A stupid question(s) about power cords

@mrdecibel ​​​ , @dill , I’ll just weigh back in here quickly to say that in a few more (three or four) weeks (or maybe less) when I have accumulated 100 hours on the new speakers and the cords, I am going to unhook the speakers and put the B&Ws back into the system and see what differences I then hear. From reading @audphile1 ’s posts, I know that my ears are not in the same league as his; however, if it turns out that I cannot hear a difference from the speakers that I spent 3k on, I will not say que sara, sara on that, and they will go back. At that point in time, I may even play around with the power cords which should then be burned in.

Going back to a previous post I made (and I have no doubt that this is fuel for derision, but what do I care), I think that certain sonic improvements can happen for some people (and I include myself) that they (meaning me) cannot immediately consciously identify; however, the improvements are recognized in the subconscious and result in increased listening pleasure over time. And I also believe that these small sonic improvements add up.

A few years ago I was talking to one of the guys in sales at Cary (they will actually talk to you on the phone if you want to buy something) about some Amperex Bugle Boys 6DJ8s they had, and in the course of the conversation he told me, "Tube rolling can make you neurotic." Tubes are easy to take in and out and with certain tube swaps sonic changes are easily and instantly recognized. It’s a bit more work to get behind my gear the way I have it and then get to the outlets that I put in a bit of an out of the way place, and if tube rolling could cause neurosis, I think that a whole lot of time trying to A/B power cords might put me into full blown psychosis. However, with that typed, if I had spent several hundred to a k or more on one power cord, I would be definitely trying to hear a difference,

Developing the “ear” to hear nuances takes time. A/B comparisons are really difficult at first and are often incredibly frustrating. A great way out of the dilema is to listen to music from a configuration or component for a couple weeks trying to listen to the music. Then change it, trying not to listen to your system… but the music, try not to make a judgement. Let your subconscious draw a conclusion and let it bubble up to your consciousness.
 

Music satisfies a subconscious need, that is why we do it. Our rational analytical mind does the choosing and system configuration. The trick is to get these two into synch. Once your subconscious is aware of a particular nuance of sound, then a quick A/B works well. But it can takes a long time to develop. There are nuance I can instantly detect now that I was clueless about for years.

Sometimes not trying to detect a difference is the best way to detect differences.

@ghdprentice +1 

Takes time and switching back and forth quickly doesn’t work. 
Take your time. Don’t rush. 

The Preffair cable is going thru a break in phase. Hopping back in for a listen late last night revealed a slightly harsh treble that I didn’t detect few hours prior listening to the same track. Not worried too much for multiple reasons. But curious how it will sound with 200+ hrs behind its belt. Pretty sure it will smooth out. 

@ghdprentice  , as I have said before:  I always appreciate your perspective and the way you present it.

@audphile1 

Hopping back in for a listen late last night revealed a slightly harsh treble that I didn’t detect few hours prior listening to the same track. 

this is interesting.  Although I don't think for me it is the same thing going on as it is for you, there have been nights I have played a disc and the effect has been magical, or if not magical, at least very impacting.  Then, like maybe a day or two or three or a week later I go back and I want to repeat that magical or at least impactful auditory experience with the same disc (and no changes made to the system in the mean time) and it just doesn't happen.  What I heard last time is not there.  It can be quite disappointing.  

In other words, what brought me close to aural orgasm last time, often sounds worse the next time.  It could be that the musical notes do not seem as round or as full as the last time, or that the guitar work does not float in the air in front of me quite as spectacularly as I remembered from the last time, or I am not hearing the same subtle inflection in a piece of vocal work that I swear I heard the last time, or even, as you say, I hear a harsher sounding treble than I did the last time.  

I generally chalk this up to:

a) I really was NOT hearing what I  THOUGHT I heard the time before

or b) the mind works in mysterious ways and I need to enjoy what sounds good to me WHEN it sounds good to me.

I didn't mean to ramble on like this when I started typing this reply, but, and this is sort of unrelated, back in the mid '90s up until 9/11 I worked in a great shop (except it was a sheet metal shop, so it was often noisy) and I kept an old boom-box type radio at my work table and I listened to what I thought was a great public radio station (WYEP 91.3) because they used to play a lot of stuff that no one else played that I had never heard before and quite often I would hear something or someone and think, "That sounds great!"  So then when the weekend came, I would go to Camelot Music or The Wall and buy or order the CD, and frequently it did not impress me on my system at home the way it did on that crappy boom-box radio at my work table.

Oh well . . . lRamble On. . . .

Listen, to the " musicianship " and the " composition ". Everything else will follow. Why are listeners so involved in the acoustics of the performance, rather than the performance itself. Once an instrument or voice enters a mic or a mixing console, and is then manipulated by the producers, engineers and other studio folks, all the real and lifelike nuances are lost. Listeners keep trying to maintain the tone of the instruments/voices, and the localization of the musicians. It is all fabricated. If you listen to " what " the musicians are doing, the tones and placements become secondary, and your listening life will be simpler. This is the way musicians listen, and this is the way I listen. Over the years I have tried to communicate this way of listening to people with their audio rigs, but " give me that sound stage " and I am happy. Maybe because I was a singer in my earlier years and had a wonderful coach/teacher. Maybe, because I spent some time in recording studios (when it was all analog). I feel the simplicity of listening has grown so out of proportion. Matt, talk about babbling...well I seem to do it to, ad nauseum. My rant is over...for now, lol.....Enjoy ! MrD.