Blind Power Cord Test & results

All my power cords are blind, I don't need to test them to verify that.

Many people who consider aftermarket AC cords snake oil are those that cannot (or will not) justify the difference the investment makes.

If that is the argument, I am in complete agrement. Many tweaks in high end audio are a poor value when compared to better speakers or improving the source.

However, once a system contains all the best components, with very little left to be accomplished, aftermarket AC cords as well as other premium tweaks can make a significant improvement.

As stated countless times in these forums, LONG TERM LISTENING is the only way to determine if your system is right for you musically. Short listening sessions tend to confuse and do little to establish if the change provides long term satisfaction.

Best to get a test cord, install it on a piece in your system that is MOST likely to benefit, usually the amp or source. Then, over time determine if that provides better sound. Best to listen for a week, then swap back to the original cord and see if you "miss" the upgrade.

Be honest with yourself and don't be concerned with what you think your going to hear or what anyone else has told you.

If in the end your system does not provide better performance with that aftermarket cord, replace it with another and do the test again, or put the stock cord back in the system and forget about it.

In my system the results are so drastic that a single pass between two cords is all that is required. I have however, sat in front of systems that responded very poorly or not at all. It's like everything else in life, you have to work at it to determine the answer.

Also, this is from the web site you linked to, appears they had concerns about the validity of the test due to time constraints, same as I suggested (above).

There were several acknowledged weaknesses to the test. The number of participants and trials was not very high. Most people sat far from the sweet spot. The ideal situation, which would have allowed participants to audition A and B more than once before trying to identify X, was not possible because the length of time it would have taken to do so would have burned everyone out. (Many members of the second group said they were fried by the time 3:30 PM rolled around.) Switchers failed to turn on both amps three times, and Baci Brown of canine renown further interrupted the flow twice with scratching and barking at outside sounds and a perceived need to pee it all out in the yard. Finally, and perhaps of greatest significance, the time it took to switch cords was longer than the generally accepted 5 second length of human auditory memory. This reduced what Manny terms “the differential sharpness of perception” of participants.

There is, of course, no way to know if a maximum 5 second delay between auditioning A, B, and X would have made a statistical difference. In fact, there is no way to know if we would have scored better if every possible scenario we could think of was exactly as we wished it to be in the best of all possible worlds.

I suggest you test this in your own system and forget about what other write, including myself.

Albertporter...I don't want to get mixed up with the power cord thing, but perhaps you could explain why you think (pronounce actually) that, in general, a long term listening comparison is better than a quick A or B. In my experience long term comparisons become very subjective, so that it is easy to "hear" differences that don't really exist.

I agree that long term listening is the best way to determine if you really like the sound, but, to detect changes, I think that the quick A or B is best.

I think people are under too much pressure to make a decision when confronted with A or B. Why should a change in your audio system be based on a decision made in 10 seconds or less?

Have you not ever made a decision too quickly and later regretted it?

If you are truly able to tell what makes you happy in that quick a comparison, I wish I had hung out with you in college. You could have helped keep me out of decisions I made, particularly with women.

Quick switching is used to determine if a difference is audible, not which of a or b you prefer.

If the difference is enough to be audible, why not stretch out the session and decide if it's worth investing in?.

Who cares what wins the A or B test. Does anyone listen that way?

Both long term listening and A/B comparisons are an attempt to decide if there is a difference and if that change is worth implementing on a permanent basis. For those who don't trust themselves or NEED A/B testing (for whatever reason), I say go for it.

I always know what is being changed because I do my own testing, usually with a group of friends who vote on the results.

Many times the outcome is not what any of us expected, so the learning process remains intact and we all evolve our systems based on priority and what we can afford.

The topic of A/B is banned at Audio Asylum and I understand why. These discussions (particularly blind A/B discussions), typically follow the same evolution as this thread. Pointless arguments that do nothing to improve our systems.

The other night I had assumed an expensive power cord was going to be an improvement, so I hooked it up without listening to it and before everyone arrived for the music session.

About an hour into the music I ask one of my group members if he thought things were "off."

He agreed, and I put in the less expensive cord and the system improved drastically.

I have no problem with that, it saves me money every time that happens. I admit I had a prejudice for the premium cord that had proven itself dozens of times in other situations.

Conclusion? I still use the premium cord everywhere it works and NOT where it did not work. The score is two pieces of (newly acquired) gear that did not respond well to the "high priced" version and nine places where the "high priced" cord was the clear winner.

As I stated early on in this thread. You use what you think will work and then test (long term listening) to see what the facts are.

If this test had been done "blind" I could have easily reversed the brands, based on my past experience.

Does this prove ABX is a superior way to determine what brand to use? No, it only proves humans are influenced by what we learn and if your an adult about it, you admit when testing goes against preconceived notions and go with what WORKS.

In addition, many cords do not respond well to short term listening. Some brands change tonal balance simply by plugging and unplugging them from the equipment, this not even taking into effect what powering off does to solid state and tube gear for the first few minutes.

I hesitate to bring that point up, because someone will now argue that the cord does not change if moved and that there is no effect in powering on and off various pieces of gear.

Again, reason to listen long term, if for no other reason than to remove the possibility of those variables.