Are manufacturer AC cables good enough?

I don’t turn my nose up at a placebo or expectation bias, as long as it improves the sound.

danvignau,

"The tweaky magic stuff allows you to share the experience of visiting your dealer to talk about your hobby. It makes you happier, so you believe it works. This is a great marketing plan, because every time you visit the store, is a selling opportunity for new equipment.."



Yes it does work for some, the same way that hypnosis, placebo and optical illusions do. Unfortunately all of these phenomena only have short term temporary effects.

Otherwise we could all escape our earthbound existence to live in our illusions indefinitely. Attempts to do so via audio style retail therapy are also inevitably doomed to failure unless we can make genuine lasting improvements to our playback experience.

I remember reading that Paul McKenna (well known UK hypnotist) confessing how he once hypnotised his partner into believing that he was a fantastic lover but to his regret (and possibly hers) the effect of this trance like state could not be maintained indefinitely.

Lasting satisfaction, on the other hand is not something many of us audiophiles easily find.

I’m probably the closest to it currently as I’ve ever been. It’s now about 6 years since I’ve made a component change to my system (Creek Destiny integrated amp which has considerable more power than its predecessor), and 10 years since I replaced my Ruarks with the Tannoys.

So do I still want better sound playback? You bet I do! My love for music is as strong as it was ever was. Two days ago I couldn’t get Dylan’s Senor out of my head, yesterday it was R.E.M.s Losing My Religion - very weird as it’s not one of my favourites by them.

However, I’m also far more wary and suspicious than I once was.

As they say ’Once bitten, twice shy’.

Although to say only once bitten in my case would be a seriously gross denial.

Nowadays another adage spring to mind,

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

Ok, ok, give or take a dozen or so times. It wasn’t all my fault, I am an audiophile. Albeit a thoroughly shamed one at that.

Power cord must be:

1.UL rated
2.Originally supplied, or meeting same specs as original
3.Long enough to reach your units easily ie. no tension
4.Connected to a good quality surge protector (unless your stereo is a cheaper crap than the power cord itself ;) )

Not sure if you're being serious or sarcastic. Tone of voice and humor can be difficult to convey on the computer screen. But I'll address each of your points.

1. Most aftermarket cables aren't UL listed because the certification process is costly. UL standards helps ensure mass produced cables meet minimum safety requirements for fire safety and electrical shock protection. It is a risk management tool for very large corporations. Low volume, boutique cables cannot justify the expense of a UL listing. That doesn't mean their build quality or safety is sub-par. 

2. Which specs? Same LCR? Same quality and type of conductor material, number and gauge of conductors, layup design geometry, filling interstices, tape barrier, mechanical and electrical shielding, outer jacket? What about connectors?

3. This is a huge variable from system to system. Which is one reason why aftermarket cables are prolific. 

4. I know many people who run amps directly to the wall receptacle w/o any surge protection devices. Some more experienced friends' systems use whole home surge protection device installed at the main electrical service panel or a sub panel. They're not cheap. Many of my hifi friends use that in addition to dedicated 20 amp circuits for each device, quality receptacles, balanced power transformers or AC regeneration devices like PS Audio Power Plant. Most would agree that MOV based surge protectors do the sound quality no favors.

Most would have no clue how MOVs work or appear in the circuit because they would know that effectively when there is no surge, the MOV is would be doing nothing that could impact sound. Now if you mean inductors which are often in surge protectors, then yes you could argue an impact. Whole home surge protectors are usually just a bunch of MOVs in a box perhaps with GDTs depending on where you are.


Most of those construction details you listed are relatively meaningless (except shielding) except on a marketing sheet and express themselves as LCR. That giant filter, I mean power transformer in the equipment is going to be dominant by far for power delivery. The next variable would be ground continuity between equipment and finally shielding.


Absent any real knowledge or information reasonably intelligent people will make up all kinds of "ideas" to support their preferred view. It's not just cables, have a gander at the MDF, Plywood (which extends to aluminum and solid wood) discussion, or discussions about sound stage made without even a basic understanding of how we perceive position or acceptance of basic geometry.

The hypothesis is (whatever the particular wire, tweak, etc); that a change (good or bad) can be heard.     If one desires to apply, "science", to an agenda, regarding their listening enjoyment; experimentation is an absolute requirement.     iow: One must actually TRY, whatever’s being discussed, with their own ears, in their own system.      The electrical/electronic variables, as well as biases and/or aural acuity, are too myriad to calculate.      As one notable Physicist, theorist and Nobel Laureate (popular, for his lectures on QED) is usually quoted, " It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are.    If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong."       THAT’S, "logic".