Harley quote

"Diminishing returns " is the subjective excuse by budget Audiophiles for not putting more into their system.  It's an excuse for Lower Fi. Pretending you're doing all that, without doing it.  :(
Mostly, the phrase is used by people ignorant of the performance spectrum.  

Do people who swap out the manufacturer's supplied power cords also swap out the innards of the component they wish to improve on? If they believe a company is skimping on their power cords what makes them think the connection point is going to be any better? Why do you suppose a company would invest so much into R&D and spend so much time and care on the internal components of their equipment to end up saying "Well shoot, let's top this masterpiece off with a cheap power cord?" If you spend thousands on a power cord but you don't upgrade the supposed poor internal electronics what have you achieved?

@douglas_schroeder - so you don't think the law of diminishing returns applies to audio equipment or is an excuse for LowFi? It is not an excuse, but a fact, and LowerFi is in the eye of the beholder, and sounds very snobbish.You can't tell someone how much $$ to put in their system. People have all different values, even audiophiles (self-described or otherwise). 

Hopefully, audiophiles have an idea of what they've spent on their system or what it lists for or what it's currently worth or some measurement of expenditure. 99% of people have some limit. If you are part of the 1% (no similarity to Bernie Sanders' comments intended) then good for you. I know I spent a hell of a lot more of my available cash on stereo equipment and records when I was in college than I do now, but what I spend now is greater than when my kids were still on the payroll. Everything is relative. If they are not part of the 1% and have no idea what they have or are spending, I'd like to play poker with them.

If you're part of the 99%, then you recognize, and consciously or subconsciously act on the law yourself, and are not operating with Monopoly money. Whether you are going from a $2K system to a $3K system, $5K, $10K, $20K, $30K, $50K, $100K, $150K, $250K, $500K or $1M+ with each jump should come SQ improvement (unless you got terrible advice or don't know how to set it up) that you can hear and appreciate. Whether it (or any purchase) is worth the expenditure is up to the consumer. Frankly, any investment should be judged by the sound improvement it makes; equipment, sound treatments, cables, tweaks, whatever. Some quasi-audiophiles only care about how cool or nice their system looks, and if that's what floats their boat, even include that in your value analysis as people consider it furniture, which certainly can change the equation. And it's OK to care about both.

I don't think anyone who contributes or reads this sight is IGNORANT of this, and there is no reason for antagonizing anyone in the name of snobbery.

@dadork - its common for amps and other components to come with junk power cords or none at all because people have preferences. I don't think it reflects whatsoever on the inside of the boxes.

Of course they make a difference, just beware of the law of diminishing returns.....

Diminishing returns " is the subjective excuse by budget Audiophiles for not putting more into their system. It’s an excuse for Lower Fi. Pretending you’re doing all that, without doing it. :(
Mostly, the phrase is used by people ignorant of the performance spectrum.

Do you realize that this law only means that to get to the top we must always pay more and there exist a relative point, different for each of us, where the investment is no more atttractive for what we will get from it?

No?


Your post is like the post of sellers who want to sell something, whatever the cost, and who is ready to use this evidence to depreciate what we humble mortal called Hi-Fi experience...

With 500 bucks from my used audio system, the piano and the orchestra fill my room 3-d in 2 positions of listening....Is my system the best? not at all.... Is it satisfying ? yes.. Is it because i never listen to a highly costly one? My system gives me a better sound that all the systems i listen to to date....I dont need to invest to reach more of the same....Or a little bit more for 12,000 bucks( i already calculate what i must buy to beat mine) 😁

Your ignorance is easy to explain, no system, whatever the cost can reach his optimal working if it is not righfully embedded mechanically, electrically and acoustically... This is the fact that separate true hi-fi from ordinary bad system....Under some very high price, most of the times it is not the price paid for electronic component that define hi-fi experience, it is the embeddings controls.......Most reviewers dont know that and those who knows dont write it in CAPITAL letters why? Because their job is to sell...Look at yourself and see yourself for what you are: a seller....

It is evident that costly system have a superior potential...
But it is evident that using  this fact to depreciate the experience of others is only a sellers method...And ignoring what rightful methods of controls can do is  ignorance...