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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. ??
jetmek

Showing 5 responses by s23chang

s23chang
620 posts
 
Corona,
I strong agree wtih "all revolves around resonance." and that is exactly how I design my cables. Indeed it is the right way and the only way. You just let the secret out.
s23chang
620 posts
 
Zaikesman,
Here is the equation for resonance
The nth harmonic has frequency fn = v/ln = nv/2L = nf1
You need to figure out how to apply it based on the physical property of the material.
It is not snake oil but rather how you derrive your product based on the basic equation. That's each manufacture's secret ( Assuming if they did design the cables themselves and not buying some finished cable and terminated them togather.)
Just look around you and you'll find at least one thing was designed based on the same theory. This not only apply to audio, it also applies to communication technology industries.
s23chang
620 posts
 
Corona, welcome to the "reality chatting" ( since no tv screen here.) The concept is hard to understand for some of the folks here because they never design the cable themselves. Sure, it is always easier to attack someone and anyone can do that. However, it is not always easy to find the science behind it ( We don't get hit by the falling apple under the apple tree everyday to dicover gravity.)
s23chang
620 posts
 
Flex, if you can make a cable say like a $10,000 NBS black series IC, are you going to tell folks how you making it?
It can only be free if everyone else already knows how to do it.

The truth about patent protection is all BS. Anyone can tweak a bit from original design and call that their own discovery.

Stop attacking people as you should respect their own company secret. That is way a lot of company decide not to publish any white paper because of people like you.

If you really want to know then fork up the dough to buy one and get it over with it and enjoy/hate the product.
s23chang
620 posts
 
Zaikesman, "untestable String Theory"? What are you referring to? You can look at a simple instrument as guitar and you know why all 6 strings sound different. That's the simplest test on string theory. Have that in mind, you can then apply to a more advanced electric guitar. Have that in mind, wire a 22 ga. solid core hookup wire vs a 24 ga. stranded hookup wire on your CD player output, if you can't hear the difference in your system then maybe your system is not neccessary an ideal system to have the true sound revealed.
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