The fallacy of ac treatment

There are several enhancements avaialable that DO improve the power we receive from the utility company. The PS units re-create power. I have a Balanced power isolation transformer that lowers the noise floor by 15db. I have heard for myself the difference power cords make in a system. The differences are not great, but in a revealing system, they do make a difference and can be used to fine tune a system. While I don't believe $2000 power cords are worth the expense, I have found that a well built and shielded power cord can make a difference and can be had for about $140. Those who spend thousands on power cords could use the money elsewhere in the system for larger gains. mike

Snobgoblin: Love your handle. I can't say I am qualified to have an opinion on this, since I have never listened to a mains cable. But I have listened to a lot of other things that are supposed to make HUGE differences and just DON'T hear them. I hear small differences but not big ones. And considering the subtlety of difference I have heard in other kinds of wires, I just can't get worked up over $200.00 for a "Mains" cable (sounds better than "power cord"). I do hear some differences a good decent speaker cable and zip cord. But after that it is - in my opinion - all voodoo for the "true believers" in high end - the "it's got to be lots better if you throw a lot of money at it" crowd.) I made a statement questioning the supposedly vast differences in high end audio equipment in a post of my own - "AUDIO AND THE EMPORERS NEW CLOTHES" recently. Suggestions that money doesn't always make it better will always raise the ire of some of the true believers. (I wonder if maybe the money is what they are "true believers" in). Then again, maybe our ears just aren't as good as theirs. But if that is the case I am thank the good Lord that it is not nearly so expensive for me to enjoy good music as some of these others.

The last ten feet has become critical for high-end systems because the manufacturers of those systems have provided the consumer with the lowest quality power cords possible. Hence the need to purchase and use 10 gauge or 8 gauge cords in order to supply hungry amps with enough power to drive the bass in our speakers and subwoofers. The last ten feet is critical because municipalities have permitted the use of the lowest quality power outlets in our homes, not hospital grade units. The last ten feet is critical because the internal wiring in our homes is often not copper, or is otherwise inadequate, and so we attempt to overcome this by wiring from the transformer to a dedicated panel just for audio equipment. The last ten feet is critical because there is a measurable, and obvious, improvement in audio reproduction when we apply these changes. What other justification do we need?

Snowgoblin: The sign remark was merely rhetorical and was in poor taste - I apologize. Your comments remind me of the white paper trolls that exist at "another" audio site, just go there and click on the SET forum and you will see similarities to posts by people who critique products that they have never owned let alone listened to. Have you ever tried an upgraded power cord yourself? Do you own a stereo or HT system? Do you listen to music other than when in a car/elevator or when placed on hold on the phone? Other than your employment with an electric utility what have been your personal experiences on the subject that you have such an interesting opinion on? If you want to hear what I have to say on the subject I then think that is only fair that I know where you are really coming from. I will start my personal experience off with that, yes I have found that cords do make a difference. I have only tried three cords in my system and they have only been used on the source which is a CD player. Each cord sounded different, and one (a Harmonic Technology Pro 11) sounded better to my ears than the others. Different is not always an improvement, but I will point out again that they all had different sounds that even my wife (who knows nothing about any of this) could easily distinguish. Why they sounded different, I do not know as I only understand the basic principals of the (to me) big word theories that I mentioned above and not the exact science of how they all work. I have also not yet tried the more expensive PC's that are in the talk now. I started out with the stock cord, which was loose fitting and had oxidized contacts. I cleaned the contacts and it sounded better but it was still a pain because it needed the use of a support to maintain good contact (the support that I used interfered with the isolation devices that I use on my CD player). Next I used a generic cord off of another piece of equipment (that I cleaned before installing) and it sounded more muted than the CAL stock cord, I did not like this sound as my player is already pretty laid back in its tonal character. I then purchased the Harmonic Tech, cord which sounded completely different and better. It seemed to increase the amount of detail that I was hearing by no less than 20% and my whole system just sounded better and more musical with increased dynamics (it sounded like I had doubled the power output of my amp). Their were also a few Wow's by friends that stopped by that are both musicians but not into this hobby. If I had better equipment or a different source I do not know if the change would have been as drastic as system synergy is always a big part of the equation, but the comments from the people that I see at this site that do own better equipment and that do actually try upgraded cords make me think that there is a difference or improvement to be had as well and that it may be even more more noticeable in their systems than with my midfi equipment. It does make sense in theory though I doubt if I will ever own such equipment to test it myself. The HT cord was $130.00 used FYI. I also have a very bad power supply to deal with in the area (LA) that I live in. It isn't just the building that I live in it is every building/house that I have lived in for the past 23 years within this local grid system, I have had better juice when I have lived outside of this area. Light bulbs have a tendency to last no longer than 30-40 days. The voltage checks fine per an electrician that installed a new breaker box in my apartment so I assume that the amperage must drop to very low levels (even Halogen lights burn out in 3-4 months). Though I do not believe that my inexpensive Monster power conditioner boosts the amperage it does make an improvement in the sound of my system that is very noticeable during the day when playing light spacious music. I would guess from this that my power is not very clean. So what do you have to say? What walk have you walked?

Joe_coherent: What simple and relatively inexpensive products are you referring to? Are these from personal experience and/or from a technical website? Please share them with us. I am not against DIY or cheap tweaks at all though I don't think that I will be designing my own electronics any time soon.