Is it all in my head??


So I bought a Kimber Power Kord...  yeah, yeah, but it looks prettier than stock, is well built, and having built all my cables myself I appreciated the craftsmanship.

...so, I'm playing an Everest LP--symphony stuff.. and it always sounded noisy and muffled (which is why i decided to give it a spin).  The power cable is plugged into my furman conditioner, and all the other cables are the same.  I swear this LP sounds more "untangled" now (that's the best way i can describe it).

I am an engineer and know intellectually this makes zero sense--is it some confirmation bias?  How can it be.. i didnt buy it expecting a sonic impact, i bought it because i couldn't make one that looks as cool (think of it as a necklace for my rig).  But I swear I think i hear a difference...  tell me it's all in my head.
waltertexas
mrdecibel just can’t seem to help himself.

—- “given this thread some time, and I assure you, others will follow, as he has plenty of company.”

One could also talk about the characters who very predictably enter these threads to retread their usual list of swipes at those who haven’t accepted the claims about after market ac cables. Always with insults and name calling of course. It’s far easier to throw the word “troll” at someone than deal maturely with the points they have made.

And of course it comes with the usual self-serving “critique”: YOU don’t have the hearing and perceptual ability I have” and “YOU don’t have the super high quality system I have” and similar self-stroking.

So lets see how this goes....

—— “Why are so many of these trolls not willing to try some power cords ( they are inexpensive enough ). “

As I have detailed here: I’ve tried high end power cords (Shunyata and others). In fact, I’ve done comparisons in a more carefully controlled manner than I bet mrdecibel ever has. So, that critique fails.

——“My guesses are, they know their hearing is bad ( from being in bands, etc. ); do not want to find out, or admit, their hearing is bad;”

Nope.

I’ve been protecting my hearing with earplugs at really loud events since the early 90’s. I have had my hearing tested regularly for years. The audiologist always remark about how good my hearing is for my age (now 55). My hearing often “measured as” someone 12 to 15 years younger in terms of linearity and frequency extension.

Next....

——“ their equipment is old and do not have iec inlets; “

I’ve owned plenty of equipment with removable ac cords. Have used some of those to test ac cords.

Next....

—- they have an " acute " shortage of experience in listening for fine details;

hmmm

I’ve been obsessed with sound since childhood, grew up with a high end system (starting in the 80’s, KEF 105.2 speakers, Carver amplification), have been heavily in to high end since the early 90’s, have done all sorts of live vs reproduced sound comparisons, have spent time in pro music recording studios recording music, been in post production sound for about 30 years, my day job involves recording sound and minutely tweaking sound all
day long - often literally matching the “air sound of a room with another, or tweaking reverbs to match production sound.

So, no, I don’t have an accute shortage of experience listening for fine details. I have held a job dependant on having that ability for decades.

——“the system they have does not have high enough definition or detail.”

I have used all manner of speakers including many known for excellent resolution - Quads, Waveform (still own some), Audio Physic various models,
moat recently Thiel 3.7 and 2.7 speakers, along with MBL omni 121s which use the same amazing tweeter/mid module as their $70,000 and higher models.

It would be laughable to even bother trying to claim all those speakers are low resolution. And of course, cable companies, shunyatta included, claim it’s a myth you need a super high resolution system anyway. They claim people can realize audible benefits across a wide range from modest to super high end systems.

So...fail again.


——“Trolling will never stop, because, and this was stated from another power cord thread, "

Isnt it interesting that folks like mrdecibel enter these threads to produce a screed about the failings of other people’s hearing, how they must have too-crappy systems to hear what he can hear, and he calls THOSE people “trolls.”

But when you can’t maturely address the points someone else makes and all
you can fire are blanks like the above, the only thing left to you is calling “troll.”

——“Keep in mind, I not looking to gain any popularity contests with these trolls. I just call them as I see them.”

Ah, just dropping in to tweak feathers then, huh?

What was that “T” word you keep using for others again?

Civil conversations are entirely possible to have about cables. There is no need to blow smoke and just make stuff up about those who don’t agree with you.




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lol... i did not intend to ignite flames :P  (when ever did a cable comment not)

So, I was in NYC last week and stopped by innovative audio off 58th or so and Lex-i got to listen to an amazing system:  a pair of dan d'agostino relentless driving wilson alexx fed by an MSB reference DAC thru a  d'agostino momentum preamp.  let's just say this was a life changing experience.. for as large as those amps and speakers were, the sound was pinpoint perfect immersive and engaging (holographic even) and I never knew such an experience could be had in high end audio.  

It's one thing to read about it.. its another to spend an hour or so listening to over $1M in high end gear set up with perfection in an acoustically treated room.  After experiencing that, it is now my view that everything matters and that there is no end to this obsession.  

In the end, it all comes down to taste and what it is you are chasing.  For me, I am in love (currently) with dynamic range and power+clarity at low volumes--to this end, I feel the Kimber power kord added a net + to the value prop.


waltertexas

That listening experience sounds totally awesome.  Reminds me of when I got a private demo of the MBL flagship system.  Quite head turning!

Though I’m curious about this:

—-“After experiencing that, it is now my view that everything matters and that there is no end to this obsession.”

You mentioned you were an engineer.  I’m wondering how you determined from listening to that system that “everything makes a diference.”

As an engineer you would understand the importance of isolating the contributions of one part of a system vs another to determine what any particular part of the chain is contributing and to what degree *if any* it is contributing.   So I’m just wondering how you believe it follows from listening to (I presume) a system full of gear you are unfamiliar with that you understood the contributions of every bit to know “everything makes a difference.”

I hope you agree this is a reasonable question to ask. (?)
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