Power Cords Snake Oil ??

No snake oil - good ones make a difference - here's why...

NOTE: For brevity I am going to bypass the power requirements of the electronic circuits and the many factors that influence circuit design etc.....mainly because I don't recall them from 40 years ago when I did have some understanding of them :-)))

So looking at the back-end of the amplifier - i.e. Speaker terminals...

The signal "sent" to a loudspeaker consists of a varying VOLTAGE (i.e. at the musical frequencies and various volume levels of instruments) - a very dynamic and complex signal

The "impedance" of the speaker governs the amount of CURRENT that is "drawn from the amp"
- impedance is like resistance, except...
- you have to factor in inductive and capacitive elements
- those vary with frequency - so impedance too is very dynamic!
- Current Drawn = voltage(which is dynamic) / impedance (which is very dynamic)
- net result - the frequencies in the music causes very dynamic variations in current "drawn from the amp"
- if you could see a waveform of the current delivered to the speaker it would resemble the musical waveform - sort of :-))
- So - POWER CONSUMED = CURRENT x VOLTS - all of which are directly related to the musical waveform and very dynamic

Now - at the wall outlet end of the amp -

The mains supply to all components is constant at 120v ac (I'm not debating power fluctuations here OK!)

Basically remembering that "POWER IN = POWER OUT"
- if POWER = CURRENT x VOLTS and the volts are constant @ 120v
- then CURRENT = POWER/120v
- if the power at the speaker terminals is dynamic (from above)
- then the CURRENT required from the mains supply will be dynamic also
- WHY? - because the voltage at the outlet is constant!

So, providing your house supply is sufficient, you can see that the mains supply current requirements are directly related to the musical frequencies and very dynamic and will have all the same requirements as interconnects and speaker cables - it needs good quality copper.

So what happens if the component cannot get the instantaneous current levels required?
- the component experiences an internal instantaneous voltage drop
- this seriously impacts the performance of the component across the board!

So we spend a lot of money on the best quality copper for speaker cables and interconnects, having low resistance/inductance/capacitance and quality connectors to get better transmission

- then a component manufacturer sticks a crappy 18 gauge mains cable in the box and we use it !
- but first we toss the crappy interconnect (that is about the same quality) - because that's not good enough!
- GO FIGURE!

SO - Doesn't the component also deserve a Mains Cable of similar quality as ALL other cables in our system?
- probably more so.

Only with good power cords can we hear the real differences further down the line!

So snake oil? - some cables market a lot of hype, when in fact it is pretty simple - look for...
- good quality copper
- some form of noise cancelling geometries or shielding
- good quality plugs/connectors

Yes - the supply fluctuates - cables won't help that
Yes - some amps may benefit from a cable that has some smoothing properties (verdict still out on this one)
Yes - silver cables are probably better than copper (verdict still out on this one)
And a million other claims.

Bottom line - a good cable like a Furutech (that's what I know works on my system) will provide sonic improvements

If it doesn't then the power cord is not your problem - look elsewhere!

I wonder if the people who can't hear improvements, be it power cords, fuses, wires etc,really take the effort to really listen and evaluate the sound of their systems?

I'll bet they are passive listeners, sometimes called music lovers, but aren't we all in this hobby because of the music?

Ah yes, but some folks are content to just plug it in to the wall with whatever came in the box and listen to music as sonic wallpaper while they pay attention to other things.

If that is the type of music lover that you are, then yes of course none of this aftermarket stuff is relevant to you.
I can see why you would rather spend your hard earned money on more music, which of course you will only be listening to in the background.

Some of us, for whatever reasons, tend to push the envelope.
Some folks like to modify their cars and tweak up performance , while others are content to just get to work and get back home safe and sound.

I think the group who are after upgraded performance get where the other side is coming from, they've been there.

The other side ,however, hasn't been anywhere different than where they've been since day one.

I'm certain that this is the group that will never be swayed or converted.

It's just not in their genes.

"I wonder if the people who can't hear improvements, be it power cords, fuses, wires etc,really take the effort to really listen and evaluate the sound of their systems?"

This applys to me. You miss all the music listening for wire. A lot of good detailed explainations, but they failed to explain how it all impacts the SOUND that reaches your ears. The effect of All phenomena in nature cannot be heard by human beings! I cannot believe this is so hard to comprehend.

Lacee - don't forget that the differences they may fail to detect also depends on the other cables in their systems which may or may not allow them to hear a difference.

If either the speaker cables or interconnects are not of sufficient quality or gauge, they will not hear any improvement.

I have very good 10 gauge speaker cables and phono interconnects with balanced conductors and directional screens. They make a huge difference to the complete sound and allowed me to hear improvements

But you are correct in that people listen for different things - e.g. I listen to the musical phrasing, not the actual words.

The armonico Power Cord from Fono Acustica is changing the view many people have about power cords in general. I have witness how this PC truly transform the sound of a system for the better regardless of what other cables are being used in a system. I also witness how this PC has changed the minds of many none believers, while I do agree that there are lot snake oil products in the market the armonico PC is worth to try.