Perhaps the most common misconception about electronics and electrical systems is the belief that components lie at the end-point of a long electrical pathway. Given the distances of ordinary wire that precede home or studio systems, many believe there is little value in using top quality power cords or similar high-performance AC components at the end of this electrical chain. The only problem with that concept is that it represents a false assumption based on what is commonly referred to as the garden-hose analogy.
Power is not delivered to electronics like water through a hose and components do not sit at the end of a long distance electrical delivery hose. All power supplies lay between two poles of alternating current -- the hot and neutral. Once powered on, components represent the beginning of an electrical interaction, not an end point. They are essentially tapping into a vast reservoir of current.
Components that are in close electrical proximity to one another are dramatically affected by neighboring components electrical emissions including EMI, RFI and conducted electrical noise. Electronics have long proven to be far more affected by noise generated within the system -- through shared AC distribution, component radiated EMI or the back wave of power-supply energy, than they are by noise generated hundreds of feet much less miles away. In brief, electronics are minimally affected by electrical conditions that exist outside their immediate environment (with the exception of voltage fluctuations which are tightly regulated by the power company).
Let's define the local electrical environment as that which exists between the home's AC electrical panel and the home entertainment system. Beginning at the electrical panel, the importance and gauge of the in-wall wiring, splice connections, terminations, and outlets increases dramatically as the AC signal nears its interface point with the power supplies of electronics. By this measure, the power cord connecting a component to its power source is not the last six feet of an electrical hose. At the point of connection between a component and power source, the power cord becomes a functional extension of the power supply itself.
In terms of AC delivery, it is this local electrical network of primary connections, terminations, wiring and outlets that will have the greatest potential impact on the performance capability of recording, mastering and consumer A/V systems. These simple tenets are based on the near-field sensitivity and functionality of all A/V components.
