So i see the price of the power cables that were found having significant impact could range from $200 ish all the way to $2000. Could someone with more technical background / expertise provide justifications on the price difference in terms of their physical properties such as conductivity, impedance, insulation, etc. AND, most importantly, how these properties affect the sound. The venders of these "high end" cable seems hardly publishing those technical data.
Power Cables on Subwoofers do Matter
I read an opinion somewhere on this site that swapping the power cable on a subwoofer has a minimal effect and may not be worth it. I have a very different opinion. Power cables can completely transform a subwoofer’s performance.
I have an SVS SB-2000 powered sub and my preferred power cable, a Zavfino Fina, has made it sound like a different animal altogether. It has much more punch, freq response linearity, and liveliness. The manufacturer included power cable makes it sound slow, bloated, and almost out of tune just because it’s sloppy, in comparison. The only drawback to the Fina is that slam below 30-40 hz is a little recessed but it’s not major and is still clearly my choice. I also compared five other aftermarket power cables from other components in my system and they ALL had a different effect on the sub. For testing, I used various crossover points and most of the testing was with the loudspeakers off in order to isolate the sub for critical listening.
Cheers!
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@lanx0003 - most cable companies provide very little insight as to why they charge the price they command, simply because the cables are poorly designed and tend to perform just above the abilities of stock power cables. But there are a few companies that do divulge their cable geometry, for those audiophiles that understand what goes into a good cable. A couple of those companies are:
Cables from both of these companies perform exceptionally well and are priced according to their complexity and materials used So what should the audiophile look for in a cable #1 - the metal used for the wire
#2 - insulation - is a dielectric and will impact cable noise floor
#3 - cable geometry - is the art of spacing the individual conductors in such a way that the impact of a signal in one conductor has minimal impact, WRT the introduction of noise, into an adjacent conductor
Combine the best from all three categories and you will have an exceptional cable that will cost more than the lamp cord from Home Depot, but will perform so much better. Having said all of that, there are some companies that simply exploit those that believe the best will cost lots of money - and so they charge very high prices.. That’s it in a nutshell ! - but it does get a lot more complicated Regards - Steve |
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