Power Cables diminishing returns

the concept of diminishing returns ia very subjective and an economic assessment.

i don't think a mercedes is worth $50,000, while some car buyers probably do.

the notion that a $1000 power cord does not provide twice the performance as a $500 one is a moot point.

each listener makes the assessment as to what a product is worth relative to another. disagreements are likely to occur.

thus the concept of diminishing returns is not applicable to an aesthetic medium.

it is useful where objective measurement is possible, such as in a production environment.

this term was originally applied in micro economics. it is debatable whether it has any usefulness in audio.

A couple of posters above, I believe it was Robsker and Schipo, talk about double blind testing and how listeners could not tell the difference between PC's. That's fine, but the problem I have is that I would like to see the tests myself. This is one of those emotional topics that people get caught up in on both sides. Its understandable for many reasons.

My position is that I can hear differences in power cords. Sometimes its a big difference and other times, its very small. On occasion, I don't hear any difference. Not only that, about 50% of the time, I find the results to be negative over a stock cord. Its just a mixed bag of results. But there are results (usually), at least for me.

The reason I state the above is to be very clear where my personal bias or experience is. If you guys want to cite tests that were done that contradicts what I know or believe, you have every right to. Not only that, I encourage it. I like to be challenged. But if you want me to take your posts seriously, though, you have to do a better job than to just say that you read about some tests. I want to know as much about them as I can. I need to read them for myself. I may even want to try them to see if I can get the same results. How else can we learn? With all the different people that post here, maybe we can even come up with a better test.

Zd, Remember when the audio rags measured equipment, but provided no narrative on an actual audition? Perhaps I misunderstand, but it seems to me as if that is what is occurring here. I used to be in the camp of the skeptics. I did not see how PCs could make a difference provided that they made a solid connection at both ends and did not restrict current flow.
Then one day a friend loaned me 4 of his Vh audio AirSines while he was on vacation. I was just amazed at what those 4 PCs did for my system. One audition completely blew my preconceived notions out of the water. I subsequently bought 4 AirSines of my own, 2 VooDoo PCs, and one Audience E. In my system, the audience was a disappointment. I would never suggest the folks above who love audience cords are fools or can't hear. They found the right PCs for their system and I found the right PCs for mine.
I think the idea of drawing universal conclusions based on a single scenario test is fundamentally flawed. One negative result cannot prove a universal principle. One positive result also cannot prove a universal principle, but it does demonstrate that a potential exists.

Those who are certain that megabuck PCs are nothing but a $50 pile of junk marketed to rich simpletons might do well to remain quiet and explore that avenue as a sure fire get rich quick scheme. I wish them all the luck in the world.

bottom line...the more resolving, ie better, a system is , the easier it is to hear differences between 2 cables.in the end, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about what you hear or don't hear. if it sounds better to you, it is better,placebo effect or not.

The more resolving, ie better, a system is , the easier it is to hear differences ...

This assumes that the designs of the components in the system that is more musically resolving are such that the system is also more sensitive to AC differences. IMO the two kinds of resolution do not necessarily go hand in hand. Many technical factors could be cited that can contribute to sensitivity to differences in power cords or other cables, that have nothing to do with the ability of a system to resolve musical information.

With all due respect, IMO it is a common misconception among audiophiles, at least in the case of systems that are of reasonably decent quality, to assume that a strong correlation exists between sensitivity to differences between power cords, cables, or other hardware, and the ability of a system to resolve musical information. And as a corollary to that it follows that an inability to hear hardware differences does not necessarily say anything negative about the quality of the sound that the system provides. Or about the listener's hearing, for that matter.

Regards,
-- Al