Do CD Transports benefit much from upgraded power cords?

@chocaholic 

+1

I use an audiophile AC cord for my blow dryer and my hair does have a certain luxurious sheen now. However, I did accidentally drop it in the bathtub and electrocuted my cousin...oops...

many direct sale cable manufacturers and online stores offer free trials...

Good topic.  I was wondering the same thing.  I found lots of benefit upgrading PCs for my DAC and preamp.  I don’t have a way to try a new power cord without buying one.  Once again, a not so expensive experiment.  

First off, thank you for the compliments. I've worked long and hard to cobble together a system which provides such happiness and joy. As for my post, I was hoping consensus would have been that it wasn't necessary to replace the stock PC on the CD player/transport. But, like so often in the audio biz, it seems I should at least try an upgrade to see if it makes an improvement, or changes anything. Thank you all for all opinions and relating your experiences. Once I clear my inbox and save some pennies I'll give it a go and report back. Thank you again, and as always, happy listening.

@rockadanny in my experience, with every CD player, transport and streamers I had in my system, a good power cord made a difference. 

@chocaholic 

I don’t think anyone needs to ease up on @jasonbourne71 @jasonbourne52. You got this backwards - he is actually the one ridiculing everyone else. He’s nothing more than a gum on a shoe with every power cord discussion. Look at his forum response history. It’s definitely time for him to STFU. 

JB71 isn’t wrong and doesn’t deserve ridicule. Here’s my take. We all hear differently. I enjoy clean, clear vocals, tight full bass, soundstage, the sound of the venue, etc., but simply cannot hear 1/10th of what many here do. Example…I use both Qobuz and Spotify but on most tracks, cannot tell the difference. I’ve swapped cables and cords on every piece of gear and detect nothing different. Or if it is different, it’s not enough to confidently state.

So much of this hobby is opinion and psychoacoustics. To those who can detect and appreciate the sound improvements from a carbon fiber switch plate cover or tinker toys under your cables, I’m jealous. I recently replaced a PrimaLuna amp for a Mac and Focal speakers for Revels. Big changes. Music still sounds great and is very enjoyable, but it was before too. But improvement? I can’t say.

So, ease up on Jason. He calls them as he sees them and I like that. Some will hear things others will not. It’s as simple as that. It’s important we appreciate the variability between people and that may be where Jason errs. But I suspect his opinions are honest

My thoughts.

I have found with my experiences of changing Power Cables, the most noticeable differences between Cables are to be discovered when trying out digital sources.

Either the CDT or DAC.

If the trialling of Power Cables is one that is on the list of 'to do's'. Try out different gauge wires before getting too caught up in particular Brands and their wire types.

I have made posts on this as a method in the past.      

Give it a shot, most have return privileges. 

Try a few and report back.

I've experienced changes in sound when swapping the PC's on DAC's and players with some being more to my liking and some not.

Also experienced an improvement in sound when changing the PC on a vintage/stock Thorens TT, but the original PC was a 40 year old (@ the time) lamp cord.

I pigtailed in the replacement which was a popular (under $50) PC 20 years ago.

The DOLLAR amount mentioned as to @ which point you should be able to hear a difference/improvement is complete hogwash IMO.

DeKay

Ahhh, and here come the angry emails from our resident troll.....lovely. Lol. 

No - especially for a CD transport.  That's as muddle-headed as upgrading the power cord on a turntable.  

kb54.....I totally agree!

I’m going to answer probably.  I had an Audience F3 pc not being used and I put it on my CDT6000.  Did I hear a difference adding a $275 pc to a $700 CDT? Probably, but I really didn’t do an A/B test.  Maybe this weekend?

Remember … 71, loves vintage gear. A style that of which he specializes, cables placed secondary or perhaps further down his list of priorities. Extremely important that we respect our elders.

Only a complete moron would equate a $4k CD transport/player with a hair dryer.

Ignore the troll.

It’s unfortunate, but the guy has no real equipment, and as such, feels the need to shout on every cable post that nothing matters. I mean, if you have no point of reference, I guess it doesn't. 

Same guy was "schooling" me on how his $15 DVD player sounds just as good as my $6K Esoteric. Uh-huh. Sure it does.

Some people just aren’t worth arguing with. He’s not here to learn anything. Ignore him.

jasonbourne71 appears to be a hideous, miserable deaf person in his late 90s, whose only role in life is ruining things for others.  It makes me angry every time I read one of his posts, and I sincerely wish he would just go away.

@jasonbourne71

"NO! Same for a microwave, hair dryer, fan, turntable."

About that microwave:

Years ago, the concept and theory of premium PCs pegged the needle on my BS meter. Long story, but let’s say I was dragged kicking and screaming in the the PC camp. After careful auditions, I didn’t just "drink the Koolaide". I chugged the whole pitcher. I expermented with premium PCs on good systems, "so so" systems, cheap systems, cheap gear -- automotive systems. Even upgradedthe internal wiring of amps, preamps, etc. The PC upgrades were clearly audible. Every time.

