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why do power cords make a difference with transpor

I have been playing around with my Marantz SA-14. It is a great stand alone player that is made even better by a Shunyata Python. Recently I used the SA-14 as a transport with an Electrocompaniet dac. It would seem that the dac would benefit most from a better power cord because it decodes the 1's and 0's. The transport just turns the disc. However, the Python sounded much better on the transport than the dac. More bass, much better separation between instruments, and clearer overall. Why? Surprised? I am not at all technical but I would appreciate any thought you would have. Thanks
84audio
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
My guess is that it is not that the transport benefits from the better power supply, but that the other components benefit from a reduced amount of noise injected back into the power supply by the transport. The key is isolating the power supply of the rest of the equipment from the transport.
sean
6,231 posts
 
Seandtaylor99: You bring up a valid point. It is probably a combination of garbage creeping into the machine and garbage seeping out of it. Electrically filtering it via the cord or outboard AC treatment device would help to minimize both aspects of "system contamination". Sean
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seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
Thanks Sean ... I think that there's merit in the ideas in your post, and the ideas in my post. I guess my previous post suggested that noise FROM the transport was the dominant effect, and that's a bit too sweeping. However I have an old transport that actually interferes with my TV if I have it plugged in on the same circuit. Putting a couple of ferrite rings around the (very cheap, stock) power cord reduced the interference, leading me to try discover that it also improved the sound of the hifi (which initially surprised me).

I have to admit though that this is an ancient transport and it's quite possible that some of the large electrolytics in the power supply are not very healthy and contribute to noise being modulated onto the supply lines. If I didn't have an 18month old sapping all my time and energy then I might swap them out and see what difference it makes.

I like your point about cables being a patch for a poor component ... I entirely agree.
psychicanimal
1,738 posts
 
I agree with Sean's opinion. My tuner picks up noise when my Cambridge CDP (which I use as transport) is on. Cross contamination is just as important as noise coming through the mains.

The power cord I use for my CDP is an Absolute PC, wich has minimal shielding.

I have a rather decent isolation transformer unit coming in the mail. It has four isolation transformers enclosed in a coper chassis and each transformer has its own phase reversal *and* on/off switch. Let's see what happens...
sean
6,231 posts
 
Francisco: One need not shield a power cord to minimize the susceptability of it to picking up or transmitting RFI. All it takes is a common sense approach with a different design / geometry of cables. One can do it using the same exact materials that they already have in an existing power cord. Sean
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