Power cords

Greetings, obviously, the person you spoke to either has no experience with good power cable, or, he does not have a system with sufficient resolution to appreciate what a fine power cable can do. See if you can demo one or borrow one from a friend and see if it makes a difference to you. The more resolution your system has, the more you will be able to hear the difference. Happy Listening! John

I see you're new to the 'gon, so may I suggest using the archives both here & at AA to get acquainted with some thoughts & ideas on PC's.

Bottom line is you'll have to try them in your system to see if they are a good match but also remember that the power itself has a lot to do with the overall sound. While you're at it, try upgrading your outlet too.

While you're waiting for the pre you can tinker around with your room. Again, tons of info in the archives on these & a myriad of other topics.

Latinternational--a 6 footer will cost you $170. That's a good place to start. I used them for years (still do in fact)and am now in the process of upgrading to new ACs. Your friend in "the business" doesn't have a clue, though you'll find 'goners who may agree. What goes on in that 6 feet of cord? Don't know, but it will have a significant effect on your system. peace, warren

Try www.signalcable.com and see what Frank has to offer in power cords. $49.00 for a three foot and a thirty day refund if you don't like it. I have two of these power cords and I am happy with the results. Did I say it is $49.00. $4.00 for each additional foot of cable. He has three types of power cords.

kevyo

Warrenh: He isn't my friend in the business. He is a very knowledgeable owner of a middle/high end electronics repair shop who has done business there for many years. I think for that reason alone he probably has a clue. I read where some 'goners tend to agree that it is a gigantic waste of money. I guess what I am asking is: is there definitive proof that past a good reasonable power cord, can you make a difference? Can a cord be tested with any equipment to show that it is better? Thanks in advance.

Bottomsup: a fool and his money are easily parted indeed. Your electronics aquaintance is not misleading you on wasting money and you should search the archives. Most of these expensive power cords acts as filters (limiting musical extension), tone controls and/or spatial enhancers.

If you provide your system clean and abundant AC power, then cords in the $50-$75 range like the Absolute Power Cord (cryo'ed) and the Chris VenHaus (cryo'ed, too!) will be outstanding. The cryo'ed Absolute has outperformed $500-600 power cords. What a joke! I tried the VenHaus Flavor 4 in my Clear Image T4 power filter and it simply outshined. It's something I want to have.

As to your questions:

I guess what I am asking is: is there definitive proof that past a good reasonable power cord, can you make a difference? Can a cord be tested with any equipment to show that it is better? Thanks in advance.

1) Yes, but you need the proper setup that will allow you to tell it's the power cords that you're actually listening to. In Lak's system we tried two Flavor 4 one with cryo'ed and one gold plated Wattgate connectors (non cryo'ed) on his transport and there was a noticeable improvement in the music with the gold plated. That's how resolving Lak's system is...

2) No.

I spent a grand on cords without treating my room!

Here we go again. I surrender. Go with your ears. If you do that, you can send me a thank you. later. Hey is that neutral enough? YOu can go anywhere with that. My ears detect a difference. YOur ears? PA's ears? It's all in the tympanics. After you get your ACs, try a pair that you've read about that have been doing it for other 'goners. See what you think. If your system and pockets can handle some deep $$, try one of the so called "Elrod" killers, and the like. See what your tympanics say. They may say "wow, I never thought that 6 feet of wire could make a difference. Gee, do I want to spend all that money for that difference?" Or you may say, hey forget that, PA can tell you what you might say. Have a great holiday my fellow audiophools. We're wild and electric. peace, warren

Yes, if you are new do not go and dump ANY money on cables except to get something decent which can be had for about $50. Instead focus on speakers and room acoustics as this will save you much in terms of money down the road. Spend at least as much on music as you do for any upgrade and you'll have tons of music laying around to distract you from contemplating your next component purchase. You'll be two steps ahead of most around here if you do that. And please, do not let it turn into some compulsion or demented gear fetish. Remember this is about the music so if you do not support your local schools and artists there will be nothing left to use all that pretty gear with except some lame copy of "Pet Sounds."

