Schubert & cmsgolf- This site could be the focus of a case study on hubris.
Hearing is believing?........power cables.......
For anyone who is skeptical about the difference a high quality power cord can make in your high quality audio system........try it.......hearing is believing. About 10 years ago when I bought my first "entry level" hifi system (B&K amp/preamp, Canton speakers) my audio advisor dropped off a Tara Labs Prism power cord. He said just try it for a week and if you don't think it makes a difference just return it. I, like most unfamiliar with high quality cables, was skeptical.......how could a cable 1 meter long from the wall to my equipment make a difference? I put it on the power amp and yes I could definitely tell there was a more defined bass and overall clearer soundscape. I'm a musicians, so I figured maybe the "non audiophile" can't hear the difference. So my brother-in-law who is a bricklayer came over and we did a blind listening test. I randomly switched the Tara, sometimes trying to fool him......told him I switched but didn't........he could tell every time I used the Tara! So I was convinced that it was "wishful thinking on my part or particularly sensitive ears. If you don't think a great power cable can make a difference........take the challenge. Try one for a week and see (hear) for yourself!
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Let's see, what has, "Science" taught us? At one time observation, which fosters common sense, led those interested, to believe that the Earth was the center of the universe. After all, everything seemed to revolve around it. Someone invented the telescope and people understood orbits. Then someone watched an apple fall from a tree and decided objects with mass attract one another and Newton's understanding of gravity was the, "law" by which the universe was viewed. Then Einstein showed us that the universe kinda like a fabric of space and time, that objects bend, and other objects follow those bends. Proven, by showing that light is even bent, in traveling through that fabric. The Physics of the universe demands mathematical symmetry and lately, things just aren't adding up. ie: Observations would lead most to believe the shape of the universe to resemble a larger form of our own galaxy(a saucer), spiraling out from the center of what's called, "The Big Bang". A certain amount of gravitation force would be required, to maintain that shape, which requires a certain amount of mass(remember that required symmetry?). Guess what? They've now calculated the mass of the known matter of this universe. We're only 95% LIGHT of the figure needed for, "symmetry". Not only that, but- ever heard of the, "Laws of Thermodynamics"? Now that scientists are better equipped to actually observe and measure what's happening in this space/time continuum, it seems the universe's expansion is SPEEDING UP(contrary to, "common sense"). BUT, BUT- nothing speeds up after an explosion's energy is expended, RIGHT? SO- now we know that to have the gravity required to hold our known universe, in the shape we can observe and measure, we need to discover the 95% of matter, we don't know about. HMMMM, must be something called, "Dark Matter" out there. AND- what would cause the matter of the universe, to be speeding up in it's expansion? Must be something out there called, "Dark Energy" that we know nothing about. Then again- there JUST MIGHT be other universes(The Multiverse) out there that are exerting gravitational and other unknown forces in this one. But then, Quantum Physics is a whole 'nother ballpark. SO- the more we've ACTUALLY learned from Science, the more we know we don't know. Bottom line, real, "scientists" understand that to actually understand this universe, one must often abandon, "common sense". Someone once said something like, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." |
Does anybody know - and is able to explain - why power cords can make a noticeable difference? I'm searching for answers but don't find any. Shunyata's list of "misconceptions" is interesting to read, but it does not really explain what physically happens inside the equipment explaining the influence a power cord can have. https://www.gcaudio.com/tips-tricks/why-power-cables-make-a-difference/ So far I experienced the most dramatic improvement when upgrading the power cord of my CD player. Analog-like liquidity, higher resolution, lower sound floor, more dynamic presentation, better dynamic differentiation and denser tone color saturation could be easily heard when swapping power cords. I even recorded a CD for a friend to demonstrate the effect of power cords. I recorded the same (analog) record twice on CD - one time with original power cords for phono stage and CD recorder and after that with different power cords on both units. The mixed CD contains each track twice - so you can "swap" between both versions of the same track. The differences are clearly audible and my friend was able to hear the difference in his system as well. After this experiment I also upgraded umbilical cords of my preamp's and phono stage's power supplies and was shocked because the impact of this upgrade was even more dramatic than the simple power cord upgrade. The overall impact was so dramatic, that I am now replacing every inch of reachable power conductor inside my gear. I do know that the claimed shielding and/or filtering of some power cords does not explain this effect in my case, because my power cables/conductors have zero shielding or filtering that could explain any of the above improvements. Is anybody out there smart enough to understand the physics behind these effects? |
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