Let's talk power cords

Hi!

Following a couple upgrades in amplifiers and one or two in speakers, I changed out one pr of ICs. I heard that difference.

I changed another pr of ICs to the exact same version as before and violin… another gain in overall presentation. Albeit, not quite there IMO.

Next I began meddling with speaker wires. Found some I liked. Again, quieter and nicer less grainy and stark.

Now semi convinced wires do seem to do something besides pass signals and electricity, I heard here of power cords.

Sure, the debates were prolific. Intense and varied. So what? Its not unlike any other topic. Cars. Guns. Bikes. Trucks. Tires. Canoes. Kiaks. Tents. Boots. Steaks, fishing gear, power tools, toaster ovens, Knives. Flashlights. Etc.

Until you get out there and try several from several makers, you ain’t ever gonna know for sure. Well, I actually tried only one toaster oven. It got things hot so I was OK with it.

Yep. Having a decently appointed rig, and its resolution being above average is key.

Following PCs for the sS amp, I opted for passive power line conditioning. What I had been told about it/them was right. Less noise. Things began to pop in the sound stage.

I tried more power cords. Different ones. Then went back to ICs. Made some gains there. Then back to power cords and another passive line cond. From another maker a little mo’ better model. Then went OFF on some spaker cables.

And all of this rhetoric means squat… until… one finds out if its all bull or not by doing some first hand evals in a system that tells you of any changes in the upstream gear, wires, isolation, etc.

The Cable co as suggested is cool. It will cost a bit but consider it education.

Many power cord makers have a trial period. Find one or a few. Buy em. Try ‘em. Send em back. Do it again. Then go back and buy the ones you felt had the attributes which complemented your arrangement, based on your notes.

The last thing I’d offer here is this… just as with any other component wire folks have figured out how to charge for increasing levels of influence and or gains. Consequently, as prices rise in wire land, so will performance. Arguably.

Then too, there is that synergy bit. As I said, try some from several makers or brands. At about the lower middle on up usually, is where distinctions between them becomes more evident. Just like pushing the pedal down in a Corvette is different than pushing it down in a Cadilac. Some will be more subtle.

The deal here is trust your own judgement, your own ears, take notes, don’t rely on memory and above all be honest in your assessments changing but one thing at a time..

Very lastly…I’ve found many preamps don’t need the level of pc one might add to a source or amp (s). just decent ones there will usually do.

EX:
In terms of MSRP only
Amp & source = I tend to choose about the same level of costs here, though each pc may be vastly different in brand and model.
My DAC has a $1K pc
Amps = $750 pc ea.
Preamp = on my line stage it’s a $600 pc.
Power cods… here it varies for a few reasons. My main PLC has a $1600 pc on it.
None of the above began where they are now. Initially, all were under $400 - $600 . the very first ones were only $200 ea. And those were sent back quickly.

Enjoy.

Several album tracks I play and enjoy a lot, were not altered by replacing power cords, they were improved upon in terms of resolution and or details.

What could not be heard prior to the swap could be heard after the swap.

How then is this possible if power cords do nothing but supply power and any power cord would suffice?

The areas of improvement were in the bottom most octave on a Stanley turrentine cut, and a clearer midrange depicting subtle cues in the Four Play track off the heartfelt album. What was once silent or audidbly invisible before hand, were plainly evident with a different power cable.

This was a repeateable affair. I put the current PCs back into the rig to ensure my discovery was not imagined. Sure enough those sonic cues disappeared. Replacing the amp (s PCs thereafter revealed these bits of the recording once again.)

These particular songs were among ‘go to’ cuts I used for determining the system consequent on going alterations.

Its about as scientific as any other testing scenario one can conduct in their listening room could determine.

An O scope would not have heard those missing sonics, or realized there abrupt presence I don’t think.

As said, by other feedback herein, dunno. Don’t care to know. All I know is what I’m hearing and I don’t drink, do drugs, I take nothing in the past couple decades and change, which could artificially change my mood or my mind, so I’m quite sure there was nothing supposed, imaginary, or delisional about my distinctions.

Neither did I very much like the notion of being faced with the proposition of having to find another $1000 for a pair of those PCs on the used mkt at the time.

But as with every thread of this sort. The only answer that will ever hold water is for the OP to get out there and try a few brands and a model or two within those brands … one at a time to see.

Experimenting with tweaking a stereo rig is at times, a labor of love. By golly Miss Molly, you’ll have to love it to deal with the frakin’ tedium that ensues when you start chasing sonic upgrades via cables. They do make a difference as does most any other portion of the outfit, provided it has exceptional resolution, but finding the mix which is in fact better and not just different is IMO frustrating.

One thing about doing the ‘’which wire’ dance’, is this, you’ll find out fairly quickly who are the pretenders and who are the contenders. Regardless their claims or pricing.

It will help you to have two things. Some IEC to NEMA adapters and more than one system on board. If for no other reason than preventing excessive wear on the main rig.

The adapters do the most work. The secondary system is merely further confirmation.

Best luck…