Power Cords: A Skeptic Looking to Dabble...

Regarding the last few posts, an additional point that will be obvious to some but I nevertheless think warrants mention in this kind of discussion, is the possibility that things other than the performance of the power cord may change during the breakin period.

Examples being changes in AC line voltage or AC line noise characteristics, and ongoing breakin or aging of system components. Tubed components perhaps being particularly susceptible to the latter possibility, at some stages of their life-cycle. Also, the possibility that cartridge suspensions or speaker drivers may be in different states of flexibility due to differences in usage patterns that occur from time to time. (While I haven't particularly noticed that kind of effect with my speakers or with the cartridges I have used, it certainly occurs to a huge degree with my Stax electrostatic headphones). And, also, the possibility that the components in the system may be in unequal states of warmup during the various stages of the comparison, given especially that some folks believe that solid state components can take 24 hours or more to reach a stable warmup state.

As I see it, without a very disciplined methodology it's especially easy in audio to attribute a perceived change to the wrong variable.

Regards,
-- Al

Mc-now you're arguing with folks expressing their experiences? Many people here have provided what you asked for. Now it's time for you to go play with some power cords. Oh, and don't forget to tell us your experiences. I hope you find they make no difference for you. It would save us another useless thread.

Power cords do make a difference. Some is comparable to a component upgrade.

Power cords do make a difference. Some is comparable to a component upgrade.

Mt10425 - You are correct that I'm questioning the validity of making a comparison between what I heard today after several hundred hours of listening to what I remember hearing previously. The responses from Banquo363 and Foster_9 provide a level credibility to their comparisons as they are attempting to take some objective data.

I'm stated that I'm a generally a skeptic when it comes to power cables but I'm open to the idea that the improvements could be real. Part of the process for me is to try and sift through the many responses and try to make sense of it. I know from my experience that on some days my system seems to sound better than others and I suspect the differences could be attributed to a variety of things ranging from where I'm sitting, to changes in the accoustics in the room from things being moved slightly, to neighbors making toast next door and messing up my power, to my mood. I can't objectively distinguish any constants so it would be virtually impossible for me to think that I have enough control over the many variable that effect how I experience my system to make any comparision that was separated by any length of time.

I've seen measured data showing how much room accoustics can change the audio response by simply moving a couple of inches. I've also experience how different my system sounds if I sit in a different spot. I realize that a lot of the people on this site have a much more controlled listening environment than I do, but things like this do make me interested to know more when certain types of statements are made.