Quote Originally Posted by Beckman
First off everything I say is my opinion based on my experiance and knowledge.

Electricity is produced at power plants by synchronous generators powered by steam(usually). Next it is jacked up to a very high voltage (on the order of 30 kV depending on where you live. It travels many miles and is periodicly stepped up by autotransformers(voltage regulators) as the voltage drops due to losses from the transmission line resistance. It is stepped down several times until it has a line to line voltage of 220 Vrms. A 120 Vrms outlet in your house is line to neutral voltage. Keep in mind your wall outlet is connected to a power plant. Through all the voltage regulators, auto boosters. transformers, switching capacitor banks(reduce power factor), etc. These things can add harmonics. A perfect sinusoidal wave has only one harmonic. Harmonics refers to disortions in the wave. The voltage from your outlet can very a great deal 115V to 120 V usualy.

Now here is the kicker. With all the thousands of miles of copper and aluminum electricity has to travel through to get to your stereo a one meter power cable is suppose to make it sound better? I don't think it does. As long as the power cable you are using fits snuggle into the wall outlet and into the back of your amp and has the proper current rating it will work fine. As for harmonics, all an amp does is convert a AC to DC used to bias transistors anyway. Voltage regulators, auto boosters and other things that might cause harmonics are designed to switch in such a fashion that the harmonics are at much higher frequencies so they can be easly filtered out. Amp designers know from the undergraduate power classes they took in college that there are voltage fluctuations and harmonics and take this into account when designing their power supplies. The design of the power supply in the amp is what is important.

As for the 8 gauge cord at least you didn't pay for it
HERE IS AN INTERESTING THOUGHT FROM A COMPANY THAT MAKES POWER CORDS:
"Yes, an 8 gauge cable can deliver more current than a stock 14 gauge
cable. This is basic physics that the more conductive material you have
available, the greater the capacity for power transmission. As the AC
power gets close to the current capacity of a cable the impedance
changes, thus negatively affecting sound quality. With the larger gauge
cable this problem is reduced or eliminated.

The 14 gauge cable in you wall should be a solid core romex variety.
Most stock 14 gauge power cables are stranded wire. The same gauge
stranded wire will restrict current and change impedance before the
similar gauge solid core wire would do this. This only is reason enough
to upgrade the gauge of power cables for audio components. Also, audio
components are more sensitive to the slight impedance changes or voltage
fluctuations. These changes result in audible sonic differences to your
system. You refrigerator or microwave are less sensitive to these
issues.

Technically speaking; you will not receive additional current or wattage
from the wall since you are limited by the constraints of the 15 amp
circuit. The benefit presented to the amp will be that you are not
degrading or restricting the power before it reaches the amp."
WELL, WHAT ABOUT THAT?
ZF