2. amps-preamps
  3. 189762-53619

New expensive power cord for amp and no change in sound?

I bought new an expensive(for me) well known and reviewed power cord for my very good amp and plugged it directly onto the wall socket. After a couple of weeks of daily use I hear no change in the sound quality from a $500 cord. I don’t want to name it for fear of getting my thread deleted. You would know it or at least be aware of the company. Did I throw away several thousand dollars? Before I get the snake oil answer I want to let you know that I bought an upgraded cord for my pre as suggested by the pre’s manufacturer and am pleased with the results.

I guess for full disclosure the amp’s manufacturer said don’t bother. But I had had good luck with the pre so I thought it would be a good idea.

Anybody else have this happen to them?

roxy1927
dill
2,516 posts
 

"@dill - Shouldn’t you want to "prove it"?"

- I have proved it to myself, the only one I need to.

"Beyond a certain level of build or materials quality, more money gets you nothing"

- yea, you need to believe that to validate your position.

rodman99999
6,113 posts
 

@wesheadley  (et al)= Nothing but further Dunning-Kruger runway builders.

                  Worthy of nothing but a short snort of derision and being disregarded.

             Give their ilk an opportunity at a bit of education and they respond with the same old primitive drumbeats.   

                            Like trying to teach a box of rocks to sort your socks!   

                                                                     😏

rodman99999
6,113 posts
 

     No one can tell you whether/how your system, room and/or ears will respond to some new addition.   There are simply too many variables.

     LIKEWISE: no one can possibly know whether a new addition (ie: some kind of disc, crystal, fuse, interconnect, speaker cable, etc)  will make a difference, in their system and room, with their media and to their ears, without trying them for themselves.   

     Some companies offer a 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee, so- those that are actually interested, have absolutely nothing to lose by trying (experimenting with) such.     

     Anyone that knows anything about the sciences, realizes that something like 96% of what makes up this universe, remains a mystery.       

     For centuries; humanity’s seen, heard, felt and otherwise witnessed phenomena, that none of the best minds could explain, UNTIL they developed a science or measurement, that could explain it.     

     The Naysayer Church wants you to trust their antiquated science (1800’s electrical theory) and faith-based, religious doctrine, BLINDLY (their credo: "Trust ME!"). 

     Theories have never proven or disproven anything.  It’s INVARIABLY testing and experimentation that proves or disproves theories/hypotheses.   

     IF you’re interested in the possibility of improving your system’s presentation, have a shred of confidence in your capacity for perceiving reality and trust your own senses: actually TRY whatever whets your aural appetite, FOR YOURSELF.         

                      The Naysayer Church HATES it, when THAT happens!  
ps
746 posts
 

Which came first, the rabbit or the hole?

benanders's avatar
benanders
234 posts
 

 

 

dill

2,451 posts

"Unless there was something very wrong with your last power cord, or it was just a very poorly made one, you’re not going to here any differences other than those that occur within your own mind via confirmation bias."

- prove it


The scientific methodology that can found/support/refute theories works on disproof via hypothesis testing. Science doesn’t prove anything. Very common misunderstanding.

The crux of this thread’s OP is that an expensive power cord was compared to a more expensive power cord (albeit with the usual flaws that make an uncontrolled design) and no difference was detected. That is, quite literally, hypothesis testing for difference, and @roxy1927 failed to reject the null (Ho = no difference).*

I understand why the deterministic claim of another poster you quoted might have bothered you, @dill - fine. But instead of picking at someone for typographical errors or for stating a strongly-toned difference of opinion, consider further study on how experimentation works. The info is out there and free. 😉

This thread posed something different from the paradigms of increasing sonic returns for money spent and being able to count on improvements using one’s own hearing (maybe). But it’s one uncontrolled (sighted, ill-timed, etc.) design that merely supports a camp of cables-can’t-be-audibly-different by way of failing to reject a null.
No big deal, really. If everyone chats about their experiences but no one’s controlling for their biases or setup, then it’s all different variants of apples and oranges - nothing that comparable when everything is confounded by incongruous variables, hey?


*in hypothesis testing, the investigator(s) will not “accept” a hypothesis any more than they’ll prove something. They reject, or fail to reject. That may look like semantics in print, but it’s a very important discrepancy in practice.

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