Power Cord brands mixing. "Your Opinions"

From a technical standpoint, the comment by Bill (Audiofeil) makes complete sense, IMO, because I would expect the sonic effects of a power cord to be highly dependent on the design of the component it is connected to. Many technical reasons could be cited for that.

Just to cite three examples:

1)A Class A power amplifier draws essentially constant current all the time, while other amplifier classes do not. Therefore constraints that may be imposed by the power cord on sudden surges in demand for current, as a result of inductance or other characteristics of the cord, will be far more relevant with Class D or Class AB amplifiers than with Class A amplifiers. Those constraints will also be mostly irrelevant with preamplifiers and other line level components, which in most cases also draw essentially constant current.

2)Voltage loss due to resistance in the cord will vary depending on how much current is drawn by the component, and a given amount of voltage loss will certainly have differing effects depending on the function and the design of the specific component.

3)The significance of differences in shielding effectiveness among different power cords will depend on the amplitude and frequency spectrum of rfi that may be fed back from the component into the power cord, and also on the rfi sensitivity of other parts of the system, and on rfi that may be picked up from other parts of the system.

12-23-11: Mrtennis
Can anyone offer a logical reason why mixing or not mixing makes a difference, intrinsically?

From a technical standpoint, I certainly can't envision any.

IMO. Other opinions will certainly differ in some cases.

Regards,
-- Al

A number of posts by several people in the recent part of this thread, while being well expressed, seem to be using the word "cables" in a loose manner that leaves me wondering if we are still discussing the original question, which relates specifically to power cords.

The reason I raise that point is that from a technical standpoint I would find it far more plausible that in the case of analog interconnects and speaker cables some PARTIAL degree of correlation may exist between using one brand and the likelihood of optimal results, than in the case of power cords.

Analog interconnects and speaker cables have the job of conducting an analog signal from point A to point B. In so doing, their sonic effects reflect the net result of interactions between their parameters and the impedance and other characteristics of what they are connecting, as well as their own intrinsic effects. While the magnitude and significance of that net result can be expected to vary considerably as a function of what is being connected, it seems plausible that its general character will have a reasonable degree of consistency.

In the case of power cords, on the other hand, the relation between the effects of a given cord on the AC it is conducting and the sound that is heard is, literally and figuratively, vastly more circuitous. I repeat my earlier contention that I see no reasonable plausibility in the expectation that given power cord characteristics will result in effects on the sound that are consistent across components that perform different functions, that have vastly different fluctuations in their power draw, that have vastly different amounts of power draw, that generate different amounts of rfi, that can be presumed to have different rfi sensitivity, that interpose completely different power supply designs between the AC and the signal path, and that may be completely different designs in just about every other respect.

Putting it all another way, a finding that choosing interconnects and speaker cables from the same manufacturer tends to correlate with optimal sonic results IMO would say nothing about the likelihood that the same will hold true in the case of power cords.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks Richard. In your case I understood that you were referring to power cords, as you were very explicit. But while I certainly don't question your sincerity or your sonic perceptiveness, and I have considerable respect for your breadth of experience, it remains unfathomable to me that your findings would have consistent applicability across different systems.

IMO, FWIW, YMMV, etc.

Best regards,
-- Al