Is this just another marketing Gimmick!!!

[arya.sridhar]

Saw this Advertisement on Mercury Magnetic' website about power cables called "Copper Tone" for guitar amplifiers.

Everything seems fine like the thickness of the copper inside the cable and all that. What struck me is one sentence they mentioned in this advertisement.

The statement is "Thin actually make your amp sound thin"

Here's a screenshot of that sentence and the link below of the MM page with the product info.



Mercury Magnetics

I think blind tests with this cord and a regular cord would be hilarious..

Coming from MM is weird. Nice marketing gimmick!!!

[Hubaxe]

I'm not an electrical expert, but my understanding is electricity is a bit like water. The thinnest part of a network give the current limitation.
These cord would involve that the lead before the wall plug is bigger, and the MM cord allow full current to travel into the amp?

I know we have on this forum people with true technical knowledge. Always happy to learn from them

[a.hun]

It is all about capacitance. That increases with the length of a cable but also is higher with thinner cables. (More specifically, it increases with closer spacing of the conductors.)

Definitely at least some truth in it.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=255137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lot of differences between different cables. Doesn't mean the expensive ones will always work better for your own sound though!


Andy.

[Hubaxe]

It is all about capacitance. That increases with the length of a cable but also is higher with thinner cables. (More specifically, it increases with closer spacing of the conductors.)

Definitely at least some truth in it.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=255137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lot of differences between different cables. Doesn't mean the expensive ones will always work better for your own sound though!


Andy.

Andy, do you think this can make a true difference on power cord?

For the jack lead, with very small current, sure the difference is big, but on power cord?

[Spaceboy1]

A guitar amp draws much less than what it is fused, so it's bullshit. The cord may be bigger but the load isn't going to pull anymore current because of it. The wiring in the amp is still a smaller gauge, and the fuse is still only 2-3a.

[Wendigo]

A guitar amp draws much less than what it is fused, so it's bullshit. The cord may be bigger but the load isn't going to pull anymore current because of it. The wiring in the amp is still a smaller gauge, and the fuse is still only 2-3a.

As a former electrician, this. +1

The idea that Orange, Marshall, Vox etc are supplying their amps with cords so thin that they limit the current is just silly. A standard power cord can handle much more than the amp would ever require. The Underwriters Laboratories are there to make sure of stuff like this.

[a.hun]

It is all about capacitance. That increases with the length of a cable but also is higher with thinner cables. (More specifically, it increases with closer spacing of the conductors.)

Definitely at least some truth in it.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=255137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lot of differences between different cables. Doesn't mean the expensive ones will always work better for your own sound though!


Andy.

Andy, do you think this can make a true difference on power cord?

For the jack lead, with very small current, sure the difference is big, but on power cord?

You are dead right. I was thinking signal cable, didn't read their bumph carefully enough...

Nah, don't bother arya.sridhar, forget what I said about capacitance. Only thing which matters with mains cables is resistance, and they will all be very low resistance. While that fancy cable might match the house wiring you still have fuses which are (by nature) way more of a bottleneck than the mains cable itself. As long as the cable is thick enough to give a high enough power rating for the equipment you are using (current rating in 'A' = amperes) it'll be fine. Apart from fuses the actual connectors might make some slight difference, but the standard mains plugs on most cables are going to be fine.

Yeah, I'd just leave that voodoo nonsense to the 'Hi-Fi' freaks who hear a difference when they turn the heating 0.5°C higher. Let them pay what they want. For guitar amps it's not something I'd lose any sleep over!

Sorry for the BS post earlier!


Andy.

[arya.sridhar]

It is all about capacitance. That increases with the length of a cable but also is higher with thinner cables. (More specifically, it increases with closer spacing of the conductors.)

Definitely at least some truth in it.
http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showth ... p?t=255137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Lot of differences between different cables. Doesn't mean the expensive ones will always work better for your own sound though!


Andy.

Andy, do you think this can make a true difference on power cord?

For the jack lead, with very small current, sure the difference is big, but on power cord?

You are dead right. I was thinking signal cable, didn't read their bumph carefully enough...

Nah, don't bother arya.sridhar, forget what I said about capacitance. Only thing which matters with mains cables is resistance, and they will all be very low resistance. While that fancy cable might match the house wiring you still have fuses which are (by nature) way more of a bottleneck than the mains cable itself. As long as the cable is thick enough to give a high enough power rating for the equipment you are using (current rating in 'A' = amperes) it'll be fine. Apart from fuses the actual connectors might make some slight difference, but the standard mains plugs on most cables are going to be fine.

Yeah, I'd just leave that voodoo nonsense to the 'Hi-Fi' freaks who hear a difference when they turn the heating 0.5°C higher. Let them pay what they want. For guitar amps it's not something I'd lose any sleep over!

Sorry for the BS post earlier!


Andy.

Yeah exactly, the thicker copper gauge would only let more current through, but the internal circuit would never need as much. Wonder how they can write such stuff, I mean a comparison test with and without this specific power cord would be hilarious.

I also wonder if people really fell for it, there are testimonies on that page to be read.

[Hubaxe]

That's a bit disappointing from Mercury Magnetics. Their transformers seem to be top notch.
They probably don't need to sell those miracle cords.

[Bensnake]

I use bullshit power cables for my hifi-system. Not because they sound better but because they look better. It really is a snake oil market out there... There is, however, a difference soundwise between different interconnect- and speaker cables but that's another question...

[Les Paul Lover]

Are you guys sure it's total bullshit?

My kettle's power chord got a nick in it recently, and I was hoping to upgrade to the Mercury Magnetic one in the hope of making more toneful teas and coffees.

I'm going to be really disappointed if that isn't the case now.

[Gladmarr]

There is truth to the notion that thinner cables can carry less current and have a slower response to a rapid change in current demand, but certainly in higher voltage regions of the world just about any cable will do the trick. Even in the US, where the relatively low wall voltage will increase the current demand for an amp, I've never actually heard a cord effect the tone of an amp. It's smart to use decent, thick power cords, but it's certainly no cork sniffer sort of endeavor.

Heck, in the clubs I've played, where some donkus wired the stage up - you need to be much more worried about ground hum, no ground, or reversed polarity way before you need to worry about too little current getting through your power cable.

[Jondog]

I actually own two of those. Personally, I don't think it makes a difference, but I like them because they are sturdy and don't tangle up, also the red helps me identify the cord when I've got lots of cords going into a power bar. So the marketing to me is bull, but I think they're great. Can't blame them for using that marketing though, they're selling wire.

[Randy Bass]

Do they make them in orange?

[Bensnake]

Buy them for good quality, "feel good", looks, for being well built or whatever but don't expect better tone. I think they're looking awesome!