Power Cables which take the soundstage back

Macdadtexas,
No I am not in the audio business. I am an audiophile. I love music and playing around with audio gear. For years that meant components and speakers- not cables and "tweaks". I learned a lot but never got to where I wanted to go sound wise. The sound was always compressed and lacked the holographic presence I sought. This changed when I found cables and in particular power cords.

My post(s) were in response to what I see as an anti-audiophile bias from some who pretend to have interest in a subject, like "what power cords move the soundstage back" only to make fun and deny what those of us who have actually taken the time to listen clearly hear. This is usually followed by an appeal to authority that implies the anti-audiophile stance is correct while those of us who enjoy the benefit of audiophile products (cables, line conditioners, cones, racks, etc) are delusional, or worse.

So we can't trust our ears? Back to my first point- whom or what can we trust? Our senses, or someone trying to convince us that we should not trust our senses and should instead place our trust in their straw man arguments? Are you here to save us? Had you posted something along the lines of "all amplifiers sound alike and when not, they are colored or of poor construction”. Had I read that thread or post, I would have asked the same questions, made the same points, and shared my observations. All for the exact same reasons I am posting here. The fact is, after years of messing around with components and speakers I have never found any component or speaker system to deliver the same level of improvement (over other components and speakers) in sound I get from careful cable system matching. This observation is based on a dollar to benefit earned basis, so value.

Anyway, good to know your position and again while you are clearly entitled to it, it is contrary to what I and thousands of audiophiles around the world experience every day. Take the OP's reason for starting this thread in the first place. It was looking for answers to which cables could help him/her realize their audio goals and not "do power cords really work?" and certainly not “can I trust my ears”.

Macdadtexas,

Your humor is much appreciated. We just hear things a little differently;-)

You say "Once your power goes from the wall or the power conditioner, as long as the correct volume of electrons, flow into the transformer of the amp/preamp/source then the transformer powers up the remainder of the circuit, tell me again how the power cord affected that? If it is getting the power, enough power to the ciruit the transformer then takes over the power duties. The power transformer can and does affect sound, and the better the gear, usually the better the transformer and the rest of circuit. So if you think your super expensive cord sounds better than a moderate one, good for you. IT'S MAGIC."

You have addressed part of the story, current delivery to the transformer in your gear. But not the possibility of modification of the AC waveform in the power cable itself between the wall or the power conditioner and the transformer. Or, more importantly in my opinion, the possibility of interference from the raw AC in your power delivery cable with nearby interconnects and speaker cables and/or electronic circuits in adjacent gear.

Given my rudimentary understanding of electrical circuits and electromagnetism, this last effect is the most compelling reason that I and others can detect an audible difference between different power cables. I suggest you might want to ask your electrical engineering friends if suppression of interference from a high current power delivery cable with adjacent low voltage audio signal delivery cables and electrical circuits could, in theory at least, cause an audible effect.

With that said, I thank my lucky stars everyday that you and your colleagues successfully develop and implement 500KW power plants and electrical grids so I can push the play button on my CDP, and it plays without fail, not to mention other blessings like a working furnace fan, electric lights, etc. But just as I would not necessarily go to a podiatrist for a pain in my side, I would suggest that the specific expertise needed to successfully deliver 1000KW to the power grid is not the same expertise needed to deliver a chain of electrons through a random collection of electronic and electromechanical devices patched together with wires of various specifications in various physical configurations so that the outcome is something approximating a live musical performance. I am not a shill for wire snake oil, but my guess is that there is a lot going on in the space between the wall socket, our boxes and our speakers, and given all the variables and potential permutations of wire and gear selections each of us are making all the time, it is an inexact science at best with very few fixed controls. This may also be partly why some people hear big effects from power cables while others do not.

Given all this variability, there is something to be said for a company like Naim that sells wires that have been tested by the manufacturer for compatibility with their gear under controlled conditions. You could probably improve on their selections with other wire products, but you would have to go through a similar or more elaborate and expensive (to you) series of testing your self. For what it is worth, Naim offers an upgraded power cable for use with their gear. One could say this new product offering is just a marketing gimmick, but given their almost fanatical attention to power management and delivery, it is also possible they have decided this might provide a real benefit...

Shellie and Knownothing (once again, very Plato-esque), you may now only refer to me as your Copernicus.

Neither of you are members of the inquisition are you?

Or since you obviously are practicioners of Magic, with your Magic Electric cords, are you by chance minions of the Dark Lord, "He Who Cannot be Named"? Oh what the heck, are your Magic cords some dark magic from Lord Voldemort?

You won't believe what just happened! The passionate (panicked) defense of hugely expensive power cord purchases swayed me and I went out and bought the most expensive cord my dealer had, thanks for opening for a Monday emergency Viet, and you guys were right.

I plugged the cord into one of my amps (sorry couldn't afford the $5k more for the second one) and when I turned on the system it started to GLOW, and then when I set the arm down onto Police's "Ghost in the Machine" (irony), the whole room began to shake, and the very air seemed to pulsate. Suddenly there was a great flash, and I was knocked out. But through my semi-conscious state I could here the strains of "Spirits in the Material World" beginning as I have never heard them before. My God, you are right, what a difference.

But my God, as I came to I realize that the sound is so great because my system is now gone and The Police themselves have materialized in my living room. Shellie you were right about my ears, I just needed to once again do a listening test with an open mind.

I can't wait to see what happens when I put on The Beatles or Jimmy Hendrix. I'm going to get the camera out for that.

Mac,now stop exaggerating.You know good and well that Sting doesn't do private gigs.