how can a line cord affect frequency response ?

i had this experience yesterday.

i was listening to my stereo system using an all copper line cord, gold furutech connectors, no solder connections, some dampening material in the cord feeding a tube amp.

i listened for a few minutes and changed the power cord. the second cord, had the same connectors, method of connection, dampening material, with copper and gold metals.

i heard a difference--a shift in the frequency response.

one line cord seemed to provide more extension top to bottom, while with the other there was some attenuation at the frequency extremes.

can anyone offer an explantion ?

I can offer one explanation.

You have an open mind, experiment and listen for changes in your system. That puts you way ahead of the naysayers at this site who believe NOTHING of this sort can be detected by the human ear :^).

Mrtennis,

Without personally witnessing your comparison technique, no one really knows what you're hearing.

Look, there is only a tiny percentage of Agon readers with adequate electronics background qualified to give explanations on electronics theory, based on decades of engineering facts. Instead of gambling on subjective reader opinions, call a spectrum of reputable manufacturers that aren't MARKETING cords with their gear.

It's amazing how so many put all kinds of faith into aftermarket companies peddling endless claims (not limited to audio), but the actual component ENGINEER'S aren't given enough credit for their designs and requirements. It's in their best interest if it made a difference, right? Speaker cabling and IC's are another issue all together.

The power cord type, supplied with a $6k amplifier (example), was sellected based on the component's power requirements, and is what was utilized to obtain the amp's engineered specifications, THUS obtaining the audible results that so-called "Audiophile reviewer's" base their "positive" articles on. (An entire story of it's own)

The more you know about electronics/powersupplies, you'll begin to understand why alternate cord conductors will have no affect on the component's output FREQUENCY response. I'm always open for further education, but please base it on engineering facts, or post some reputable articles for all of us to read, and preferably un-biased.

It is well understood how/why humans can convince their senses into believing all kinds things, and is why placebo and advertizing (all industries) work so well.

Two weeks of theory is not going to convince someone who just heard a difference in the first 5 seconds of swapping. Justify all you want. Only hearing the music matters to me. Does not really matter if it is a placebo effect or what. I hear a difference is all that matters.

below is a message bet I sent several yrs back
I just had an argument with a techno type about
cables.
Done it many times, its interesting.
He said that cables do not make a difference. (Of
course he is the engineer type who prefers the low
cost solution backed up by theoritical claims that
never faces the acoustic reality of the products that
he supports)

So I brought him over to my house and switched out
thin monster type cords vs a cheap pair of ps audio
speaker cables(I don't even want to show him my real
ones).
Guess what, he heard a undeniable difference,
which he then justifies by saying that the gauge size
is different and therefore the resistance is lower and
that makes a difference. So I asked him that if the
guages were the same, then they would sound the same?
He said YES!
I then asked him if one were silver and the other were
copper, would it make a difference?
He said since the conductivity is different,
the answer is YES!
So I said if the gauges were the same and the same
conductors were used, there would be no difference?
He said YES!
I asked again if the above two were the same but if 1
was a twisted pair(or coax) to better reject
interference and the other was not, would there be a
difference?
He answered, anyone would know that a twister pair has
better noise rejection so,
the answer is YES!
So I said that if the conductors were the same, the
gauges AND the same geometries were the same, then
they would sound the same?
At this point, he suspects a dead a end trap and he
pulses a long time before answering...
Yes ....
So I carried on, I asked if shielding makes a
difference? He's cautious now, and answers, if in a
noisy environment (like near power transformers ...),
yes ...
So I said "in order for cables to sound the same, then

all of the above must be the same? in which case you
must have the same cable! RIGHT?"
he went ....
While he was quiet, I gave hime a couple more things
to think about, like dieelectric, vibrations, skin
effects, termination, static, etc ...
He came back and said well, maybe they are not
audiable ...
at which I replied "you must be deaf or in denial"

looks like this is the same study with PC's

hearing is believing. either i hear a difference or i don't hear a difference. at this point it's an anecdotal report which cannot be verified.

suppose i was listening blind and could hear the difference 90 percent of the time, what would an engineer say at that point ?

it seems that some people deny perception. granted there are psychological and physiological facors which affect perception. however, one can not deny it's validity if the evidence is meaningful.