powercords

At one point many years ago my turntable was battery powered. The battery was connected to a charger. The thing had a switch to disconnect the charger from AC. The darn thing sounded better disconnected, even when the charger was not charging.

I never bothered to try changing the power cord to the charger since it didn’t matter because I could disconnect it anyway. But this is a perfect example of how the power cord connected to an external supply can still affect the sound of a turntable with a very massive platter.

Currently the power cord going into the Verus motor controller is the least effective of all the power cords in my system. Likewise the same SR Orange fuses that make a substantial improvement everywhere else matter hardly at all in this controller. That said, the power cord and fuses do make a very slight difference. Nowhere near what they do everywhere else. Barely noticeable. Would not spend the money if I didn’t already have the power cord. But its there.

As to how, it should be obvious. There’s two explanations. One, as with the battery that sounds better disconnected, the power cord can act as a sort of filter that reduces AC line noise. Another is the motor is like everything else in an audio system, it does not draw power continuously nor smoothly. Its a never ending stream of transient micro-surges. Even as massive a platter as mine (25lbs or thereabouts) still responds to motor torque and speed, which in turn derives from power delivery to the motor.

These "I’d like to know how" questions might seem intelligent or intended to stump but are actually quite tiresome. You really should be able to figure this stuff out for yourself, you know?
Currently: https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367vs with the battery powered motor: https://www.theanalogdept.com/c_miller.htm

@jw944ts - Here’s what I have found over the last 12 years that I have been assessing/building power cables and power supplies...

It is the power supply of the component that dictates how much "improvement" will be achieved by implementing a quality power cable.

e.g.
Amplifiers - "generally" have a more capable power supply than a source component may have - e.g. quality solid state amps "generally" have a very large transformer that has lots of headroom (excess capability) to handle peak transient signals - and therefore the quality of the power cable should be of the highest quality in order to achieve a noticeable improvement in sound quality

Source components "generally" have a less capable power supply than an amp and therefore will show improvement, even with a less capable power cable

Components that use the little walwart power supplies "generally" benefit greatly from a better quality linear power supply with a quality power cable.

BTW - I have used the term "generally" because there are always exceptions to "the rule"

Now, even if the power supply in a component "looks good" there really is no telling just how much improvement can be achieved until you try a quality power cable...e.g.

I have a Simaudio Moon LP 5.3 phono stage - the power supply uses what looks like a quality toroid transformer and is isolated from the audio circuits by a metal divider. However - Simaudio also sells a separate power supply, so this told me that improvements could be achieved. Using a high quality power cable on this component provided a significant improvement in dynamics, clarity, details, bass depth, smoothness and imaging.

By comparison, my Bluesound Node 2i has a very small footprint, so I assumed it was not as "capable" as my phono stage, but to my surprise, with a quality power cable it performs to a similar level of fidelity.

By comparison, my Bryston Amp has three separate internal power supplies, so I had to employ a power cable of the highest quality to achieve a "noticeable improvement", but the "amount" of improvement observed was much less and was more in the area of imaging, details and clarity.

Unfortunately it is not easy to tell whether a particular power cable will provide significant improvements and even if it works with one component does not mean it will provide the same benefits on every component.

If you buy the very best cables for every component, you may be investing more than is required for some components.

My power cables are all DIY that use an unconventional geometry to achieve a very high level of performance, so they are not suited for everyone

Power cables can be very hit-or-miss and you can end up paying lots of money for cables that may provide some improvement, but may not not necessarily come close to attaining the best out of each component

Try to get loaner cables from an audio store to audition in home, or borrow from audio buddies

If DIY is not your thing - I consider Nordost and In-akustik to be two of the best commercial brands available. Another company that also sells a more affordable power cable that I believe to be pretty good is KLE Innovations.

Good luck with your quest - Steve

@williewonka , thank you for the thoughtful and detail note....seems like at the end of the day, one can never really know without trying, as logic , again, doesn't seem to apply to our hobby....

@jw944ts - If you know what to look for you can shorten the search a little. But so many times the various brands DO NOT publish the Geometry and metallurgy of their cables.

In-akustik is one company that does publish this info simply because it would take a lot of skill and very custom parts to replicate their cables

As for the other brands - it can be hit and miss.

I was fortunate enough to attend a Nordost Seminar at a local audio show and heard the improvement first hand that their power cables made

As for the KLE Innovaitons cables - I have tried most of their IC and speaker cable lineup and they are very good, so my recommendation of their product "assumes" their power cables are also very good based on their other products.

As for my DIY cables - http://image99.net/blog/

I am told by other who have adopted them that they are among the best PC's out there, but they are a little more complicated to build than simply attaching a couple of plugs to a piece of bulk three core wire.

But if you are reasonably competent with a variable speed drill, soldering iron, crimping tool and can attach plugs in the correct polarity - then they may be the best bang for the buck.

Unfortunately, the liability and certification aspect associated to power cables prevents me from building them for others

Regards - Steve

Steve,
It is a shame you do not build for others....any available for adoption?