Has my mains cable ruined my amp?
I am just wanting to know if the Chord Superscreen mains cable is strangling my Marantz SR7005 amp?
I have just replaced the standard cable which was a particular poor European effort with a cheap adaptor plug to make the Euro plug fit UK sockets. Since changing though I'm having to use more volume and it is lacking punch.
Is there a better cable I should be using?
I'm not looking for people to tell me to use the standard or they don't make a difference as I believe they do.
Just go to your local electrical supplies/wholesaler place and buy a normal lead (with no Euro adaptors) or cut off the European mains plug/adaptor from your supplied lead and fit a good quality 3 pin plug top (like an MK Toughplug for about £3).
perhaps the cable has a knot in it..... 
Quieter my not be accurate as I haven't measured the decibel levels but the bass now lacks punch and the surround effect is less prominent. I find myself turning it up to try and get some of these qualities back.
I didn't really expect to notice any difference to be honest as I haven't with amps in the past (I have noticed a good improvement with my TV and source equipment though), so I bought this lead used.
Maybe I should just stick to the belden cables I've always used.
mine also got same issue just bought chord supersceen connect to avr 1910 the bass now not tight as before but it make the sound very clean n detail.tonight will turning my sub n recalibrate hope it will work
That is interesting. I will try swapping it with my TV mains cable and see if that helps. It seems the Chord Superscreen isn't good with AV amps.
Hi lesmallett
As you're now not as comfortable with the performance of your Marantz amplifier i'll recommend that you should take as step back and go back to using the original standard mains cable.
Fwiw, i use standard mains cables with multichannel AV amplifers such as the Plinius Odean and Chord Electronics SPM3005 as these standard mains cables enable components to breathe 
Keep it simple. Simple is best.
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
Musicraft (Derby), Specialist Hi-Fi/AV & Multimedia Dealer
good accurate audio monitoring and good sound reproduction to all
I would recommend talking to Darren of Clearer Audio, as he's very helpful and I rate their products (which have a trial period): http://www.cleareraudio.com/
The best measurements that may indicate how better mains cables work, is provided by research from Shunyata:
http://www.shunyata.com/Content/DTCD.html
http://www.shunyata.com/Content/DTCD-meas.html
http://www.shunyata.com/Content/DTCD-indepth.html
http://www.shunyata.com/Content/DTCD-whitepaper.html
http://www.theaudiobeat.com/visits/shunyata_visit_interview.htm
Problem solved. Swapped the TV cable I bought from Mains Cables R Us with the Chord Superscreen and amp is now behaving again.
Had to turn the brightness up in the TV but all good.
Sounds to me like it's now under-performing on your telly
Possibly but not keen to spend anymore money on power cables now and the picture still looks good.
Something to get at a later date I think.
This "research" cannot stand to scrutiny, & hasn't been peer reviewed. There's also a clear conflict of interest here. I would like to see a research done by a cable manufacturer saying that their products do not show any improvements, or that's peer reviewed.
As I doctor I read many medical papers. If such a study was performed to support a medicine, it would never be accepted, neither by peers nor by the public in general.
There's an old saying, if it ain't broke don't fix it and I really should listen to it. Amp sounding boomy with music this morning using my Squeezebox so going back to its original cable.
Then again I also changed a cable into my Squeezebox so who knows.
I know what I'm like though so will probably keep fiddling until I've spent a new amps worth on mains cables. What I need is one cable to fix them all.
This "research" cannot stand to scrutiny, & hasn't been peer reviewed. There's also a clear conflict of interest here. I would like to see a research done by a cable manufacturer saying that their products do not show any improvements, or that's peer reviewed.
As I doctor I read many medical papers. If such a study was performed to support a medicine, it would never be accepted, neither by peers nor by the public in general.
BB, you are of course quite correct, which is why my use of "may indicate" was very deliberate.
I have heard the improvements that M/Cs can make, and this is the best empirical evidence that I've come across which could explain it.
There is pressure on companies like Shunyata to prove the claimed benefits, and this at least is a step in the right direction.....if there are repeatable measurements, others should be able to confirm the results.
IMO The research (from such a respected company) is worthy of a second glance, despite the conflict of interest and the obvious marketing slant...which is of course why I linked to it.
Isn't the purported relevance of these measurements utterly undermined by this comment? -
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I won't recommend a cable nor try to convince you to leave well alone. I do wonder if anyone could explain how a mains cable could make an amp quieter unless it has an unusually high resistance ( perhaps due to an almost broken wire somewhere?). Although I would not expect the cable to improve the sound surely it must be broken if it is reducing volume?