ABX testing with AQ Dragon power cords

+1 @baylinor 

Installing dedicated electrical lines to the stereo room has produced a similar experience… correct (as much as possible) the issue at it’s source.

When power cables make a Huge difference on highly engineered and market hardened equipment …well… 

I understand that not everyone has the opportunity to do so but if upgrading the panel and separate, electrical wires, boxes and outlets Can be done there are Huge rewards. (And diminishing returns on upgrades in power cables).

BTW… Take Five Audio are a first rate operation.

The companies producing these expensive power cords have no engineering data to corroborate their claims. Therefore Hitchins' Rule applies: That which is asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.

@rodman99999 I did exactly what you’re describing, I didn’t take anyone’s word for it, no one told me what to expect, I experimented with new cables 3x now and found no difference. I trusted my own senses. Yet still you’re pissed off at me for documenting these experiences. It’s almost like you’re only willing to hear things that you agree with.

As for the dealer coming by, he wants to hear for himself. I’m not trying to prove him wrong, I’m interested to see his reaction. If he could truly pick out his cables from mine reliably and blind I will have learned something. Maybe he could educate me to listen better as that seems to be my weakness. The same goes for the local cable maker. I’m going to be returning his cables in person and bringing mine. I look forward to be shown the error of my ways. I’ll gladly upgrade my cables if he could show me a reasonable improvement in SQ. It’s not the cost that bothers me, I don’t want to throw my cash away needlessly.

The companies producing these expensive power cords have no engineering data to corroborate their claims. Therefore Hitchins' Rule applies: That which is asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof.

            Now: ask yourself, "Should I take advice from one that POSES as a FICTIOUS Intel Operator?"

                                  Now: some for something different:

     Back in March 2022: a thread about power cords and break/burn-in was started.

     I hate to type, so: I'm going to copy/paste some of my speculations.

     That a highly complex musical signal, MIGHT affect Poynting vectors and signal speeds*, in interconnects, in a much more profound manner than a simple AC (ie: a fixed 60/50 Hz) signal, in a PC, seems likely (at least) to me, as; in EVERY formula regarding *those two, a signal's frequency (frequencies) always factors in greatly.

     Further: the above and what I'll c/p (seems to me) lends credence to how the application of a stronger, DC voltage/field, outside a dielectric (ala Synergistic MPC and Audioquest DBS systems), might stabilize those vectors and signal speeds, PERHAPS eliminating some time smear and, "burn-in". 

rodman99999 5,456 posts 03-31-2022 at 12:13am    @holmz-       Bear with me a minute, in my folly, far as a possibility on why a power cord might make a difference.       Based on some of the theories on how electricity works, simplified:       The conductor acts as a waveguide for the signal/voltage.       Within the conductor: when excited by an AC current, electrons oscillate, generating photons/electromagnetic waves that travel, always from the source, to the load.        Keep in mind: all signals (ie: music, AC) are sinusoidal  waves        Those photons/electromagnetic waves travel through and outside the dielectric, which (according to it's permittivity/Poynting vectors) will have various effects on those waves.    One of the most obvious is the dielectric's effect on the speed of the signal.       The better designers of printed circuit boards, even take the above into account, when choosing materials for their products.        I posted a link on the first page that included data on the manufacture of semiconductor chips and what was observed when materials were cryo'd, during the process.     Short version: better contact/lowered resistance between layers.           Under the scanning microscope: much smoother surfaces observed.        I would hope, by now, it's a given that various cable constructions, twists, braids, etc, can make for a cleaner transmission of signals (ie: Litz, etc).                     Just seems to me (a hypothesis): given the above (some theories and some things established/measured/proven), it's not a big stretch to believe a power cord, built of the best conductor (ie: Ohno CC silver*), wrapped in a very low dielectric coefficient dielectric (ie: Teflon), cryo'd for the smoothest transfer of those photons/magnetic waves and twisted in some crazy way, might not smooth out some of perturbations/noise, from the crap an AC waveform had to go through, back to it's generator.  (run-on, much?)          *Many mention NOT noticing an improvement with upgraded PCs, when owning Pass Labs gear (KUDOS to Nelson).   Of MUCH interest is the fact that Frank Dickens, the owner of Silent Source cables is basically on staff with Pass and:they voice their equipment with his cables and power cords, made largely with Ohno CC metals.        I haven't tested this, actually comparing two circuits, but: it wouldn't surprise me, if a power supply that used a choke, would be less affected by a better power cord, as the former can eliminate a lot of the high freq garbage, etc, that's either created by, or makes it through all the big converting/filtering stuff, in the power supply, before.        Never thought about PCs before the good stuff hit the market, but: the Physics/QED made sense.             I tried 'em, I like 'em and the science makes my head feel better.                               Don't care WHAT it does to anyone else's!

rodman99999 5,456 posts 03-31-2022 at 12:27am         OH, and: it takes some time for the dielectric to form, take a charge, polarize, or however one chooses to define the process, when a dielectric is subjected to electromagnetic waves, which affects the Poynting vectors, measurably/predictably.                                             The lower the material’s dielectric constant: the longer that takes.                                                               PC (interconnect/etc)  burn-in?    Maybe?

                                                                                         Happy listening!