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!
128x128mikeelzeysguitarstudio
The equivalent of a dam is the large capacitors in a linear power supply. If big enough and filtered appropriately then the power cord only needs to be specified properly. If too small then performance will be variable depending on many factors - volume level, power supply levels during the day, power cords and what else happens to be plugged in and turned on.
Like I said, mods that actually increase performance, such as stiffer motor mounts, better air intake assemblies, engine tuning... come at the cost of NVH.

wonka - how do you know that you rely ONLY on your ears to tell you when improvements are observed??

if it is not a blind test, you aren't


Randy-11 - my ears let me know when improvements have been achieved because I hear nuances in the music that I recall from a lifetime playing musical instruments, namely - Piano, drums, electric guitar acoustic guitar, 12 string guitar bass guitar, mandolin harmonica and drums.

When my system responds in a manner that more accurately portrays my memory of those instruments, then I believe it is performing better.

I believe relying on what your memory recalls from actually playing instruments is a far better method to gauge system accuracy and improvements than a blind test.

There are subtleties like...
- the complex harmonics of the piano
-the speed (i.e. dynamics) of percussion instruments
- the complexities produced as the bow hits a stringed instrument
- the sound that a guitar players nails makes as they pluck the strings
- the complex sounds a slide makes on a Dobro guitar
- the spitting sounds that brass players tend to make
- the complex breathing of Oboe and clarinet players
- the mind blowing rangeand complexity of a pipe organ
- and many many more

When a cable allows my system to reproduce those nuances better than another cable then I have heard an improvement - i.e. I trust my ears

As I stated above - I cannot "prove" the science - but then neither can a blind test

Regards

Todd - Thanks for the support, it's nice to know the cables perform well on other systems

 I think you will be pleased with the performance of a Helix power cable on your pre-amp. It should allow it to deliver considerably more details due to improved clarity. At least that is what I have found with source components. Since the signals in a pre-amp are comparatively small, I consider them a "cousin" to a source.

Having a Helix IC between the pre-amp and the main amps would also work wonders - why don't you try one :-)

The Helix cables work together to ensure the neutral side of the entire system stays at zero volts and noise free - hence allowing it to operate to the best of its abilities.

Keep me posted - I would appreciate knowing how things turn out.

Cheers
@randy-11 why the crunk doesn't the @ work for your username?!

I understand there is an increase in NVH. My last car was a bit of a toy that I played with and there was definitely an increase in NVH. The analogy of NVH in the audio world would be a decrease in WAF. My wife certainly did not like the increased NVH!

@williewonka I have considered making helix Interconnects, but I made a pair of silver interconnects with KLEI connectors not too long ago and they sound amazing, so I'm not in a hurry to replace them. I'll keep you posted on how the PC works with the pre. I was considering trying to make helix speaker cables, but I may just go the biwired, braided solid silver route. Not in a hurry there either though.