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Help Me Explain Power Cables to my Guitar Friends

Guys, I need some help!

I have suggested to some of my guitar geek buddies that they could improve the performance of their tube guitar amps by replacing the power cords. Now, I know that many here already believe in the qualities of upgraded power cords. But I can't convince my guitar buddies; they won't even try it because they say, "You need to show me some scope measuresments before I believe this 'snake oil' stuff about power cords."

Does anybody know of some way you can "measure" power cords that would "demonstrate" that they can improve performance? Help me out here!
crazy4blues

Showing 3 responses by jeff_jones

jeff_jones
418 posts
 
Best way I can think of would be to open up your component and hook a scope up to the DC buss immediatly downstream of it's internal power supply, and then compare noise level and nominal voltage on the buss while playing a constant frequency test disc (or album). A local electronics shop with a recording scope can do it without much hassle.
Power cord manufacturers don't provide this kind of proof because . . . . . .
Happy Listening!
jeff_jones
418 posts
 
Markphd wrote - I think you are right, but I think where audiophiles can fall off the turnip truck is to equate difficulty in interpreting measurable differences (tubes vs solid state)to lack of measureable difference ($1000 pc versus WalMart). In the case of tubes vs transistors, the measurable differences are obvious, and learning to understand the relationship between listening pleasure and the two different characteristic distortion signatures has advanced the state of the art. Data is good!
Happy Listening!
jeff_jones
418 posts
 
Tubes108 - If you ask the question and the guitar guys are on the ball, they will probably note (pun intended) that high magnitude second order harmonics are similar to reverb, and probably similar to room reflections in indoor listening environments.
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