I can tell you are not a scientist
Hearing is believing?........power cables.......
For anyone who is skeptical about the difference a high quality power cord can make in your high quality audio system........try it.......hearing is believing. About 10 years ago when I bought my first "entry level" hifi system (B&K amp/preamp, Canton speakers) my audio advisor dropped off a Tara Labs Prism power cord. He said just try it for a week and if you don't think it makes a difference just return it. I, like most unfamiliar with high quality cables, was skeptical.......how could a cable 1 meter long from the wall to my equipment make a difference? I put it on the power amp and yes I could definitely tell there was a more defined bass and overall clearer soundscape. I'm a musicians, so I figured maybe the "non audiophile" can't hear the difference. So my brother-in-law who is a bricklayer came over and we did a blind listening test. I randomly switched the Tara, sometimes trying to fool him......told him I switched but didn't........he could tell every time I used the Tara! So I was convinced that it was "wishful thinking on my part or particularly sensitive ears. If you don't think a great power cable can make a difference........take the challenge. Try one for a week and see (hear) for yourself!
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Checked out the Audioquest power cord geoffkait mentioned above. The reviews are amazing!! Was going to buy a couple of these but stumbled upon Audioquest's Diamond 16m Braided HDMI Cable. It is a steal at Amazon's price of $13,499.75. Some might think this is expensive but, get this, shipping is free!! 10 are left in stock of the 11 that were manufactured. Think I'll pass on the power cords and get the HDMI instead. Can't wait for the mystical heaven my audio and video will be transformed into. |
I think a common assumption many sceptics make (and I was one) is equating good power cords with expensive power cords. While there is overlap, they are two separate sets. DIY is the only way I roll, but mainly because it lets me inexpensively experiment and satisfy my curiosity about which factors influence system sound. I highly recommend at least trying a good DIY design before passing judgement on whether or not power cords can affect the sound of a system. That said, I’m still shocked that there are power cords costing in excess of $1000.. Not passing judgement on anyone who has such a cord. It’s just so far outside of my ’normal’.. |
I don't argue with people anymore. I know that power cables, interconnects, speaker wires, power supplies, output circuits, isolation, wires of the floor, grounding, etc. all make a difference. Now I'm going to listen to music so realistic that you can often be unhappy that you are hearing from the perspective of the microphone placements rather than the audience. |
Below is link to a previous Agon discussion about how well-designed power cables can change and improve the sound of an audio system. My thoughts are in short that it has less to do with the power supplies and more to do with stewardship of the currents and fields in the proximity of your gear, and effectively reducing interference with low current processed signals in interconnects and speaker wires, I.E. keeping the big juice in the pipe. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/why-power-cable-effect-overall-syste-sound Preview |
What is wrong with the manufacturers of high end pre-amps, power amps, outboard DACs and disc/media players? Why do they continue to cripple us with lackluster power cables? @dynaquest4 Likely they realize purchasers of *high-end* equipment will likely want to make their own decisions on which power cables to use in their systems? Otherwise we’d likely *bitch* about the pricey cable we have to buy with component X! :) |
What is wrong with the manufacturers of high end pre-amps, power amps, outboard DACs and disc/media players? Why do they continue to cripple us with lackluster power cables? Shame on them for being so chintzy. Could it be, maybe, that with all their R&D efforts, that they discovered that the power cable they provide with the equipment is as good as it gets? Maybe not. Perhaps some podunk, no name bozo with a slick marketing stichk, extra thick cords and sparkly plugs can suck in that select group of self-proclaimed "audiophiles" who,while not lacking funds, do lack the ability to see a scam for what it is. A freakin' scam. |
One post said or stated shouldn't the power supply and filters clean the power , I guess that was the thinking of most of us as we started becoming audiophiles , in our quest to move up and upgrade we started experimenting . I being frugal started with just replacing a fuse, a glass fuse for a ceramic one , then a Cardis power cord for the stock one ( this is where I learned that while increasing the guage can help its the design and copper purity that make the biggest diferences ) and then an outlet, ( my friend and I had 4 different outlets in a double gang box and you wouldn't believe we heard differences in all four ! I went from an P.S Audio to an Audioquest and thought about a Furtech ) each made an improvemnt in what I could hear. Now I am " upgrading " my IEC connectors, I have replaced fuse holders, replacing a main 20 for a military grade 30 amp, replacing the fuse clips on the board with silver plated solid copper from the tin plated brass. Someday Cardis in the wall 10 gauge solid wire dedicated line. I'm still amazed as to how much improvement can be made just getting the power to the electronics. Outside of the Power cable the rest of the improvments can be very inexpensive. Have Fun |
