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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
lall
122 posts
 
For those who think power cords don't make a difference please read my experience. I have 4 power cords in my system: two Harmonix Studio Master 350 on my two mono amps and two Kharma Grand Ref. on my front ends (Audio Aero Capitole Ref SE and de Havilland mercury 2 preamp). The rest of my system comprise Kharma CRM 1.2 speakers, Harmonix Golden Performance GP & Fusion Audio Romance 2 interconnects and Jorma Unity speaker cables.

When I swap the two pcs between the front ends and the amps (i.e the Kharmas now on the power amps and Harmonix on the front ends) keeping all else remaining the same, the sound from my system changes dramatically. It becomes extremely robust, big, powerful, gusty, and almost thrown on my face: too much muscle in the sound to enjoy.

Reversing the order of the pcs back to the original order, music becomes smooth again, lots of emotion and very enjoyable. Even my wife spots the difference within a second.

Lesson learnt: if your system is revealing and consists of high quality components, every single change in the chain be in pcs, tubes, interconnects, speaker cables or individual components will make a noticeable difference to what you hear. If no difference is detected then either the system is not sensitive/revealing enough or the listener's ears need to be checked. Simple as that. Caveat: difference does not necessarily mean better or worse as these are subjectively determined by the listener alone.
cheers
lacee
811 posts
 
Thank you Foster9,I have a friend who can't seem to hear differences between cables,be they inter-connect or power cords,even when I can hear the difference they make when listening to them in his rig.

He has discovered that his right ear has 20% hearing loss.

What he has just discovered is that using 4 bass traps and 4 wall damping panels has improved his ability to discerne differences better than before he tried them.
In fact he was sure that the room tuning devices would be a waste of money, because of his hearing issues.
He is pleased that his latest investment in audio has given him so much pleasure and a renewed interest in listening again.

It's unfortunate you are among the few who cannot enjoy the benefits that upgraded power cords can bring to the experience.
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
Lacee when you state I don't hear the benefits of upgraded power cords you have misunderstood my previous posts. I have owned many different aftermarket power cords over the years as I mentioned. I have heard the benefits of these cords. In fact, I don't use any stock power cords in my system because of that. I hear the difference they can make. Where I commented on your previous post was when you said that an upgraded power cord always improved the sound of whatever gear it is connected to. I have found that is true in many cases but not in 100% of cases. There have been a few cases where aftermarket cords did not improve a particular piece and the stock power cord was better. In most every case a stock cord was not better than an aftermarket (as you say "upgraded") cord, but in my experience there have been a few isolated exceptions. Now it is true that I had no way to try every power cord out there to find one what cord would worked best, but among the aftermarket power cords I had in my collection, I did not have one that outperformed the stock cord on the (Power Plant Premier). This is an example of what I was referring to when I said there are no absolutes in this hobby. In fact, as I was typing this post, I just thought of another piece I owned besides the Power Plant Premier where this anomaly was true, the Bryston 7B SST. So these are 2 cases in my experience where the stock cord was not bettered by the aftermarket cords I tried.
stewie
187 posts
 
My question is this: if Ruby Mountain AC cable by Siltech, say, which runs 6k for 1 meter, were sold in a 1/4 meter size for $2000 (allowing $500 extra expense for terminations) would it make a difference in sound? Could you, in other words, just run less expensive cord from the wall socket to you mini-and-suddenly-affordable Ruby Mountain? Put another way, what length of super high end power cord to you need to get the effects? Does it just so happen that 1 meter does the trick? Why not half a meter for less money? Or, by the same token, would a 6 meter power cord sound even better?
williewonka
3,082 posts
 
Stewie - the length of the cord would make little difference - within reason

Quality power cables are only a few ohms/km - so difference between 1/2 meter and 6 meters would be negligeable.

What does make a difference is the quality of the connectors

Regards
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