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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. ??
128x128jetmek
jetmek's avatar
jetmek OP
10 posts
 
Absolutely not and if you read thru the threads, you'll see that I have them hooked up and am using them. I'll keep them as well. For their looks, for their build quality.In the mean time I'll keep searching for a pc that allows me to hear a substantial difference in the presentation.In fact today I had the opportunity to try a Tara labs high dollar cord. No change that I could detect. This cord belongs to a friend and its been more than "burned in".
hdm
1,062 posts
 
In the search for decent power cords (I've heard substantial differences), I've restricted myself to the under $200 U.S. cords (new or used or DIY), but I sure wouldn't be keeping any cord, or any piece of equipment, for that matter, for its "looks and build quality" if I couldn't hear the difference between it and something that was a quarter of the price or came stock with the equipment.
subaruguru
1,375 posts
 
Right on, Hdm. Nice posts, Zaikes, but remember some Belden, like the 83000 series, is GREAT cable, at industrial prices. That's where the price/performance ratio is greatly in our favor. Antiresonant attributes are where my efforts lie in further improvements in PC design. Yet I continue to see marketing-driven pricing schemes unrelated to real materials and labor cost as a primary hindrance. These are 60Hz AC power cords, period. Even with the 2 1/2 hours labor it takes me to assemble one of my new anti-resonant designs, I can't see why a fair market can't exist for a manufacturer to sell direct under $200-$250....
Corona, you can go on and on about envelope-stretching or stringing dingleberries, but then choosing to name your PCs
semantically linked to a pedophile's 80's rock album's title strikes me not much in consonance with products of next-era R&D. Let's get real here. You want to sell PCs at high prices to the gearheads, naive, and hopeful on A'gon? Fine. Just please try to not splash too much goofy-science in your wake. It just further soils the landscape....
Phew. I didn't intend to jump on anyone when I hit the forums this bright and cold morning, but there it is. Sorry.
Happiest Holidays to all this week.
corona
132 posts
 
Subaruguru:
You said it takes you 2 and 1/2 hours to build a power cable that should sell at $250.
That comes out to $100 per hour with no dealer to take his share and no overhead, and you’re calling other people greedy!
Now let me guess, I bet you take some wire, put some insulation around it (call that resonance control) and attach it to a couple of connectors and declare it a power cord. That may work fine for power tools but it is not going to do much in terms of accelerated audio performance. We are not amateurs. We do not make a living by hiding behind words on a computer screen. We do in-house demonstrations, directly or through our dealers. We compete against the best of the best. With the introduction of our new designs, I can tell you with absolute assurance, we are light years ahead of the competition.
There are a number of people who are more than willing to slam a product without any understanding of the technology involved, have never experienced the performance and do not even know anyone who has! Yet these individuals are eager to express violent opposition based solely on their long accumulated assumptions.
s23chang
619 posts
 
Corona, welcome to the "reality chatting" ( since no tv screen here.) The concept is hard to understand for some of the folks here because they never design the cable themselves. Sure, it is always easier to attack someone and anyone can do that. However, it is not always easy to find the science behind it ( We don't get hit by the falling apple under the apple tree everyday to dicover gravity.)
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