maybe he misspelled dog
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!
215 responses Add your response
Maybe different gods will provide different sound.. dedicate your PC to Mars for powerful, fast, aggressive sound. Venus will provide lush, sweet sound. Avalokiteshvara will provide the sound you need to hear, not what you want. The judeo-christian God will blow up your stereo if you even think about another PC... |
MN was the best place in the USA to hunt big trophy white-tale deer . 1 degree , as in ONE degree, increase in temp has allowed a thousand fold increase in deer-ticks that has made it a worth your life event to even go into the woods ! Herd numbers have taken a nose-dive because young fawns can not survive the bites of thousands of ticks from moment of birth. Mother nature is a fine tuned machine , a change in anything can change everything . Creation is sacred , only a fool thinks otherwise . |
@toddverone No need to worry about end of the world BS with regard to man-made climate change. I studied Atmospheric Physics in college. I understand the scientific principles and the physics very well and there is actually no cause for concern. Sadly there are a lot of unfounded extremist claims from many fund seeking fraudulent pseudo-scientists, NGO's, UN and especially enviro nuts. Practically anyone can make a prediction or extrapolate poor quality data and claim the sky is falling and unfortunately it has become very much du jour. If you research it, you will find the claimed 98% consensus is a totally fabricated number by ONE researcher - it has been quoted endlessly by the proponents of catastrophe. |
@shadorne "Yup. For example, the whole global warming scare has demonized CO2 from what it actually is - a totally harmless trace gas and extremely minor infra-red absorber of which projected increases will only help green the planet at an absolutely negligible change to temperature." And yet what you say goes against the scientific consensus reached by the majority of climate researchers on the planet. The lack of understanding of scientific principles allows views such as yours on climate change to propagate. Unless, of course, you have some super secret research. Those of us worried about climate change would much rather prefer not to. I’d love it if we were wrong.. |
Subjectivity has its limits.Not my definition of subjectivity. Those claims ("unbelievable," "jaw-dropping," " incredible analog-like liquidity") influence others that show up here and cause them to make the same bad decisions about how to "upgrade" the quality of their (as clearthink says) Music Reproduction System.From my experience, ones that want to save the world usually are the ones that need the biggest saving. |
stfoth: Well put: "...
fair criticism is of the fantastic claims..." I really have no issue with people spending their money any way they want - it is their money. My issue is, as you pointed out, with "fantastic claims" made by some here, subsequent to changing out power cords, ethernet cable,HDMI, speaker cables and other "wire." Those claims ("unbelievable," "jaw-dropping," " incredible analog-like liquidity") influence others that show up here and cause them to make the same bad decisions about how to "upgrade" the quality of their (as clearthink says) Music Reproduction System. |
| Post removed |
@stfoth I have an early edition Daytona L series automatic with a Zenith movement. It still runs and is in perfect shape after 26 years of being worn on my wrist every day - my son will get this in about 24 years time when the watch is 50 years old. I think it is not just the jewellery aspect that appeals to me (I do love the Daytona look) but that in this throw away day and age there is still something you can wear daily that can last so long! Certainly a robust design and if well maintained it would appear to last a lifetime or more. Others may prefer cars. To each his own fanciful vanities! Boys must have their silly toys! |
@jmcgrogan2 Not trying to be ironic, my point was 100k in speakers and zero on power cord. Power cord does nothing for the sound for me - it is just jewelry like a Rolex does nothing to keep better time than a quartz watch. I prefer real jewelry as an aesthetic statement rather than monster sized power cords - BOTH are superfluous from a pure technical performance perspective. Again my view and with my silly Rolex I am just as vain as the next guy with those 6K fancy power cords. However I am not deluded to think my Rolex keeps even remotely better time than anything else.... |
I can speak to value of power cords from my perspective. About 100K invested in speakers. Zero spent on power cords. @shadorne , Hopefully, you can see the irony in your post. It seems to say that excess waste is fine and dandy, as long as you approve of it. To me, a Daytona Rolex is a total waste of money, as I only care about what time it is. Now cable jewelry is art to me. ;^) Why do so many folks care about how others spend their money. Cars, boats, planes, watches, jewelry, audio gear, television, traveling, homes. In the end, one spends money on what they want to spend money on. No one is right, no one is wrong. That is simple math that hopefully everyone can understand. |
