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Power Cords Snake Oil ??

Having been a long time audiophile living with countless high end compnents I have to wonder about the theory and practicality of high end power cords.

I have yet to hear the difference a power cord makes. Ive owned, synergistic, Shunyata, BMI and cardas. I in no way can detect any sonic signature or change. Give me a pair of interconnects and I imeadiately notice a difference somewhere in the sonic spectrum. Not the PC though. I have accomplished 4 blind tests with my friends. 3 out of the 4 they did not know their cord was replaced. All 4 were using a stock factory supplied cord. Each of the 4 tests were done on different components. Amp, CDP, Preamp & dac.

My electrical backround tells me that provided you supply the component with its required voltage bet 110vac or 220/240vac its happy. Now, change the incoming frequency from 60hz to say 53hz and watch how quickly your soundstage collapses.! This is often the case during the summer months when home air conditioners are in use and the utility company power output is taxed to the max. A really good power conditioner should however take care of the frequency fluctuations. But 110vac is still 110vac regardless of the conductor it passes through as long as its remains 110vac when it reaches the intended circuit. Does your 8k amp or preamp know the difference of the path the voltage took to reach it ? Many an audiophile will use a dedicated 20amp circut for their equipment.That is a good idea as voltage & frequency fluctuations will occur in the home circuit to to other loads on the main breaker panel but again, A power cord simply is the means of transporting the voltage from the wall to the component. IF there is a clean 110vac @ 60hz at the wall socket, no matter what the medium is to go from the socket to the component, it will still be 110vac @60hz.

Could somebody expand on this a bit more. I just dont understand it. ??
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geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Uh, you just repeated yourself again. Yup, 🍑🍔🍔

Besides, I never said I didn’t have it. That’s probably how I can spot it in others. 😛
ostensible_constituency's avatar
ostensible_constituency
76 posts
 
The placebo effect argument works both ways. If you're of the mind that power cables won't make a difference, you'll not hear a difference. That, and you'll point to lots of other people who fell the same way and "documented" it.
In theory, sure. That's why I produced a double blind (or close to it anyway) ABX test to demonstrate my point. Do you understand how a double blind test eliminates the placebo effect? If not, there are resources online where you can learn all about basic testing methodologies. It's a staple in the Rx industry. Some people have called into question the utility of ABX testing in audio, but that's an entirely different argument that you haven't even started to address. 

The only "documentation" I pointed out was a scientifically conducted test (no test is absolutely perfect) that demonstrated people, even audiophiles, could not hear the difference between power cords with enough frequency to demonstrate they were doing anything other than guessing randomly. 

Tell me this: If the power mains cable manufacturers are so convinced, whey don't they use their considerable resources to demonstrate once and for all, via controlled double-blind ABX testing that their cables sound "better"? LOL 

The burden of proof is on them - as they're selling a product they claim has certain benefits - and not on me, who is simply giving my informed opinion to the OP of this thread who asked some questions about expensive power mains cables. 
ostensible_constituency's avatar
ostensible_constituency
76 posts
 
Uh, you just repeated yourself again. Yup, 🍑🍔🍔
Hey Geoff....you wouldn't happen to sell audio tweaks, would you? I think that if so, it should disqualify you here as it's an obvious conflict of interest when a user asks a forum for objective advice. 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I hate to be the one to point out that just because blind tests work in pharma doesn’t mean they work in audio. I got through describing why blind tests are unreliable for audio just last week. You should have been here. But I’ll help you out. The reason why negative results for blind tests don’t mean anything for audio is because too many things can go wrong with the test. Pharma doesn’t have nearly the complexity, i.e., number of variables, that audio does. You’re welcome in advance.
ostensible_constituency's avatar
ostensible_constituency
76 posts
 
I got through describing why blind tests are unreliable for audio just last week. You should have been here. But I’ll help you out. The reason why negative results for blind tests don’t mean anything for audio is because too many things can go wrong with the test. Pharma doesn’t have nearly the complexity, i.e., number of variables, that audio does. You’re welcome in advance.
LMAO - So then we’ve completely eliminated electrical test and measurement and now double blind testing. I guess all we have to go on are our ears and the marketing folks at Audioquest and Shunyata. Case closed!

Oh, but how could I forget the resident "expert" Geoff....a guy who also conspicuously neglected to answer my question to him, so I’ll ask it again:

Dear Geoff, do you now or have you ever "designed", manufactured or sold audiophile "tweaks" for money?

P.S. they're not "negative" results as anyone with any understanding of statistical methods would have understood. The results of the test demonstrated that even an "audiophile" has less than a 50% chance of correctly identifying the difference between two or more power cables, positive OR negative. Duh!
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