2. cables
  3. 1313300093

Do powercords make a difference in sound?

Do they make a difference by upgrading stock power cords in amps, ect versus aftermarket power cords? If so, can anyone advise a good bang for the buck upgrade?
chad329
paperw8
165 posts
 

09-07-11: Zaikesman
Paperw8: I can't help but notice that you basically punted on my question. You said you couldn't know what was going in another audionphile's head, so to speak. Well of course, but I didn't ask you that: I asked what explanation you could offer for audiophile *behavior* that contravenes your assumptions about the supposedly confounding effects of presumed psychological factors. Mine was a valid question, which can't be satisfactorily sidestepped in your paradigm by refusing to consider the evidence.

what you offered were *your* opinions and *your* perceptions; both of which are the product of what is going on in your head. i will tell you that observing differences in system performances based on cable selection is not a universal phenomenon. in fact, i watched one commentary about thiel speakers in which the person raved about the speakers but said that she couldn't really tell the difference when the merchant switched cables in the system.

you may also want to look at some of the articles cited in posts b rwwear...
paperw8
165 posts
 

09-07-11: Mrtennis
i think most would agree that many statements made on the discussion forums cannot be proven, because they are opinions, not facts or knowledge.

to a certain extent, it's like trying to prove/disprove the existence of santa claus or the easter bunny. but let's think about this logically: you just spent big money on, say, a power amplifier. you would like to think that the maker put great thought into the design of *every* detail in the amplifier. but then, by a mere change of power cord you discover that they didn't spend time thinking through the detail of supplying a sufficient power cord to enable to amplifier to achieve its peak performance. in other words, you've been gypped! if the maker of that power amplifier did not even show enough care to select the right power cord, what does that suggest about the rest of the system?

do you see where this is heading?
paperw8
165 posts
 

09-07-11: Tbg
Rwwear, no one owes you proof. I doubt seriously if many audiophiles avoid trying different power cords because several people, imbued with the "laws of EE," claim they could make no difference.

let me give you a hypothetical: a person goes to an audio store, spends $50,000 to buy a power amplifier and later concludes: "i'll gladly spend another $2,500 to get a power cord that will make my amplifier sound even better!" i would think that most people hearing that hypothetical would conclude that the buyer was a fool, one who maybe had a bit too much money on his hands. you would think if the buyer discovered the undeniable sonic benefits of this alternative cable, that he would go back to the maker of the amplifier and angrily demand to know why they sold a $50,000 amplifier with a sub-standard power cord.

to bring the discussion to the present discussion; if you really are so convinced of the putative benefits of power cords, then you and the rest of the "believers" in this stuff, should be calling the makers of high end audio equipment to account for shipping sub-standard products at super-standard prices.

of course, if you go to the makers with these kinds of allegations, you're going to have to substantiate them, but i am not expecting you, or anyone in the "audiophile reviewer" community to initiate such a line of inquiry. the fact that there has been no such inquiry points to reasons to be suspicious of the claims of "dramatic" sonic benefits based on cable/cord selection. let's face it, cable is probably the most lucrative product line in the "audio tweaks" product category. and the thing is, when people are spending tens of thousands of dollars (or more) on audio systems, its easy to drop a few hundred (or thousand) bucks more on "tweaks" because comparatively speaking, it looks like a relatively small amount of money.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
Paperw8, why do you care? It is not your money nor your listening. It sounds like you are offended for others, why would that be?
paperw8
165 posts
 

09-07-11: Tbg
Paperw8, why do you care? It is not your money nor your listening. It sounds like you are offended for others, why would that be?

i engage in these discussions for the following reasons:

1)intellectual interest: i sometimes learn stuff from debating others' points of view (that hasn't been the case so much in this discussion, but i do pick up information);

2)personal interest: i actually do want to see better, more reliable, information on audio equipment choices. i actually have gripes about the quality of information in general, not just about cable matters. but my thinking is that by challenging the information out there that it will hopefully result in better information;

3)general consumer interest: there is a lot of bs out there about audio products that is being passed off as information. as i mentioned, audio equipment is often sold by people who know a lot about electronics to people who know little about electronics. that's fertile ground for being taken advantage of. i really think that people are getting snookered out of a lot of money on the basis of questionable claims, and i feel that someone should challenge the bs.
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