A Power Cord Confessional:
(100% true as written, the names unchanged so as not to protect anyone)
If you were to ask me six years ago whether an after-market power cord could improve a systems performance I would have agreed if used for equipment that demanded healthy levels of current. If asked whether they would improve the quality of the systems sound I would have been skeptical. After all, a power cord isnt in the audio signals path and, (have you heard this before?), What possible effect could the last six feet
.. Then my friend Tse-Chiang lent me a Nordost Vishnu cord and asked me to see whether it made a difference in my system. That evening I placed it between the Oyaide R1 outlet and an Acoustic Revive distribution block feeding my entire system. The result - !!!!!
The next morning I asked my electrical engineer two questions: After I inserted the power cord why did I have to turn down the volume to align it with my normal listening level and why were the finer qualities of the sound of my system altered? After reviewing the specs of the cord he could only answer the first question. Tse-Chiang and I had already accepted the fact that pretty much any adjustment to your system can alter its sound, particularly wire. Each hobbyist has to decide whether this change suits your taste and, if it does, whether or not its worth the expense. Regarding the power cord's effect, I was surprised, impressed, curious, and pursued the upgrade.
I settled on Oyaide Tunami GPX power cords. They suited my sweet spot for performance, build quality and price. I chose to purchase the factory made version as opposed to building them, looking ahead to an easier sale in the future if I wasnt satisfied. I also discovered that the cost of the Oyaide assembled cord was almost identical to the cost of buying the three components and building them. Later that year Tse-Chiang returned from Japan with an Oyaide Tunami GPX-R power cord and came over for an A/B listen. As Timrhu suggested above, we have always used Jennifer Warnes Famous Blue Raincoat, 20th Anniversary CD Bird on a Wire for any comparisons.
What differentiates the two cords, GPX and GPX-R, is the choice of connectors: P-046 vs. P-001. From what I can tell the difference between the two series is the type of metal used for the first two of four plating layers on their metal parts. The P-046 is plated with gold-gold-palladium-palladium as opposed to platinum-platinum-palladium-palladium on the P-001. The difference in their sonic characteristics was clearly audible, although not dramatic, and we believe easily identifiable by virtually any listener. Our preference was the P-001 (the GPX-R). The widespread preference for the P-001 has been noted for years in numerous posts across the web.
A few months later Tse-Chiang lent me the GPX-R for three weeks while he was on vacation. During this time my wife and I invited our neighbors over for dinner. After dinner it dawned on me that I had sitting in my living room a very professional pair of ears. John Douglas, my late friend, was associate professor of voice and opera in the Boyer College of Music and Dance and music director and conductor of Temple University Opera Theater. He was a concert level pianist and served as Director of the apprentice program, chorus master, and head of music staff at the Lake George Opera among many similar positions throughout the years. John taught voice. I asked him to indulge me and listen to my system while I changed power cords. He agreed, appreciating this exercise was just another verification that I was nuts. I must mention that Johns interest in stereo equipment was absolutely non-existent. Most reading this post would not have suffered his system even in your neediest days in college.
Out came Jennifer Warnes. We listened to Bird on a Wire four times, GPX, GPX-R, GPX, GPX-R. There was nothing mysterious about the process, certainly nothing blind with one cord's terminations bright red and the other white. After the presentation I asked him if he had heard any differences. Without a moments hesitation he rattled off two minutes of observations that sounded exactly like a well written equipment review. All the familiar catch phrases and adjectives flowed freely describing various sonic attributes, flung about as if he wrote gear reviews for a living. He described the differences in (sound)staging; grouping of voices while pointing to where he had heard them; the extended decay of the triangle; the separation of the voices of the male chorus; the location of specific instruments and how one power cord provided more air around them; the tighter bass; the reduction of sibilance in Jennifer Warnes voice (which he liked, BTW); and something about foundation. All of this just poured out of him in the most casual and nonplussed manner, as if he did this each and every day. And then I realized that he did, but with real instruments and voices on an actual stage or in a practice room. He finished his comments stating that either of the cords would have been fine for him and that the subtle nuances were just that, subtle. If he had a choice it would be the white one (GPX-R).
The unique sonic attributes of two virtually identical power cords, save for the metal used for the first two of four layers of plating, was clearly identifiable by both hobbyist and professional ears. It resulted in one power cord that was the clear preference for overall musicality. If this most minute difference in construction could be so easily heard why would anyone believe that differences could not be heard, or be considered worthwhile, among the hundreds of power cords available today, exhibiting significant if not fundamental differences in their use of materials, connectors and geometries?
I end noting that price was not a factor in the comparison. The GPX-R is a little more expensive than the GPX because their connectors are more expensive.
