The Truth About Power Cords and there "Real" Price to Performance

That 10A Skillsaw can draw 60+ amps on startup, and can also draw temporarily when loaded much more than 10A as well.


A large ClassAB, ClassD, or Class A/AB amplifier turned up loud can also pull greater than 15A for a small portion of the AC waveform, though unlike the Skillsaw, the average current won't exceed 15A.

hoghead112 posts11-14-2019 8:43amMy brother is a carpenter and he told me about using lower grade extension cables for power tools and there is a difference when using a higher amperage designed cable vs one that is not. The Skillsaw I was using had more power and came up to speed quicker and felt like it had more torque than a lower grade cable. I have always believed that the start to a better sounding audio system starts with what comes out of the wall socket first. Better cables and noise reduction treatment is the start of a great sounding system, (Crap in, Crap out).

There is nothing factual about claiming that humans hear "Principally via that transient" or most of the rest of that paragraph.

While it is true that the initial arrival wavefront is dominant in sound localization, that is primarily due to group-delay/phase based inter-aural processing (difference in what reaches each ear), not in the exact shape of that wavefront. We also give dominance to processing of the initial wavefront and reject echoes and reflections, to a degree, for transient sounds, which gives credence to the importance of transient response. The brain tends to lump the first 35msec of the transient together, so transient has to be put in perspective.

However, to say this is "principally" how we hear, is just not at all supportable. It is not even supportable for localization which includes level cues, frequency cues, etc. which in music can be as important as timing cues. It is just a part of our auditory system for processing threats. Evolutionary changes to support speech and better interpret threats greatly extend what it means to "hear".

teo_audio1,228 posts11-14-2019 8:58amAnd then added in again, on top of that..is,...that humans hear principally via that transient and all complex transient systems...and we define our hearing limits in the small tiny area of perfection of delivery/shaping/levels/timing of those complex transient loads

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@blumartini - unfortunately, your original post failed to identify price vs. performance by component.

I have investigated cables for many years and power cable improvement  seems differ with the component to which they are attached.
- components with "less-capable" power supplies tend to exhibit more of an improvement
- compared to the same cable when used on amps with massive power supplies, which tend to exhibit less of an improvement

e.g. my Schiit Bifrost DAC sounded much better with a Signal Power Cable, which made no improvement when connected to my NAIM amp

So what may appear to a "good" power cable when used on a source component may not be so good for a Power Amp.

Sorry to complicate matters, but Power cables can be pretty fickle

The only commercially available power cable that I believe has the best price/performance ratio is Nordost, because I have heard them make noticeable improvements in a system and they have models at various price points better suited to the different components.

I now make my own, so I stopped looking at the vast amount of offerings now commercially available.

Unfortunately, some companies out there offer products that are not much better than a piece of bulk furutech/oyaide cable with a couple of good connectors attached. These make it difficult for anyone trying to buy a cable that is significantly better

Regards  Steve

Greetings All,

After reading Jay Luong of Audio Bacon;s Review of 27 Best Audiophile Power Cords I must say that I was Impressed! Jay spent several months reviewing each and everyone of them in depth. I must say this guy is the "Navy Seal of Reviewers" !!!

I thought it would be exciting if he would join us so I invited him along with all the companies he reviewed to join us. I dont know if they all will but I am positive most wouldn’t want to chime in :)

The Invite List:
Jay Luong Author of Audio Bacon Website

Atlas Cables

Audioquest

Furutech

Gutwire

High Fidelity Cables

Kimber Kable

NRG Custom Cables

Morrow Audio

Neotech

Nordost

Requisite Audio

Sablon Audio

Snake River

Straight Wire

Triode Wire Labs

TriPoint Audio

Verastarr

Vovox

WireWorld

Hope you can make it!

Best,

BluMartini

@jtcf

In response to your question on gas powered generators.

Aloha BluMartini, I’ve done some A/B comparisons with the p15(A)and my 15 year old Shunyata(B) conditioner. The P15 showed 4% THD and a real choppy sign wave coming in and .3 THD going out with A very clean sign wave. On Kauai we have a combination of Solar power and Diesel generated power. Power supply can be very inconsistent at times so surge protection is mandatory. I have a "whole house surge protecter" on my incoming 200amp line with a dedicated 20amp line to my audio room for audio equipment.
On my amps there seemed to be little or no difference.
On my preamp there was an obvious difference. The highs were more extended cymbals were faster and sounded more real with more air around them. Side to side sound stage got wider probably due to better definition though out the recorded frequency.
But, the best improvement is in the phono stage and CD player. The phono stage (and preamp)plugged into the P15 made an obvious and very positive difference. Soundstage got even wider but also front to back soundstage was way more pronounced. Bass got very tight and was easily identified, verses being somewhat muddy and vague. Drum attacks were more startling. CD player was similar although the depth wasn’t as prevalent. I generally don’t sit and listen to CD’s. I could go on but I got to go to work. Needless to say it was a positive addition to my system.

Dave