hospital grade or commercial grade receptacles ?

Your opinions are as valid as the next but they are misguided.

I grow tired of people with scientific background that think that all things audio can be explained with graphs and numbers. I am an artist by trade and only care about getting the music right.

The advantage I have is an open mind and I am not afraid to experiment. I am also not ashamed when my opinions prove wrong. All that matters is getting my system closer to the original event.

Some equipment that is supposed to be superior (and may even have better numbers), prove not to be in the real world. Some things that should not be important, matter a great deal.

Reminds me of my days in automobile racing where someone shows up with a machine with all "the right parts" and gets his clock cleaned by some kid with a home built and tweaked engine.

If you cannot hear power cords or outlets, your system is simply not up to the task.

Should travel bring you to the Dallas, Ft. Worth area I can show you clearly with a single demo on my amplifiers. One pair of power cords from Dominus to stock and it will be clear for you. It's simply not up for discussion in my system.

I suppose you can take some joy in not having to spend the money.

Eldartford.

Do you agree that if the electrical signal is identical, the sound is identical?

NO, I do not. If that were the case this would be a better amp than I have. Much better specifications than my Air Tight ATM-3.

http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Kenwood_KAC_8151D

Sonofnorway, or whatever you're a son of... :)

How are outlets different than a power cord? An outlet is just a female version of a power plug. Get it? And the power cord, how is that different than the wire in the wall? If this question can't be answered this discussion is moot.

I remember reading somewhere that some fellow that produced "high-end" power cables was asked essentially the same questions I'm asking. His response was that the outlet or the power cord was just like a nozzle on a hose, and the water just like electrons. So, in his mind, outlets, plugs, and wires has just as much effect on electrical current as a nozzle has on the flow of water. Once I got done laughing I thought that, in a way, that could be vaguely true, if the outlet or the plug contained a potentiometer. But none of them do, so I started laughing again. I think it was in Stereophile, and I bet Atkinson printed it as a joke.

Albertporter...

Please do not pronounce that one who has scientific training and experience is not also capable of creative thought and artistry. Remember Leonardo Da Vinci?

You still do not grasp that I am not talking about specs on an amp. I am talking about the electrical signal that ends up applied to the speaker from whatever amp you like.

If you apply an identical signal to the speaker, will it not sound the same? So if the electrical signal is the same for two power cords, is it not reasonable to say that the resulting sound is the same? The sound is hard to measure objectively, but the electrical signal, or the difference between two signals, is capable of unambigious and precise measurement.

The sound is hard to measure objectively, but the electrical signal, or the difference between two signals, is capable of unambiguous and precise measurement.

Which results in only the measurement, not what it will sound like. By the way, I corrected your misspelling of the word "unambigious" for clarity.

I don't believe we know how to measure everything we hear. I am not saying it cannot be measured "someday" but not right now. I came to this conclusion after listening to thousands of pieces of equipment and reading the advertised and measured specifications.

A perfect example of science not imitating art is the ongoing project to measure every parameter of a Stradivarius, even down to the aging of the varnish. The goal is to build a perfect modern version. So far it has failed. We are unable to recreate what was done because (current) precise measurements of all the parts does not reveal everything we need to know.

Rather than argue that a power cord can't work, how about hooking up one and giving it a listen? I have tweaks in my system that are the absolute best available and cost $5.00 or $10.00, unfortunately I also discover some that cost a great deal more.

Either way, I use what works and care little about the claims or specifications except as information. A perfect example is the Kenwood amp I linked to. 1000 watts and lower distortion than any amp I own. I would bet money it sucks in my system.