He has, by now, learned it ALL and has become the Audio Pope(imagine that).
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. ??
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. ??
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- 366 posts total
07-24-11: DanomcrooYes you are. But, $1200 worth of acoustic wall panels and bass traps will ALWAYS be a better investment than a magic power cord or holy speaker wire.No it isn't. Room treatment addresses speaker/room interaction non-linearities. Power cords address line noise and current delivery to the power supply. Speaker cables address signal transfer from the amplifier to the speakers. You could spend $10,000 on room treatment and *still* not address an audible issue that can be addressed only by a cable swap. Next time you want to use your job experience as a blanket condemnation of certain aspects of audio tuning, why not run it by Anthony H. Cordesman? |
Let's look at the term "snake oil". Its an old term brought back to life, now related to audio and not medicine. We all know stories about the travelling medicine man. Then the gullible folks who were duped out of their money, by miraculous but false claims. Where are the scietists when you need them? But the difference between then an now is that the folks who bought the stuff from the medicine man, never had a chance to try the oil before they bought it. When it comes to power cords, you have the choice. If you don't hear any difference in your system and with your ears,you won't buy the product.For you that's proof of snake oil. If someone does hear an improvement and buys the product,he wasn't conned, and to him the product is not snake oil. He hears it, you don't. That's the simple fact, to have to prove it to the denier, is moot. The denier is not required to buy the expensive power cords. He can decide to spend his money elsewhere in this hobby as he sees fit. Maybe a better power amp. Maybe several others when that power amp doesn't seem to do it for him. The power cord in all these transactions is most always the stock cord that came with the amp. The amps come and go, each with the promise of sonic nirvana, but afterawhile it's the amps that are precieved as snake oil, and then the whole hobby is rife with snake oil con artists and their shills. The audiophile's pursuit of the absolute sound has ended in another burn out. Another one bites the dust, goes off the merry go round and makes do with whatever he can cobble from the pawn shops of broken audio dreams, and tells us this is his sonic bliss. Who are we to tell him otherwise? We bought snake oil afterall. |
- 366 posts total