| Post removed |
I can speak to value of power cords from my perspective. About 100K invested in speakers. Zero spent on power cords. Can I afford a $6000 cable jewelry to go along with my Daytona Rolexes - sure I can very easily afford but that would be a total waste of money as I only care about the sound of a power cord whereas a time piece is art to me. |
" That there are those with hefty "budgets" that don’t know what they are doing. They believe that everything (or many things) that have extreme price tags MUST be a better product. They are wrong. " But how do you know that they don’t know what they are doing? You are guessing, based on your own narrow view of what is expensive without any insight at all into the thinking of those people you obviously do not understand and do not know. You have simply decided that these cables are a poror value and so you have based conclusions on your solitary supposition that is not based on any facts but rather your prejudiced view of people you don’t understand. So silly! "Since Value is the result of the mathematical equation of Quality divided by Price, such a power cord is a serious poor value regardless of whatever incremental SQ boost..." Of course here you reveal your rather profoundly ignorant view of economics by this definition the purchase of an original Picasso painting is a poor value when it fact it could bring conceivably tremendous joy in to the life of someone for whom the expense if not trivial is very easily absorbed into their lifestyle without ever effecting their budget in any way. I do understand that this concept is difficult for you to grasp but if you imagine for a moment perhaps what you’re life might be like if you won the lottery perhaps you might be able to imagine that there exists a world outside of your own where the concept of value is markedly different than your own. So as a little exercise I’ll respectfully ask you to consider that if a $6,000 power cable is a poor value where do you define a good value power cable to be priced at and after you decide that number consider that you arrived at that price point by evaluating your own economic condition and not the economic condition of someone else and therein lies the fallacy in your argument that $6,000 for a power cable is a poor value. As a way of offering another example I consider a meal at McDonald’s to be a very poor value and in fact in matter respects a much worse value than that of a quality $6,000 power cable. How can this be you ask? That would only be a conversation we could have once you grasp the fundamental concepts revolving around you’re subjective definition of what constitutes a good value in a power cord and you’re insistence that the equation you apply to arrive at that definition is the exact same equation to the penny that every other person should apply to the same calculation. What size waist do you use when you buy a pair of pants? I hope it is one that is suited to your actual waist size and when it comes to power cords and budgets and values the same principal applies. I should add to this to be fair to you that I am not arguing as to whether or not a $6,000 power cable is a good value or poor value for you! it is obvious that it would be a very poor value for you and you have made your position and opinion on this very obvious. You're error is applying the same formula for arriving at that conclusion to all others who would be considering the same value proposition. You're $6,000 is better spent elsewhere probably on rent and food and things that are much more essential to your daily life than a high-end audio power cord for use in a Music Reproduction System. |
+1 randy11 "Lack of a basic science education leads to worse things than wasting money on placebo cables, anti-vaxers for example" Yup. For example, the whole global warming scare has demonized CO2 from what it actually is - a totally harmless trace gas and extremely minor infra-red absorber of which projected increases will only help green the planet at an absolutely negligible change to temperature. |
This has been discussed previously. That there are those with hefty "budgets" that don't know what they are doing. They believe that everything (or many things) that have extreme price tags MUST be a better product. They are wrong. Some products sell at a high price because of the high price...at a lower price they might not sell as well. I'd opine that the $6000 power cord is one of these products. Since Value is the result of the mathematical equation of Quality divided by Price, such a power cord is a serious poor value regardless of whatever incremental SQ boost it might provide or how fat you boast your wallet to be. High priced "exotic" items are rarely a good value and often exist merely because there are those that have no appreciation of that concept. I'd also opine that the most successful people on the planet, who earned their own fortunes, do appreciate that concept and rarely waste money on poor values. |
