By Paul Speltz
Our power cords took three years to develop.
The first two years were spent understanding why power cords can make an audible difference. The final year was dedicated to refining the design based on that understanding. That work has endured. More than a decade later, customers who purchased our power cords in 2012 are enjoying the same performance as those sold today.
That consistency matters.
Rethinking the Role of a Power Cord
Most people think of a power cord as the last five feet of electricity traveling from the power plant to an audio component. Viewed that way, it’s easy to assume the cord can’t matter much.
There is a more useful way to think about it.
A properly designed power cord is the first five feet of removing noise generated inside the component itself—noise that would otherwise contaminate the music signal.
Seen this way, power cords make a great deal of sense.
Where Most Designs Go Wrong
Many manufacturers promote their heaviest power cords for power amplifiers and lighter cords for DACs and preamps. That approach assumes power delivery is the priority.
In practice, noise management is the priority—and digital components are far more sensitive to noise than power amplifiers.
If I had only one ANTICABLES Level 3 Power Cord in my own system, I would use it on my DAC rather than my amplifier.
The reason is simple.
Noise inside a DAC causes timing errors known as jitter. Jitter is what makes digital audio sound flat, hard, and dynamically lifeless. It blurs bass, robs voices and piano of harmonic richness, and turns cymbals into something resembling spray cans.
The Level 3 Power Cord is exceptionally effective at removing this internal noise. That is why it remains my top recommendation for DACs, CD players, and other digital sources.
The Real Source of Noise
Audiophiles are often told that noise enters their systems primarily from external sources—appliances, lighting, computers, or even their neighbors.
Those sources exist. But in my experience, the largest contributor to audible noise is much closer: the component’s own power supply, often just inches away from critical audio circuitry.
Once you see it this way, both the problem and the solution become almost self-evident.
Power Conditioners, Explained
During development, we noticed something unexpected. Our power cords consistently sounded best when plugged directly into the wall. When used with many passive power conditioners, their effectiveness was often reduced.
Most passive conditioners reduce noise by adding series impedance at certain frequencies. That impedance works in both directions. While it may filter incoming noise, it can also limit the component’s ability to shed internally generated noise back into the AC line.
The result is often a subtle softening of dynamics.
For me, dynamics are essential. They are a major part of what separates live music from reproduced sound.
Over the years, nearly every customer who tested our power cords found better results without a passive power conditioner. In the rare cases where improvements remained, the devices involved were power regenerators—not passive conditioners. That distinction matters. Regenerators do not introduce the same electrical softness.
What This Means for You
If your goal is better sound, you may find that investing in properly designed power cords delivers more benefit than adding a passive power conditioner.
If protection is your priority and you prefer the sonic results with conditioning in place, that is a valid trade-off.
For those who want both protection and performance, many customers have reported excellent results pairing our power cords with power regenerators—including further gains when using our Level 3 Power Cord on the regenerator itself.
Designed for Results
Power cords designed around the first five feet principle consistently deliver greater musical clarity, dynamics, and realism. That is why our power cords have evolved from a niche offering into our most requested product.
The Level 3 Power Cord remains our best-selling design.
We invite you to try one in your own system and hear the results for yourself.
Every ANTICABLES product includes:
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A 30-day in-home trial
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A 60-day upgrade option
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Our buy-back program
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A 5-year warranty
We think you’ll enjoy what it does for your music.