Now that should get all the baby boomers stirred up:)
Remember to enjoy yourself also and not to take any of this stuff real serious especially the marketing or the hype. Sage advice is that the latest and greatest thing usually isn't.

Warrenh: appreciate the advice. I think you are right. I will try to borrow some PC from a local high end shop and see if I can hear a difference. Thanks, Gary.

Tympanics? Now I get it...that's why most people like Bose!

Regarding your friend: Just because a person knows how to eat doesn't mean they know how to dine.

Try virtualdynamics.com

Good luck,

Power cords do not make any difference whatsoever ...to a system that is is in the " middle of the road". A personal example with me was when I went from an Aerial 10 t - Adcom 5800 - lexicon mc 1 - monster cable m 1 system to an Aerial 20 t - Bat 6200 - Meridian 861 - Nordost valhalla system in one jump. Tweaks like symposium , Black Diamond , Aurios and especially power cords made so little difference that I never bought anything in the "voodoo science " of high end audio . Now , I can hear so much deeper into the soundfield that minute changes are appreciated and have purchased many of the tweaks I origionally dismissed as irrelevant. The difference between a 100.00 aftermarket pc and the Elrod I settled upon was simply astonishing in its sonic attributes. I would have never have believed it either , but now its an easy decision . I would not call a wider , deeper , blacker soundfield a coloration either. Your results will vary and people hear differently but until your system reaches a certain level of resolution capability , spend your money elsewhere. Its an icing on the cake upgrade after the chain is complete.

In my experience, yes PC's do make a difference, but I have not yet reached the point of diminishing returns. I think it is a personal matter where you want to spend your $, and when you are finally satisfied to just listen to music. I have a fairly resolving system, although not up there with many of the folks on this forum. For me, the CVH cords were a significant upgrade and have performed sufficiently so that I have not yet been tempted to upgrade. However, I am currently auditioning speaker cables, which in my opinion make a much greater difference. I also upgraded to dedicated circuits (one for amps and one for digital) which also made a significant difference. I would rate the significance of system improvements as follows, although there must be symmetry with regards to the level of performance from each link in the chain:
speakers
components
ic's
speaker cable
power circuits
pc's

YMMV - Tim

Blue Circle BC61. $88 new.

"" Owner said that anybody that spends more than $50 on a cord is out their mind. ""

The owner should like Frank at www.signaaudio,.com. Frank only wants $49!

"" Essentially said a fool and his money are soon parted ""

He is right on this point as well. Maybe we are all a little foolish devoting so much time and money to this hobby. :) I'm sure my grandfather ( if he was alive ) would tell me there are much better things to do with my time and money.

I'm one of those who thinks a $500 power cord is a waste of money. Try Frank, I don't think you need to look any further than him. However if your incredibly curious, you can look for something used here at audiogon. I must admitt I have done the same once or twice.

Appreciate all the responses. I have come to the conclusion from all the feedback that the system I am putting together doesn't merit an expensive PC. I think $ for a decent tuner is money much better spent.

there you go. you're off. one day it may, just, merit that PC. enjoy your tunes. peace, warren

One point that has often surfaced in threads like these is that the better the equipment's powersupply the less you need a fancy cord.

Cords do make a difference. I had a Sony dvp9000es in my system and had a buzzing coming from the speakers with low volume. I could hear the noise when listening to classical music. I went over the musicdirect and picked up a new cord for about $200. The buzz was gone,the music was not lacking anything, and I was happy. This is with a dedicated outlet. I do belive cords in general are a hit and miss kind of thing.
Tim

Bottomsup, if you're handy with a screwdriver you can build a very fine PC for well under $50. RSVP, and Happy Holidays.

Try Alexcable (http://www.alexcable.netfirms.com)
They makes an excellent product with a high price/performace ratio. $46 or so for the 3ft. 12 AWG PC
I think

Good Luck!