PC on a PC

My DIY PC really snapped into focus with the new Elrod Statement. Images are palpable, with absolutely no viewer fatigue. It is by far the closest I've come to being inside a computer. Windows springs to life, everything is just so much more fluid. I cannot recommend it enough. Unfortunately, it has also revealed some weaknesses, and now I must upgrade RAM. YMMV.

Do you mean that if you burn 2 cds, each using a different power cord from the wall to the power supply, you notice a difference in sound between the two discs?

Yes, there is a difference in sound quality between burned discs. I only have 2 power cords to compare. The stock cable makes everything sound congested. The other cable I tried came with a piece of pro video equipment (though I wouldn't really call it a high-end cable since it still has molded plugs). It's a bit thicker, and the sound improves by spreading out the instruments in the recording to some degree and simply adding more details not heard before. So now I'm hooked and want a really good cable to try.

Assuming you don't go for the Elrod you might try an Absolute Power Cord. They are about $60.

Since computers use a switching power supply, the power cord should not be critical.

Just pick up a sheilded Belden to keep rfi from leaving the box and the cord acting as an antenna.

Is the computer turned off when you compare the disks?

steve

I am very interested in this subject because I burn a LOT of audio cds on my computer. Naturally I want the best possible sound. It makes me wonder, though. What exactly is going on when powercords are switched?

I bet that any scientific proof will be very difficult to find, though. I say this because when a cd is burned, digital information is recorded. In the case of a cdr, a small section of dye is "burned" or darkened with each pulse of the laser. This creates an opaque section on the dye. The laser light of the cd reader is able to pass through the unburned dye, reflected off the reflective layer, and therefore read by the lens. No light can be passed through the burned dye, so the light is not reflected back to the lens. The darkened areas represent 0s and the non darkened areas represent 1s.

Now, lets assume you have a properly working cd burner. It should be capable of burning a digital file that is a clone of what's on your hard drive (I'm not talking about doing disc to disc burns, as they do not crate perfect clones).

I have owned two different burners, three different power supplies, and two totally different computers (and all combinations of this hardware) since I have been burning cdrs. I have always been able to produce exact clones of the source material with the different combinations of this hardware.

I can explain how it's possible to prove wheather or not an exact clone is burned, but I won't do it here as its kind of off topic.

So if it's true that someone can hear a difference between cdrs burned with different power cords, we have to assume that it's not the 1s and 0s that are different, but the way in which the 1s and 0s are recorded. Maybe the definition between the 1s and 0s is more clearly defined or maybe the quality of the burn which creates the 0 is is better with a different power cord.

I'm not sold, though, because it SEEMS like any reader or player should be perfectly capable of reading 1s and 0s despite the "quality" of the 1s and 0s... that is, if there even is a difference in quality. 1s are 1s and 0s are 0s. I do not see any way that there can be a difference. I would be very grateful if someone can shed a little light, as I do not claim to be an expert.

Knowing the insides of computers as I do, I must comment on this. The only difference I have ever seen with different power cords is in the sounds that fans, 15,000rpm hard drives, and some differences in the sounds that eminate from the power supplies. As far as burning digital information, I am guessing that most of this is coming from mp3's, which are uncompressable data, It is literally impossible for a power cable to make a difference in the sound coming from changing parts.

Lets say that "cleaner" power can make a difference on your zeros and ones, but you must think about what the power must go through before it gets to the CD burner, first it goes through the power supply and get tranformed from 110vac to 12vdc,5vdc,-12vdc, and -5vdc (where the cd burner is concerned, there are actually about 8 or 10 voltages that the motherboard requires.)Now out of the power supply we have four 22G(?) wires (red, black, black, yellow) that deliver the power to the cd burner. Once inside the cd burner the power goes through traces on a circuit board to a connector for the drive motor which which runs off of 36+ gauge wire. On the laser end you have everything runnung off of a small ribbon cable, probably more like 40+ gauge wire. So tell me were in this chain can a bigger power cable effect your cd burner?

Please keep in mind that the above statement is ignoring the fact that ones and zeros are not effected no matter what you do to your system. Like I said MP3s are uncompressable, and CD's are still digital, so the conversion to analog happens in your sound card/cd player.