Power cord choice?

cleeds3,919 posts07-25-2021 10:05am"If you think all power conditioners rely on inductors that compromise PF, you’re mistaken. You're also mistaken if you isolate PF as the most critical factor in delivering full power."

You seem to be making some very broad assumptions which are simply wrong. I'm well acquainted with series-mode and parallel-mode surge suppressors/conditioners and their design differences.

You seem to have an argumentative nature. Is everything all right?

@cleeds   I agree that no one test can be held up as universally true.  However, that doesn't explain why there is no apparent difference in sound when the new high-end cable is put into service?  How can the improvement in sound not be obvious to everyone who listens?  I live with the belief that every upgrade I've made to my system has provided a "small" improvement, while being hard/impossible to discern on it's own, the accumulated impact of many changes is much better sound.  I have simply become accustomed to the results and so don't remember how lacking it was previously.  This stops me from opening a vein when I think of the $$$$$ I've spent chasing the dream.  Hmmmm, new Mercedes or a set of Legacy V speakers?  ha ha ha 

I went with the Puritan PSM 156 because I don’t require more than a kilowatt of power at any device, and certainly not the nearly 1.4kW the power conditioner can deliver.

110VAC = approx. 69.96VDC after rectification .
so rounded up to 70VDC x 15A = 1050 Watts

70VDC x 20A (it has a 20A power cord that comes with it) = approx 1.4kW

So I have a two by 400Watt power amplifier, a fanless PC as a server, a DAC, a TV as my monitor and I’m way below that. It pays to do some math to work out your current load on your system, there's nothing wrong with overkill, and there's nothing wrong with having just a little more than you need either. I actually have 114.9VAC measured at the outlet, which equates to more Watts. The work done is the Voltage multiplied by the Amperes, or electrical pressure by the electron flow, known as Watts.

However, if the PI Audio UberBuss conditioner works better for less money, that’s remarkable, a remarkable deal indeed.

I listen to a lot of music. I had a mountain bike accident four years ago which has left me in wheelchair most of the day and I’ve had lots of time to try lots of different products. I’ve spent a decent amount of money looking for the magic that some people find bye changing different cables and PCs in their system. the best reason that I can gather is that at different times during the day your sinus cavities are different sizes depending on how much moisture is in the air. This directly affects what you hear, how the sound echoes through your head. There’s definitely a difference which could explain why people think that when you wait the cables will burn in. If you’re wondering how I figured this out is that after the accident I lost the use of my hands thus I cannot pick my nose. Sure this sounds gross but we all do it without realizing it. I have to have somebody help me clear my nose. This practice of having somebody else clear my nose has made it easy two realize the fact that music sounds different before and after this practice. That’s how I came to the conclusion that sinuses and sinus pressure have something to do with the cable war that has gone on for so many years.
Barometric pressure, whether you’ve just jumped out of the shower, or just blow your nose makes a difference in what you hear. The simplest experiment that I can think of is listen to your cables after being outside all day. Turn off your system, blow your nose and then listen to your system again. It will sound different if you really pay attention. I think the same thing happens when you listen to different cables, PCs etc. but nobody pays attention to these factors.
The laws of electricity are solid and have been around for over 100 years. If there were differences in electrical properties via different cables somebody would’ve figured out a way by now to classify the cables before you bought them. Basically different metals and shielding products would do different things to cables and you could chart this like you can chart Tone controls and equalizers. That way, you could walk into an audio store and I say to the sales person “ i’d like my system to have more high end, can you please direct me to a set of cables that are rated for more high end?” The way things are now it’s no different than throwing dice against a wall you have no idea what they’re going to do to your system. If cables were changing systems as science fact(like the rules of electricity ) Power cords and interconnects would be a science instead of a crapshoot.

how’s that for a crazy off-the-wall theory?

turnbowm

You seem to be making some very broad assumptions which are simply wrong.

That’s an interesting accusation but without an example it doesn’t mean anything.

I’m well acquainted with series-mode and parallel-mode surge suppressors/conditioners and their design differences.

Good for you.
Have you ever actually measured Power Factor? What other tests have you done (or had done for you) on your AC line? Those are good first steps before choosing equipment to correct problems you may not even have. (And to be clear, I believe in power conditioning and use it in my system. Extensively. But not everyone beenfits to the same degree.)

Here's another thing about PF: You utility has every reason to keep it as close to 1 as possible, because a negative Power Factor increases cost of power distribution. So if you truly suffer from bad PF, you're likely to be able to work with the utility to resolve it.