Power Cords Snake Oil ??


Having been a long time audiophile living with countless high end compnents I have to wonder about the theory and practicality of high end power cords.

I have yet to hear the difference a power cord makes. Ive owned, synergistic, Shunyata, BMI and cardas. I in no way can detect any sonic signature or change. Give me a pair of interconnects and I imeadiately notice a difference somewhere in the sonic spectrum. Not the PC though. I have accomplished 4 blind tests with my friends. 3 out of the 4 they did not know their cord was replaced. All 4 were using a stock factory supplied cord. Each of the 4 tests were done on different components. Amp, CDP, Preamp & dac.

My electrical backround tells me that provided you supply the component with its required voltage bet 110vac or 220/240vac its happy. Now, change the incoming frequency from 60hz to say 53hz and watch how quickly your soundstage collapses.! This is often the case during the summer months when home air conditioners are in use and the utility company power output is taxed to the max. A really good power conditioner should however take care of the frequency fluctuations. But 110vac is still 110vac regardless of the conductor it passes through as long as its remains 110vac when it reaches the intended circuit. Does your 8k amp or preamp know the difference of the path the voltage took to reach it ? Many an audiophile will use a dedicated 20amp circut for their equipment.That is a good idea as voltage & frequency fluctuations will occur in the home circuit to to other loads on the main breaker panel but again, A power cord simply is the means of transporting the voltage from the wall to the component. IF there is a clean 110vac @ 60hz at the wall socket, no matter what the medium is to go from the socket to the component, it will still be 110vac @60hz.

Could somebody expand on this a bit more. I just dont understand it. ??
128x128jetmek

Showing 2 responses by john_beavers

"Audioengr stated that from his experience, correct design or modification of power supplies greatly reduces power cord colorations"

I think that most people who examine the SimAudio P-5 power supply would consider it a state of the art piece, housed within it's own chassis, connected to the line stage itself by a balanced cable. And yet, as well designed as this pre-amp is, when I replaced the stock power cord with a Sahuaro Ampthrilla, the change in sonics, soundstage depth and width, and overall tonal details, all increased when the Sahuaro power cord was put on, and decreased when the stock cord went back on. Don't know about other brands, but from repeated use with various components, Sahuaro ain't no snake oil :) Of course it could all be in my head, but you know what, it still gives me the same results everytime so...if it takes buying some snake oil to make the magic happen, yabba dabba do :)
Well, here's an article on the subject that might be of interest..

http://www.vansevers.com/pdffiles/why_do_things.pdf