How can we expect to hear a PC to break in, it doesn't even pass an audio signal?
If the electrical properties change 10%, do you expect to be able to hear a difference and remember what it sounded like a few weeks befor?
Seems to be the expectation theory again..) |
FWIW, IMHO, worrying about powercord break-in is about as anal a concern as anything I have ever seen in this hobby! :-) |
Well, power cords *do* break in, especially if cryo'ed... |
Newbee,
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Who you callin' Anal.
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I am guessing that if someone is reading this thread, they are more than a little interested in reaching the best sound they can. That might be from better components, cables, interconnects, speakers or room treatments.
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Power cords do need to be broken in and can take up to 1,000 to fully break in. If you miss that point, you might judge a power cord prematurely and miss out on a great power cord and some great sonic improvement. If you don't think power cords make a huge difference, you are missing out on quite a bit.
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Ratsamongus,
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Your comments speak to the reality that you have not put any time into working with power cords. They do make a difference and a huge difference at that.
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Cello, I agree that the *anal* talk should stop. It sounds bad to my ears anyway...men talking about *anal* stuff.
As for power cords, the poorer the quality of the power the more effect they have. If your power is good the gap between power cords narrows--and in some cases a power cord that sounded better because it filtered noise can be found to be limiting in the audio band (and colored, too!). That's how the cryo'ed Absolute Power Cord beat the BMI Whale and Shark in my system. |
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Psychicanimal,
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I just had my Sharks & Whale's cryoed along with my interconnects and speaker cables - It made a huge sonic difference.
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If you still have any of your Sharks & Whales left, you can have them cryoed for not a lot of money and give your system quite a boost.
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How much does the Absolute Power Cord sell for new (used)?
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Cello, the BMI cords tend to boom the bass, exaggerate soundstage and roll the highs. If you were to try a cryo'ed VenHaus Flavor 4 you'd have a very pleasant surprise. The thing is my system is designed to run off 220V/110V isolation transformer/filters and the whole thing changes drastically. There's plenty of information in the archives on this subject. |
The Absolute Power cord sells for $49 new as advertised on Audiogon and less if you can find them used. I find them to improve when properly cryo'd. |
Larry, you're back! Tried any other power cords lately? |
PA, I never left. In the reference system I'm still using the VH flavor 4 Cryo'd (good bang for the buck). I've not tried any others power cords since December, however I'm waiting to audition some Ridge Street power cords if they are ever sent to me. |
RED ALERT, RED ALERT, WIFE DANGER:
I started this threat Oct 29th and not long after daisy chained my new used PCs to break them in. I put them in the basement in the back room and hooked them up to a lamp. I had intended to hook them up to a rotating fan, but never broke into the attic to find our old one. Anyway, today I decided it was long enough, and I would plug one into the system. I went to the basement and found - no lamp on!
Honeeeeyyyyyyy!! Did you turn off that lamp in the basement? Yes. Why? Why not? Nobody was in the room.
Ayyyyyyyy. When did you turn it off? I don't know.
A week? Two weeks? Three weeks? I don't know. Why?
Having no civilian-sane answer to that question, I just smiled and walked away. (I can't afford divorce after 20 years.)
The good news is that I took the BMI Whale Supreme, hooked it up to my CAT JL-2, and was very, very pleased. Things appeared in mid bass that just weren't there before. I would have paid good money for the upgrade. Come to think of it.... |
I was told by the owner of Elrod power cords to use a refrigerator. He said to leave it for about 3-4 weeks running 24/7. The idea is that powercords breakin from the sudden surge of power being drawn through them and also the ebb and flow of the refrigerator cycling through it's different phases. The fan idea is to use an osscilating fan, again for eb and flow. I picked up an IEC adapter at radio shack. Good Listening! |
Ok so I wasn't the only crazy one to think to use their fridge or other appliance to break in a power cord. Whew!
I found these connectors on Amazon and thought any new Power cord I buy if I'm in need of breaking them in I can speed up the burn-in process by using the cord with various household items.
Male Plug Adapter IEC C14 To U.S. 3 Pin Female Connector
I don't think I could remember the sonic differences of when I first used the cable to when I'm done with burning them in but at least I'll know the cable is totally burned in now with hundreds of hours of varying current being pushed through it. Some amps I have don't draw as much as a fridge or a vacuum cleaner. |
