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Good-looking power cable

fpitas

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DonR

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I've never (literally never in my 60 odd years) seen an IEC cable with a problem.
I had one that was wired backwards (neutral to hot, hot to neutral). I just labelled it as such and continued using it for many years. My 50-year-old house has some sockets wired this way as well. Nobody noticed for 50 years.
 

fpitas

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I had one that was wired backwards (neutral to hot, hot to neutral). I just labelled it as such and continued using it for many years. My 50-year-old house has some sockets wired this way as well. Nobody noticed for 50 years.
I used to design equipment to monitor TV viewing for Arbitron Ratings. We sent the techs out to see what percentage of outlets were wired backwards. It was close to 50% :facepalm:
 

Speedskater

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I've never (literally never in my 60 odd years) seen an IEC cable with a problem.
Well bad stuff sometimes happens.
I have read reports and alerts about AC cords from legit sources having swapped Hot & Neutral wires and others not having the Safety Ground wire connected.
One day I measured the AC cords in my spares box with a high-end Ohm meter. Some had much higher end-to-end than expected for their AWG and length. Which means that not all the wire strands were crimped.
 

Speedskater

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As to miswired wall receptacles, Audio Precision had a tech note about miswiring in their new building.
Oh, those little 3 LED testers won't find a Neutral / Safety Ground problem.
 

fpitas

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As to miswired wall receptacles, Audio Precision had a tech note about miswiring in their new building.
Oh, those little 3 LED testers won't find a Neutral / Safety Ground problem.
I'm not even sure the electricians would have tested them after wiring. It's safe to say, if you care about it, use a voltmeter to see if the hot prong is really hot with respect to ground, and rewire as necessary.
 

Juhazi

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I like the looks of silk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothes_iron

iron-flex-wires.JPG
 

fpitas

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preload

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Hello forum,

I recently bought a Topping P50, and I needed a well-built power cable; as a bonus, it should be decent-looking.
That’s like putting chrome wheels on a Prius.

But if you insist, checkout the Pangea cords on Audio Advisor.
 

fpitas

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That’s like putting chrome wheels on a Prius.

But if you insist, checkout the Pangea cords on Audio Advisor.
Those better supply the power too for that price.
 

GeorgeBynum

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I just need a cable built from pure copper, with some shielding (?), possibly not thin as a hair.

Do you have any advice?
thanks
MH
As far as I know, only copper (nominally "pure"), aluminum, and CCA (copper clad aluminum) are used in typical power cables. I've done support work on machinery at a company who make "high performance conductors" of other materials, in particular, silver.

Your linear power supply will draw less than 1 amp from the AC line. ELECTRICALLY, any of those constructions will be fine for a cord of 24AWG or larger (smaller would work, but I've never seen power cords with smaller wire. I don't believe UL in the USA allows anything smaller than 18AWG unless there is a fuse in the plug (think decorative tree lighting).

So don't be concerned with material or thinness (thickness?). Power cord shielding? This is a linear supply, so the first device other than wire, perhaps fuse, and a power switch will be a power transformer. Nothing high frequency other than non-full-wave rectifier currents will exist in the box. Those won't get backwards through the transformer even a top grade toroidal wound version. Shielding won't help, but won't hurt either.

SO, pick one you like that is the color, covering, and construction you want; consider flexibility of the insulation jacket, and if you wish it there, the shielding; shielding WILL reduce flexibility. Consider if it is important to YOU how long it will remain flexible. PVC, most common, is usually less flexible than rubber or PU (polyurethane).

It won't affect the sound.
 

A Cute Earring

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I'm not even sure the electricians would have tested them after wiring. It's safe to say, if you care about it, use a voltmeter to see if the hot prong is really hot with respect to ground, and rewire as necessary.
I like this tester for outlet testing:

 

eddantes

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You know... I'm not opposed to this kind of thinking about chords:

I want them to be:
  • Highly flexible
  • Have no ... how to put it? ... "coil memory"? (Usually a function of the above)
  • Have some sort of reasonable esthetic - as it's not always that I can keep em out of sight. (Also usually a function of the above - lies flat and neat)
So long as we're not pretending to get "magical" properties, there are properties as listed above that have value over and above what is in the box... and some of us would be willing to pay.

This is the same as speaker posts that have good functionality and a high quality feel; or headphone cable that keeps from looking like a tumbleweed and is not microphonic. I'm happy to extend these qualitative atributes to power and speaker cables.

(Although, truth be told - I use an old severed yard extension cord as my speaker cables.... so.... It is an attractive bright yellow tho...)
 

preload

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Those better supply the power too for that price.
What a total and utter waste of money.
The Pangea AC-14 cords are often discounted to $20 (at least the last time I checked, which was a while back).
Can you suggest a better looking IEC cord for the price? Because looks are what the OP is asking about.
 

DonR

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The Pangea AC-14 cords are often discounted to $20 (at least the last time I checked, which was a while back).
Can you suggest a better looking IEC cord for the price? Because looks are what the OP is asking about.
For that money, they look much more reasonable. I think the OP chose something very similar from Newegg at a similar price. Do they have a UL rating? I would not purchase a power cord without one.
 

DanielT

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On with some stickers on your cable. It will look good then:;)

Screenshot_2022-11-30_214712.jpg




...just because ..that you can do that..:)
Thin cable, choose smaller sticker.

Edit:
Others who joke about this with snake oil::)
Screenshot_2022-11-30_215901.jpg


 
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preload

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For that money, they look much more reasonable. I think the OP chose something very similar from Newegg at a similar price. Do they have a UL rating? I would not purchase a power cord without one.
Yeah, I'll pay $20 for "looks." :)
I doubt there's a UL rating, and I definitely hear your concern on that.
It looks like AA is out of stock, but I saw a pair on ebay for even cheaper.
 

DonR

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Yeah, I'll pay $20 for "looks." :)
I doubt there's a UL rating, and I definitely hear your concern on that.
It looks like AA is out of stock, but I saw a pair on ebay for even cheaper.
Outside of subjective appearance, the point of diminishing returns stops at around $20, depending on the gauge and length. Actually, I think it starts going negative soon after that.
 

preload

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Outside of subjective appearance, the point of diminishing returns stops at around $20, depending on the gauge and length. Actually, I think it starts going negative soon after that.
I'd pay up to $100 for subjective appearance, but NOT for a Topping! But that's just me.
 
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