Giving a personal case in point . I was once badly wounded and in a ward with others in same situation , seeing others suffering was very traumatic . I lost ALL sense of touch, taste, smell and vision was reduced to a very narrow tunnel, maybe 5 degrees . I had NO idea that any of that was happening though psychically I was doing well . Brain was doing its thing . After few weeks all returned ,Docs seemed cynical, Nurses didn't they saw it all the time . I did have to learn to write again , maybe brain blew a fuse on that one . |
ROTF-LMAO! That’s to be expected(unfortunately), given how many view the universe with such myopia/naivety. (https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0708/0708.1536.pdf) |
I find it funny that a) we still have this argument and b) there are still people who don't think a PC will change the sound. I can at least respect the argument that the change in sound is not an improvement. While I don't agree completely, it at least recognizes the reality that the large majority of us have experienced. |
If upgraded power cords don’t make a difference, how come Mel Torme was standing between my speakers this evening? If an aftermarket power cord improves the sound, it doesn't mean the electronics are inferior. One hasn’t changed the electronics, but only the power cord. If electronics manufacturers were to include the best power cords with each sale and charge accordingly, how many overall sales would they lose or gain? And yes ... I am to the right of Darth Vader. :-) Frank |
On a serious note, science of the brain has exploded in last decade . The human brain above all seeks to maintain a balance, having to change your mind about long held views/ knowledge can upset that balance which can cause health problems, mental and physical . that can even result in death . Ever seen a hard-core racist change his mind through rational discourse ? Neither has anyone else . The brain is fully capable of and often does , make someone who learned and firmly believes that something can not make a difference UNABLE to hear,see or grasp that difference should it exist , if it knows balance will be upset . It cares nothing about science. People are not usually being bull-headed just to be same, most often they are just following orders from headquarters . |
I attacked no one personally, an observational comment . I asked an Admiral once, Chief of Naval Aviation, why they haunted the top engineering universities for pilot recruits . He replied that engineers were perfect for the job, they had the smarts for it but lacked the imagination to image themselves plowing into rear of flight deck on night landings . I knew him well and he had had a few so I think he was telling the truth as he saw it . |
@schubert Of course the last few feet can filter power and improve performance of SOTA equipment - no flat earth or right wing nuts deny that. However, so can the power cord and power supply in the SOTA equipment. It is reasonable to expect an improvement with a power filter for cheap crap gear but why is it unreasonable to expect SOTA equipment designers to build an adequately filtered power supply to begin with? What is is wrong with the knowledge of SOTA designers? Do they ALL only know how to build amplifier sections of electronics and were ALL asleep during the power supply design training course? I will not resort to personal attacks like you, Geoff, nonoise and Rodman as it kind of looks very much like a right wing nut would behave when you attack people rather than address the point. Why are SOTA designers so bad at designing power supplies? |
@geoffkait Hel-loo! If as you say I live in a cave at least it is in the real world. You are living in a tin foil fantasy land. I hope you are delivering high quality coal to you local power station so that you can enjoy the improvement from burning better coal. Everything makes a difference you know! |
Shadorne @geoffkait "Nothing I said is Strawman. You say SOTA gear improves with better power cords. FACT I do not contest that statement but ask is this acceptable from SOTA gear? I ask if it is not reasonable to expect SOTA gear to work properly without special power cords? Or at least come with a suitable power cord in the first place (if it makes so much difference)?" It’s a Strawman argument when you ask if SOTA gear works properly without a special power cord. Of course it works "properly." That’s not the issue. The issue is EVERYTHING can be improved. No matter how expensive. Better capacitors. Better resistors. Better internal damping. Vibration isolation. Shielding the transformer. Better fuse. Better power cords. Hel-loo! Have you been living in a cave for the last twenty years? |
@geoffkait Nothing I said is Strawman. You say SOTA gear improves with better power cords. FACT I do not contest that statement but ask is this acceptable from SOTA gear? I ask if it is not reasonable to expect SOTA gear to work properly without special power cords? Or at least come with a suitable power cord in the first place (if it makes so much difference)? |
@geoffkait "Calling power cords "band aids" doesn’t change the fact that replacing stock power cords in high end well-designed electronics with better power cords usually improves the sound. " Ok ok so you say it is a fact. I agree it is a fact and simply point out how badly designed and built these "high end well-designed electronics" must necessarily be. Designing a good power supply and good mains filtering isn’t rocket science. If power cord companies can do it then why do SOTA designers and manufacturers have such a big hole in their technical skills??? Why do they fail? Why is this not poorly designed and built gear? Is it acceptable to expect problems from the get go with SOTA gear? Isnt a power supply supposed to filter out mains noise? |