"I mean, really, a power cord for $6000? Really? Really? That power cable only exists because someone entepenuer knew if he built it fancy, packaged it well and marketed it to the easily swayed, he could sell enough to make a killing" Perhaps you should consider that who you refer to as the "easily swayed" is more accurately yourself who is "easily swayed" by the notion that for some arbitrary reason of yours $6,000 is apparently too much to spend on a power cable. Perhaps those who buy the $6,000 power cables are not especially "easily swayed" at all, but are making a consumer choice with which they are comfortable whereas in your case it would be a purchase that would make you uncomfortable perhaps if only because such a consumer purchase would be beyond your budget. The concept that there is something defective about those who might spend $6,000 on a power cable is actually a form of prejudice about someone you have obviously not met and whose budgetary and financial realities differ from yours to such an extent that you are unable to comprehend how they could possibly execute such a purchase and remain rational and yet at the same time you call them "easily swayed" so obviously you have a flaw in your "logic" here. Moreover if we examine this "easily swayed" person who's behavior you conjure from your fertile imagination you might ask yourself that if indeed this person is so "easily swayed" how is it that they have $6,000 to spend on a power cable rather than having already spent it on some other tomfoolery such as pricey cars or truckloads of Girl Scout cookies? After all they are so "easily swayed" how is it that the $6,000 power cable has so "easily swayed" their decision whereas other beckoning consumer products have failed to absorb their expendable $6,000? |
Synergy is key when we start talking about power cord(s) (PC) that cost more than $2K. Certainly at $5/6K level system synergy, correct selection of gear is pivotal. I have spent some time w/ Stage III Concepts and Silent Source (PC), they are nothing less than outstanding, adding another level of better listening pleasure. Happy Listening! |
kahlenz says: "I do not need a course in physics to buy a power cable. There are plenty of choices available in all price ranges." Of course there are. As long as there are consumers who will pay more...believing that the more they pay the better their system will sound...the higher the price will go. I mean, really, a power cord for $6000? Really? Really? That power cable only exists because someone entepenuer knew if he built it fancy, packaged it well and marketed it to the easily swayed, he could sell enough to make a killing. Good for him...the American way. As someone said a long time ago: "Buyer beware!". But then you have to have a certain level of smarts to know to beware. |
I do not need a course in physics to buy a power cable. There are plenty of choices available in all price ranges. Try a few and decide what you like. Exposure to poetry, however, can lead to a greater understanding of the human condition. The study of humanities (art, music, literature, philosophy, religion, history) can yield significant and profound life changes, encourage creative thinking, and develop critical reasoning skills. Not to disparage the hard sciences; they are useful tools. To suggest, however, that the hard sciences may be a superior course of study is at best disingenuous and understates the value of a balanced education. |
I was fine with the trash talking about power cords, but you crossed the line when you started trashing Minor Lake Poets. https://www.poetrysoup.com/famous/poem/a_poem_on_divine_revelation_20144 You have to wonder why this style is not more popular. |
It is not about an intellect. It is simply about following the correct procedures for a valid test. That has been known for a century or more. It of course helps if one has a rudimentary knowledge of electricity, and that can be obtained in a college physics course. (or it could have been obtained if some of you placebophiles had taken science courses instead of those seminars on the minor lake poets and their sexual habits.) Avoid magical thinking, save yourself some money and do things that actually do improve SQ. If you have some sort of fetish on just power cords, you can (maybe) improve SQ by making up a cord for the DC power supply to your outboard DAC which has low inductance. The cord from the wall wart to the DAC itself. And I said "maybe" -- no guarantee. |
Randy-11, you hit the nail on the head, in regards to rewire your whole house, and have the utility co. rewire back to the substation. But I will go one step further, that you obviously left out. Why stop at the substation, hell rewire the whole power grid!! There's nothing better than clean 115vac with lots & lots of current!! |
