I'm having a really hard time with: "Power cable reduced my soundstage"...

Yes I unplug my system when a big storm is upon us... 
If you don't, the breaking time will be moot...

One boring ass thread! Buy what you ca n afford and rock on……Who has time to a/b power cords to try and find a slight variation in sound. Power cords are power cords and cannot change the sound..

If you hear no difference with a more expensive cord then that’s fine. I personally tested an AQ Hurricaine on my Niagara 7000 and was stunned by the upgrade in sound. Can I explain how it works, no. Do I believe it works, yes, for sure.

If you don’t hear power cords it’s OK. A lot of people don’t. It’s a signal to noise thing as well as attention to detail thing.

Very few lobsters get out of the lobster pot. - Old audiophile axiom

May be boring but no one has answered the McIntosh amp cord question....

Many of us are aware of Ohm’s law and rectification followed by supply caps. As an arrogant engineer, I flatly believed that power cables wouldn’t make a difference since they supply power through a rectifier which generates DC on the filter caps.
Then one day I actually tried cables and conditioners, from Synergistic and later Audience, on my class-A monoblocks. I was amazed at the dramatic differences in that application and began to wonder how it could be possible.
I think the problem lies in our simplification of the system model. In engineering, we tend to simplify our models to a point needed to predict the basic function needed. In the case of power supplies, what’s needed is AC in and basic DC out. Exhaustive analysis of low levels of noise are often not addressed beyond basic consideration. The wire isn’t ideal, the power source isn’t ideal, the filter caps aren’t ideal. The process of rectification, generates a series of high-current spikes which are made up of a large number of harmonics, in turn generating voltage disturbances which can leak through the very non-ideal filter caps, and perhaps reflect back and forth between the source and load impedance of the system.

I would get him to let you do a blind test with you switching the power cord without him knowing which one is being used. Then you both will find out.

chrisoshea.... I certainly will. 

I am a retired Chef with very high standards and know for a fact there is no magic in quality and consistency. You can't fool physics. Chicken is chicken... you can quote me on that! lol

Some good friends of mine are owners/designers of a highly respected vacuum tube amplifier manufacturing company you know.  Not believing all the hokum, I was conducting a personal shootout of power cables on one of their premier amps and found the AQ Hurricane and Tornado to make an attractive audible difference.  the other six or so cords ranging in price up to $4000. didn't make much difference, in this case.  I was a bit surprised and called my friends to discuss.  They actually voice their products extensively while designing them.  "Yes we know" he said, "that's why we put the stock cords on that we do. We found the better cord was audible.  Did you try our cord compared to the Hurricane?"  "Also, you're best to go directly to the wall for power."  I still have the Hurricane, but won't be discarding his stock cord either. 

The wire isn’t ideal, the power source isn’t ideal, the filter caps aren’t ideal. The process of rectification, generates a series of high-current spikes which are made up of a large number of harmonics, in turn generating voltage disturbances which can leak through the very non-ideal filter caps, and perhaps reflect back and forth between the source and load impedance of the system.

Yes- as I stated earlier. I suspect this is why a power cord can affect a product that doesn't draw that much power.

@ roberjerman, a gas pump hose could affect the mileage of a car if the car was running while pumping gas and the hose is narrow in width, taking longer to fill the tank than a wider hose. That’s just the first order potential impact. ;)

@captbeaver- "My McIntosh amp has a permanently attachehed power cable that is a off the shelf product. Is their design faulty? Are they not giving you the full amp? Seems they would know about this magic 4 feet...lol"                                                                              How old is your amp? McIntosh’s current tuner even has an IEC connector, as do all their amps and pres. Was that update because of customer demand, or- have they learned something, perhaps?

If - by pure chance - the first power cord’s conductor was in the “correct direction” and the second power cord’s conductor was in the “wrong direction” that alone would explain the soundstage issue. Why do you think AudioQuest goes out its way to honor the directionality of the conductors in its high end power cords like Hurricane? 🤔 Hel-loo!

Still there, captbeaver?   "May be boring but no one has answered the McIntosh amp cord question...."         You asked::    "My McIntosh amp has a permanently attachehed power cable that is a off the shelf product. Is their design faulty? Are they not giving you the full amp? Seems they would know about this magic 4 feet...lol"                                                                              Really want an answer?   How old is your amp? McIntosh’s current tuner even has an IEC connector, as do all their amps and pres. Was that update because of customer demand, or- have they learned something, perhaps?

I will go out on a limb here and predict if anyone calls someone in charge at McIntosh and asks him some pertinent questions about their power cords he will have absolutely no idea what in blazes you’re talking about.

martin-andersen49 posts 05-10-2019 1:25am

I think its very easy to hear the difference between power cables. If you can not hear it in your system than you don’t have a very good system or its not properly set up.

+1

To OP

a well made 10ga power cable reduced his soundstage

The power cord influences the frequency response in a sound system. Thicker the wire, lower the sound (more bass with less high freq). A 10 gauge power cord will lower the soundstage significantly to compare regular/stock power cords.

*A 10 gauge wire sounds very different from a 10 gauge wire in collection of thin wires. So, there are ways to make a 10 gauge power cord with a great soundstage.

alex
wavetouch audio

roberttcan
What is most likely is that your friend expected to hear a difference which affected his/her brain chemistry (altered mood) which led to a real perception (not necessarily reality) of difference. That’s about as close as a component can get to creating "magic." Remember that all magic is an illusion.

The same phenomenon occurs when one listens to their system while fatigued, or following a stressful day.

>>>>I’m sure. 🙄 Your posts are giving me a stressful day. 😬

robertcon-    "Remember that all magic is an illusion."     Prove it!     OH, wait; you can’t categorically prove that statement, because all you have are theories and opinions(well, then there’s your blinding hubris).