Most Beneficial Cable Upgrade

last week i took my morrow sp3s out and put my kimber 8tcs in. for the next 2-3 hours it was pretty rough to say the least. i let the system play all night and the next day it was nice and smooth and musical. so for those keeping score,,,ha!!! the murrows sound great too btw.
1. i am certain i can hear a difference between cables
2. i have experienced sound getting better when they "settle in".
3. i too have experienced placeabo effect and other psychoacoustic phemonena
4. my stereo sounds better when i am in a good relaxed mood.
5. my stereo sounds better at 3am.
this may turn into one of those long threads. peace

Hotmailjbc,
Your porch reponded better (better steering, better shocks, better tires, better acceleration, better transmission, better shift, better seats, etc); it performed better at 100 MPH than the Vega(and an any other velocity) than the Vega. So, of course you liked it better.
Your stereo will sound better with the lights dimmed or with the lights out (more musical, better 3d sound staging, better base, smoother and sweeter treble, better low level detail).Try it out tonight. Isn't that amazing! Is it real or is it placebo? It is a psycho-acoustic effect, and it affects all of us. Reviewers/magazines never discuss these issues.

i totally agree. but the bass gets better with upgraded ac cords!

If you haven't tested the cable change blindly, how do you know for sure?

I am not saying cable changes have no effect on the sound, I have never tested cables, so I am still uncertain. But, there is a significant psychological component which can be eliminated only with blind testing.

Let's focus on power cables for now to simplify the discussion. We all have to purchase interconnects and speaker cable since these items do not come with the audio gear. I think anyone who buys high end equipment (probably everyone on Audiogon) will purchase brand name well regarded interconnects and speaker cable. No one is going to buy fine expensive electronics and install lamp cord. Whether or not we are certain of how the cable effects the sound, I believe most of us, probably all of us, including myself, will purchase decent brand name cable with our valued gear (just in case it makes a difference). However, all electronic gear comes with power cable. Buying an expensive after market power cable is elective and not required. Some of these beautiful brand name power cables cost thousands of dollars (Esoteric Mexcel, Krell for example).

Question: Which of the two changes imporoves the sound of your system more:

1)Changing your stock power cables to an expensive high end after market power cable

2)Using the stock power cable and turning out the lights

I bet turning out the lights improves the sound just as much if not more than changing the power cables. Turning out the lights does nothing to the performance of your system, it is a psycho-acoustic effect.

How do you know that the improved sound that you perceive by installing the beautifully crafted, expensive, highly regarded after market brand name power cable is not psychological (placebo) unless you can identify it blindly?

I find testing/comparing speaker cable a pain in the neck. Lots of disconnecting, reconnecting, moving things, it is an effort. Testing power cables is less work, much easier to switch. I will do some testing within the next couple of weeks.

Just food for thought.

The power cord thing is confusing. I just installed a set of DIY power cords on my power conditioner, amp, preamp and D/A. The cords use CryoParts CryroMax3 cable and low-end Furutech connectors. Parts costs is about $150/each which roughly equates to a $500-600 production cable. Each cable also has a Versalabs Red Roller at the IEC end. These cables were a switch from the Discovery Cable power cord, an entry level type product.

I initially installed a single cable feeding the PS Audio P600 power regenerator. The effect was subtle, but positive enough to make me want to go further. I then installed them on all the electronics listed above. The audio effect was definitely less subtle than adding the single cable, but still subtle. That said, I think the power cord switch was the best $600 I've ever spent on the system. The overall effect is totally positive, an improvement in all sonic areas.

But this is where the confusion comes in. I don't know what actually causes the sonic changes I hear. Is it the power cord? Is it the cord's Furutech connectors? The Red Rollers? Could it simply be the physically tighter connection the Furutechs make as opposed to the purity of the copper and polished gold plating? Maybe it's the way I positioned the cables differently due to different flexibility. Might it have nothing to do with the power cords themselves, but simply plugging them in and out several times removed a layer of oxide on the connectors. I could go on further, but I think I've made my point. Even inserting a device as simple as a power cord, and they are simple devices, introduces a relatively large number of variables to be considered.

Then you could also add price/value to the equation. I only spent $600 for the whole system. If I had spent $2,000+ would I hear differently? Or might be I have it backwards and it's the fact that I think I've scored a bargained is influencing my hearing? Like I said, it's confusing.