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

This is a journey through real life experiences from you to everyone that cares to educate themselves. I must admit that I was not a believer in power cords and how they affect sound in your system. I from the camp that believed that the speaker provided 75% of the sound signature then your source then components but never the power cord. Until that magic day I along with another highly acclaimed AudioGoner who I will keep anatomist ran through a few cables in quite a few different systems and was "WOWED" at what I heard. That being said cable I know that I am not the only believer and that is why there are so many power cord/cable companies out there that range from $50 to 20-30 thousand dollars and above. So I like most of you have to scratch my head and ask where do I begin what brand and product and what should i really pay for it?

The purpose of this discussion to get some honest feed back on Price to Performance from you the end user to us here in the community.

Please fire away!


 


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geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
One irony for cable tests, blind tests or whatever, is that new cables almost always sound quite bad relatively speaking, so what purpose would testing new cables serve? The other irony is perhaps more subtle, especially for you new guys, but unplugging a cable destroys the delicate electrical mechanical interface where the cable is connected. It takes at least a day or two to establish or restore that delicate connection once the cable is plugged in. Same for power cords. Conclusion, all (rpt all) cable tests are bogus unless you are willing to be extremely patient. Most cable swappers are like bulls in a china shop. As Bob Dylan says at the end of his records, good luck to everyone! 

Of course the big chicken 🐔 in the room is wire directionality. Why would anyone test cables that are in the wrong direction? Hel-loo!

“Because it’s what I choose to believe.” - Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in Prometheus
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"Of course the big chicken 🐔 in the room is wire directionality."
Now, you are talking. Can we have some freezing story, too?
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
I knew that would get a rise out of you, nubbins. As soon as I wrote it. It’s Pavlovian! 🐶 It’s also ESP. By the way, I can’t help noticing your grammar and spelling are kind of falling apart recently. Are you OK?  Are you going the way of Lizzie? I hope not. 
glupson
7,842 posts
 
I have been following your example. rpt. your example gffktai.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,960 posts
 
atdavid
... a blind test is not a sighted test ...
Agreed! They are two different things. In a true blind test, neither those conducting the test nor the subject of the test know exactly what is under evaluation at any given moment.

But if anyone involved in the test actually knows what is under evaluation at any given time - and they know this because they can "see" - then it isn’t a true proper blinded test:

blind/blīnd/adjective ...
  1. 1. unable to see because of injury, disease, or a congenital condition."he was blind in one eye" ... Opposite: sighted ...

  2. 2. lacking perception, awareness, or discernment.
Anyone who has any experience running tests with subjective results has used single blind testing ...
I don’t know whether that claim is true or not, but you make a fair point. The results of a "single blind" test are subjective, not objective, because the test doesn’t even try to control for all the known variables. That doesn’t mean the test has no value, so there’s no need for you to feel such hurt over this. But its value is limited to about the same extent as other sighted tests. Perhaps that limitation is not nearly so severe as some believe.

It’s confounding to me why you refuse to acknowledge the difference between "blind" and "sighted." Perhaps you simply seek to continue argumentation.
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