed something, he demonstrates -120dBv pickup when using a switching power supply. That's a fantastically tiny signal. But if you don't like that, an IEC filtered outlet is the right solution.