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  3. 181480-83831

Power cable dilemma

I have to ask the community for an explanation to account for an issue I encountered this past week. 
 

I received a Mark Levinson ML-23.5 amp this past week. I plugged it in with a high end power cord I purchased years ago (because it looked better than the cheap cord that came with the unit. Lol). I switched from an ML-9 so I had certain expectation of the sound. After listening for about 30 minutes, I noticed that the amp did not sound very dynamic. I got up to go feel how hot it was and the heat sinks were barely warm. I turned up the volume and listened for another 15-20 minutes. I got up to check the temperature and the heat sinks were still barely warm. Also, I was playing the amp at volume level 28 on my Cambridge 851N. That is pretty high. The sound was still lifeless. I shut everything down and just sat there, dejected. Was the amp defective? Was it just a bad match? Were my expectations too high? I don’t know what made me try it, but I swapped out the power cord with a plain black cord and powered up the system. Unreal. I was now listening at volume level 22 to the same song, with staggering dynamic impact, at what seemed to be a similar volume. Furthermore, after about 20 minutes, I went up to feel the amp and the heat sinks were very toasty! So the question is: what could have possibly been wrong with the original cord that would result in lower volumes and no heat buildup? It is like it was throttling the current. To me, a cord either connects or it doesn’t. It works or it doesn’t. There should not be an in between. Does anyone have an explanation for this?

jrimer

Showing 4 responses by soix

soix
10,009 posts
 

@holmz Heh heh.  

soix
10,009 posts
 

Who gives one great God damn if there’s been a “quantum leap” or not?  If it’s better to your ears and in your system, who cares??? My question is, why do you feel you need numbers to tell you it’s better?


I just want someone to publicly agree with this absurd claim so I and all rational audiophiles can have a good laugh. I don’t need “big boy audio ears”. I just need a good nose to sniff out this utter BS.

No, you need to bring out your big-boy audio ears and make a big-boy decision for yourself. If you wanna use your nose, feel free, but just being able to trust your own ears and make a decision for yourself is what it’s all about. And, as I said before, there’s no better area other than cables to be able to do this. When you call this utter BS it makes me think again you’d be much more comfortable on ASR where they can tell you absolutely by numbers what sounds better. Yeesh

 

soix
10,009 posts
 

If you can get off your high horse and find me some data to substantiate that claim I would be very appreciative.

I can’t, but there are certainly meaningful difference so I’d suggest you get off your arse and try some that seem to have the sound qualities you’re looking for. After all, cables are by far the easiest components to try in your own system either thru buying used or trial periods. Asking for measurements is really just silly. You can do it, but it ain’t gonna happen. I know when I first reviewed AZ cables they purported to have very low capacitance and actually sent me numbers that I don’t have anymore, but I couldn’t find similar measurements of other cables so in the end it mattered not one bit.  No cable manufacturer I’m aware of publishes specs. Time to just take out your big-boy audio ears and decide for yourself.

soix
10,009 posts
 

Pretty clear the OP should migrate to ASR or just be a total cable denier and just stick with generic PCs and no longer sure why he’s now wasting our time here.


I would preferably like some empirical evidence from someone other than a manufacturer or reviewer that can substantiate this claim. I’m not sure what you think I’m asking for. I’m not looking for it because I’m willing to bet it doesn’t exist.

The empirical evidence comes from reading reviews, trying different cables that seem to offer what you’re looking for, try them, and move on from there. It’s called being an audiophile. If you need numbers to tell you what’s going to sound better you don’t belong here and we’d all be better off if you just looked for your answers on ASR if you can’t trust your own ears. If you can find the best cables going by numbers, goodonya but please don’t pollute this site any further because it’s utterly useless and ridiculous. I’ll just say that no — NO, manufacturer EVER displays their gear with generic cables.  Why do you think that might be?   Hmmm.  ASR is calling your name. Good luck with that.

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