2. cables
  3. 141153-122613

Why Power Cables Affect Sound

I just bought a new CD player and was underwhelmed with it compared to my cheaper, lower quality CD player. That’s when it hit me that my cheaper CD player is using an upgraded power cable. When I put an upgraded power cable on my new CD player, the sound was instantly transformed: the treble was tamed, the music was more dynamic and lifelike, and overall more musical. 

This got me thinking as to how in the world a power cable can affect sound. I want to hear all of your ideas. Here’s one of my ideas:

I have heard from many sources that a good power cable is made of multiple gauge conductors from large gauge to small gauge. The electrons in a power cable are like a train with each electron acting as a train car. When a treble note is played, for example, the small gauge wires can react quickly because that “train” has much less mass than a large gauge conductor. If you only had one large gauge conductor, you would need to accelerate a very large train for a small, quick treble note, and this leads to poor dynamics. A similar analogy might be water in a pipe. A small pipe can react much quicker to higher frequencies than a large pipe due to the decreased mass/momentum of the water in the pipe. 

That’s one of my ideas. Now I want to hear your thoughts and have a general discussion of why power cables matter. 

If you don’t think power cables matter at all, please refrain from derailing the conversation with antagonism. There a time and place for that but not in this thread please. 
128x128mkgus
mkgus's avatar
mkgus OP
324 posts
 
Yet if your claim is at all challenged with reasonable questions you get so incensed as to insult the questioner as “having problems.”

Are we supposed to simply sit down, shut up and accept anything nonoise claims as The Truth without possibly questioning it? 

If not...why does questioning your claims cause you to insult the questioner?

I think nonoise is getting upset with you because you are denying his very reality without having any experience with it via sitting in a arm chair 500 miles away removed from his situation and then going on to cite how fallable the mind is: it’s borderline insulting. If you are implying cables cannot affect sound, then I can only ask you to open your mind and seek out experiences. I’ve shared my experiences. I was in the doubtful camp and did not want to spend money on cables to get the most out of my system. I still want to resist them but I have come to know that they have their time and place and shouldn’t be overlooked if one is interested in extracting the most out of your system. I don’t know how they work, either, but that is the first step in scientific inquiry: make an observation. From there you ask questions, hence the reason I started this thread. 

mkgus's avatar
mkgus OP
324 posts
 
@prof It’s really no different than if an experienced bird watcher said they saw a specific bird in their backyard and you went on and on about how they don’t migrate this far north and how fallable the mind is. If it was a little kid, maybe it would be more acceptable. But someone who has years of experience, to start with a discussion of how easily the mind is fooled is a subtle way of saying, “You’re wrong, you’re delusional, and I know more than you.” It’s a bit confrontational. 
flapjack
116 posts
 
Take a photo of the bird. Problem solved.
mkgus's avatar
mkgus OP
324 posts
 
I’m also curious to know how the naysayers listen to their systems. Do they sit directly in front of the speakers for hours on end doing nothing but listening to the music in a sound treated room with a quiet mind and focused intention? Or is it just on in the background as they go about their day. If given the latter, I would be in the naysayer camp. No way I could pick up on subtleties of cables from across the room while doing dishes - at least I don’t think I could. 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Photos can be photoshopped. Hel-loo! Besides you can take a photo of a UFO or even a video of a UFO and people still won’t believe you. 👽 It’s human nature to make one’s mind up before the evidence is presented and not to change one’s mind as a result of any evidence.
More to discover