soix, I’m going to guess you either did not read the whole thread or you just migrate around the site looking to play the ASR card. Someone made a claim that power cord technology has made “quantum leaps” in the last 5 years. I asked for proof. I made no broad statement about cables. If you can get off your high horse and find me some data to substantiate that claim I would be very appreciative. Until then, stop lecturing me about what constitutes an audiophile and telling me I don’t belong here. Your post perfectly exemplifies the stereotype of the pompous, condescending audiophile that rational people incessantly mock.
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?
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To be fair, @jrimer would you not need "empirical data" to prove your contradiction? i.e.; that a power cord makes a difference, or in your eyes, does not make a difference? If you purchased an aftermarket cable from Pangea and experienced a cable fail, I can see how you would be skeptical. Not only did it not make a difference; but it failed miserably! I can understand your consternation going forward with any further power cord purchases. Failures happen inexplicably. I had an electrical outlet on the wall work and then suddenly! not work. No surge; nothing! Flipped it out for a new one and trashed the one that failed - like you did with your Pangea. I can attest that blind tests are flawed. If you tell me your gonna test me, then I get excited and that pretty much blows the result. However, if a blind test includes my stereo that I listen to 3-4 hours daily, then I can pick it out of a lineup every time. So can my wife, which is "empirical data" in my world. I guess if I had to do better to provide "empirical data" on this matter, I would point out that there are many cable companies making many millions of dollars. Audioquest revenue is $14 million a year and started in 1980. The industry has escalated in the past 10 years due to the fact that IEC sockets replaced captive cords in most higher end gear that would benefit from a third-party cord. This started, in earnest, in the early 90's just after McIntosh was sold to Clarion. I know Roger Russell had a lot to say about this matter (he and Gordon Gow were staunchly anti-cable because it could not be measured) in his memoirs, but he did in fact notice an audible difference in using 4 ohm speakers to 8 ohm speakers and attributed it to the need for less resistance, or bigger AWG cable. So that means that you too should hear a difference if your speakers go below 4 ohms and you have a 3x16AWG cable and then drop down to a 3x12AWG -similar to what he did:
While Roger was able to detect this resistance of the speakers on his scope, the "audible" difference was not measured in any way. Empirical evidence in this regard is not scientifically measurable..either way..but there was an audible difference nonetheless. In any regard, I wish you luck and urge you to try a cable that other Mark Levinson folks can attest. Your amplifier would most certainly be better for it and most cable manufactures will allow you to try one and return it - no questions asked - if you don't like it. I purchased a McIntosh RCA interconnect on Crutchfield and had 90-days to return it, so burn in was no issue either. There is zero risk involved; all you need to do is listen! 😁 |
I don’t think anyone is reading my posts because everyone is arguing about something I’m not even claiming! ALL I ASKED WAS EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE THAT POWER CORD TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE A QUANTUM LEAP IN THE LAST 5 YEARS. That’s it. I’m not debating whether power cords make a difference. I’m not asking for blind tests. I’m simply wanting to know why no one is calling out someone who is making that absurd claim, yet lecturing me on something I’m not even arguing. People, please read my posts. |
I understand your frustration, but the obvious answer is no, which is why the contributions seem tangential. Hell, there isn't even empirical evidence that a high four or five-figure (lol!) power cord performs better than a solid three-figure one! Perhaps some of those involved in designing and constructing them could articulate some smaller steps forward that have been made over the past five years, but a "quantum leap"? Please. |
”ALL I ASKED WAS EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE THAT POWER CORD TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE A QUANTUM LEAP IN THE LAST 5 YEARS. That’s it…” @whipsaw kinda nailed it succinctly. +1 . Simple “NO”. (1) CARDAS ,for example are a very fine cable supplier who has patents on their bespoke cable designs , and use their own custom bespoke OCC copper source But even they don’t pontificate with such hyperbole claims. Price has no bearing on whether a different cable will or will not be an improvement in your system synergy. (2) As @whipsaw highlighted above, it is completely a bespoke trial and error experiment that cannot be measured neither empirically or otherwise.it may be better, or maybe not. It’s unique for each user … full stop. Different cables have different sonic signatures . Hence such aggressive claims cannot be accepted or generalized in the first part with any credence…. , and certainly entirely dismissable for any hyperbole claiming “quantum leap” improvements. Here are a couple YouTube videos on CARDSS cable construction differences among them vis a vis the other contenders and the pretenders …they may or may not stir your drink.
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