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
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,903 posts
 
I simply don't get it. One can easily hear the differences in better power cords and one needn't spend a lot. That, and you can simply try it for yourself, unless you have a tin ear then all bets are off. That, and your life as an audiophile just became a whole lot easier and cheaper. Best Buy here I come!

All the best,
Nonoise
Post removed 
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

It's interesting to see the tide turning 2019 style. As more Tunable sights pop up around the world the "Tune" is becoming front and center again. I believe these will be the new reference points for variable audio as it was in the past. This time around we have the internet available to us to give more of a real time account. There are going to be a few forums that we will use to promote the variables, hoping Agon is one of them because of the deep roots that Agon has historically.

Four years ago (maybe longer) we offered our Tunable Room (TuneLand Vegas) as a welcoming testing sight for any who wish to either come listen or bring their own test equipment. Listeners did come, conclusions were made and we all went back to listening with big smiles. There were no heated discussions needed at all once the demos happened. We did the same thing in Pontiac Michigan and Nashville years ago, and the original "TuneVilla" also welcomed listeners and techs from around the world. Dr Robert Barstow from SUNY was so impressed (1990's) he explored the possibility of a dedicated wing at SUNY for tuning R&D.

Fact is, as the questions get answered and the proof is experienced in real time, those who are what are called here on this forum "naysayers" never show up to any of the events. Every year testing is done in real time and the electronic industry continues to move forward and the opportunities are all around for the curious.

Will this forum become a place of proof seekers beyond angry audio trolls? Maybe, but I think the telling part are the number of posts that end up being deleted. I have said the Mods have been extraordinary on this thread and others. For myself this also represents a maturing of the pages.

As I put in more Tunable Rooms my offer will remain for those who wish to do their tests and move from talking to walking.

Michael Green

jafreeman's avatar
jafreeman
689 posts
 
"I don’t understand why people think that very expensive, high end audio gear should be the most prone to the most superfluous variables." kosst

Could be because cables and cords leading into and out of that high-end gear cannot perform up to the standard of that gear. From my Audio Research Ref 210 owner’s manual, 2006:

IMPORTANT: Use the best available speaker wires and interconnects. Audio Research cannot emphasize this enough. As better components and systems are developed, it becomes increasingly important to avoid the limitations of inferior system interconnections.

Audio Research cannot emphasize enough the use of high-quality cords and wire, and I consider their advice of the highest authority. I have always taken that as audio canon. All of you naysayers lost this argument before you started it, and you’ve been losing it as long as you have been making it, but you will probably continue, misinformed as before.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Does Audio Research provide power cords with their products ? 
More to discover