One day as I was watching a movie and eating popcorn, I was annoyed with the unpopped kernels I had to navigate around. But, if you cook it longer, it dries out the popcorn. What’s a movie/popcorn enthusiast to do? What was needed was more/better power. Hum? How about a hack of the Panasonic microwave and install better power delivery? I had no idea IF it would make a difference, but it would be fun trying.

I was (and still am) a dealer for a popular brand of PC, As a baseline test, I boiled a cup of water standing at room temperature and measured the tiime it took to bring it to a full boil. Then I cut off an end of a $150 (retail) cable, ran it internally into the chassis of the microwave, and attached via silver solder to the connection point. Then placed a cup of water (at room temperature) inside and hit the "start" button. The water came to a boil 10% quicker. I recorded these tests via video, and can probably find them inserted inbetween Christmas videos somewhere.

I thought it would be entertaining to write up a review and sent it to my <brand> rep. I titled it: "<Brand/Model> Special Orville Redenbacher Edition". The rep got a kick out of the review, and unbeknownst to me, it made it’s way up the ladder to the company president AND the cable designer. As amused as they were they, quite intelligently, decided NOT to publish it in company newsletter for a variety of reasons. But, I did get a call from thet cable designer (a guy with a strong history of successes and long pedigree) who stated that it actually made sense to him that a premium PC would improve the performance of the Panasonic microwave.

So, if you’d wondering if someone put LSD in my oatmeal this morning, this is a test that can be easily duplicated at home in your spare time. I’d be interested to see if the results are consistent.

And, oh yeah, the popcorn was better, too.

To answer the OPs question: Without a doubt

I recently did some experimenting on this exact topic.  I have some very good DIY cable, solid core copper with silver plating, and have used it throughout my system.  I had been using it as the power cord to my Bel Canto CDT-3 transport with the pretty  good  IeGO 8075 rhodium plated copper AC plugs and thought the sound to be fine.  I found a pair of Oyaide 046 plugs that I had stashed and decided to give them a try on this power cord.  There was an obvious change in sound, a bit more inner detail, the images took on greater palpability being more specific and more rounded.  The change wasn't huge but easily noticeable. 

This had me wondering about further improvements by using the Oyaide 004 plugs instead, which are another step up.  The 046's are a bit sweet in my opinion.  The 004's offer greater detail across the board and greater control.  They also are more dynamic and the bass is more textured.  Honestly, I think the 004 betters the 046 in just about every way, unless you need the sweetness that the 046's have.

So yes, in my experience, it's well worth it to upgrade your transport power cord as much as you can afford.  In a resolving system, just about everything does matter

Shorter power cords can make your set-up a little more tidy. Replacing cords with  defective jackets or terminations might prevent a short.  Accomplishing this with good UL-listed products shouldn't cost much more than a few US dollars per foot.  Amazon sells 14 AWG Tripp Lite power cords  in many lengths.

NO! Same for a microwave, hair dryer, fan, turntable. 

Rockadanny,

The more resolving the system, the more relevant a good cable choice is.....your system looks high end (sorry I've not heard your components), so I would add a nice power cable. No need to go nuts, but a nice DH Labs, Zavfino, Lavricables, Cullen Cables, or similar would do fine.

@chocaholic

Yes, logic dictates. But the reality is the output is electrical. So, there is an optical reader, this is converted to a digital stream… the whole process subject to vibration, electrical noise, and who knows what else. Like all audio components… everything matters. As bazar as it is, power cords matter.

Perhaps I’m overlooking something obvious but a CD transport is an optical device. Power spins the disc and powers the laser which require a minuscule amount of current. I can’t imagine a power cord would have any detectable sonic effect. Why not give it a try and let us know?

@coralkong: “ … IN GENERAL, the nicer the CD player, the better the unit responds to a nicer cord…

My take: Yep …. Big time ….  @coralkong = No truer words can be spoken here .

Nice system.  Your CD played probably draws +/- .25 of an amp.  Unlike power amps that can require big and fluctuating power, the CD player requires a very small amount of current.  Any cable with some decent shielding is likely to be all you need.  I know this goes against some opinions but that has been my experience.  It never hurts to try something new, but a no questions asked return policy would be a good idea just in case you find there is no sonic difference.  Cheers. 

Yes, they do....generally speaking, of course.

I have used many CD players of varying quality over the years.

IN GENERAL, the nicer the CD player, the better the unit responds to a nicer cord.

If you are using a cheapie CD player (say....under $1k), you probably won’t hear a difference.

When you start talking about $2K+ players with quality power supply(-ies), then yes, you can hear a difference. I don’t think you need to go overboard with the quality of the cord, but a couple-of-hundred dollar cord on a good CD player will be noticeable.

(It’s easily demonstrable with my Esoteric, Yamaha, Classe, modified Denon tube CD player, etc...)

Everything makes a difference on audiophile equipment, and CD players are no different.

P.S. Nice setup. Love the speakers!

A well appointed beautiful system like yours can definitely benefit from an upgraded power cord. That’s a very nice CD player, try something like Zavfino FINA OCC PC (14AWG) MKII and report back your findings.

I believe they do...I had some cords left from downsizing and they did make a difference...how much i can't say, but i kept the cords rather than sell...on a PS Audio Perfectwave and Cambridge CXC...