2. amps-preamps
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New expensive power cord for amp and no change in sound?

I bought new an expensive(for me) well known and reviewed power cord for my very good amp and plugged it directly onto the wall socket. After a couple of weeks of daily use I hear no change in the sound quality from a $500 cord. I don’t want to name it for fear of getting my thread deleted. You would know it or at least be aware of the company. Did I throw away several thousand dollars? Before I get the snake oil answer I want to let you know that I bought an upgraded cord for my pre as suggested by the pre’s manufacturer and am pleased with the results.

I guess for full disclosure the amp’s manufacturer said don’t bother. But I had had good luck with the pre so I thought it would be a good idea.

Anybody else have this happen to them?

roxy1927

Showing 2 responses by terry9

terry9
2,354 posts
 

Fifteen years ago I spent $10k on amplifiers and the dealer loaned me a $1k power cord and a $4k power cord. I conducted a single blind study with a 3 x 2 experimental design (stock pc, $1k pc, $4k pc) x (wall power with hospital grade connectors, isolation transformer with hospital grade connectors).

Results were clear: with wall power, the system (analogue, ESL) sounded better with more expensive cords. With the isolation transformer all cords sounded the same.

Conclusion: more expensive cords can reduce electrical grunge on the line, which can affect even a good amplifier. I infer that if your power is already pretty clean, expensive cords may not do much for you.

YMMV

terry9
2,354 posts
 

@gryphongryph And I don’t think anyone can hear a difference in a well constructed cable, be it $100 or $5000 in a double blind test.

Um ... do you know what a double blind experiment is? Do you know how it differs from single blind? And exactly how double blind is better than single blind in this case?

 

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