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the magic of power cords

We need a bit of magic in our lives. It might be the reason why audiophilia has such traction among people from all walks of life.

The neophyte's skepticism is likely proportional to the level of technical training - the more you think you know, the stronger the conviction that, for example, the power cable business is a sham: "electrons are electrons" and "if the house cabling is bad, why would the last 3 feet matter?". The stronger the conviction, the more humbling the experience of hearing the power cord magic in action.

A few years back a Sophia Electric amp came into my hands with what looked like a generic power cord. The few non-generic cords I tried (Audioquest AC15, Audio Magic XSteam, Shunyata Research Diamondback) made a significant difference for the worse. The thin, black, generic-looking original cable allowed for a clarity and definition of voice and instruments that got totally washed out with the aftermarket cables. A night-and-day difference. No doubt - the power cord made a huge difference - but not in the expected direction. The Audioquest AC15 was particularly bad.

For awhile, I kept trying them around on all incoming equipment (be it DACs, preamps or amps). The AC15 sounded so bad every time that after awhile I wasn't even trying it out.

Many years and few amps later - something seemed not quite right with the presentation of my KAV-300i: slightly dull upper bass. Power cord: Zu Birth. Finally (after multiple interconnects and few speaker cable swaps) I pull out the power cord stash (same as above). This time around the AC15 was the great surprise: it allowed for clarity and macro dynamics well above the others.

What do I learn? Nothing, really. When is shielding important? When is gauge? How about the conductor or the insulation? How come there isn't one "best" design?

The magic continues.
cbozdog
bo1972's avatar
bo1972
2,789 posts
 
When it comes to the thread, I forgot to say that gauge matters. :)

For amps it is very important how thick the cable is. More control and grip. Also more dynamics.

When I compared different cables with different gauge I also had big differences. When you have a highend digital source thick cables like Purist Audio matters a lot.

I compared powercables from Nordost with Purist Audio in the past and with poweramps the Purist were far superior. Also for digital sources the Limited outperformed the Valhalla with ease!!
cbozdog OP
63 posts
 
Hi Bo,

I must admit: I now enjoy your answers much less. You're actually only a braggart, aren't you?

Thanks anyway.
bo1972's avatar
bo1972
2,789 posts
 
No, for me audio is only about what you hear. I can become hard or sometimes sarcastic but I am very serious when it comes to the endresult in sound.

When you hear my system my words become a lot more clear than they do now. I understand that really well.

Everything is Always about facts and the truth. I hate all those people who are not able to give people what they promised them. When you visit people with extrem expensive highend sets and the end result is average or even poor you become more fanatic and motivated to do it right. I hate people who lie and tell other people bullshit stories.

In audio there are still too many people who are not able to sell the best quality for the money. In my country it becomes even worse. Distributers with good stuff loose a part of there market. Only because some shops become distributers of low quality stuff. That is a main reason why I hate all the low quality stuff on the market. Because these people sell it to people. And so you get a lot less for the money you spend.
cbozdog OP
63 posts
 
Hi Bo, you're just telling stories about a fantastic character named "Bo" in Holland, aren't you?
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
04-16-14: Cbozdog
Hi Bo, you're just telling stories about a fantastic character named "Bo" in Holland, aren't you?

He certainly can spin a story, can't he? He's obviously a dealer....and maybe a future politician???
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