The fallacy of ac treatment

Just got back into audio a short while ago, and would have said that PC's were the Audiophile equivalent of a penis extension. ...Then I actually listened to a few PC's. First were my local dealer's home brew - hubbel terminated, but no better than the stock PC's. Next I borrowed an XLO reference 10a - what a difference. This was far from subbtle. A student who does work for me wanted to know what I had done to the stereo, because it sounded "different" "better" "as though a sheet of paper had been removed from in front of the speakers." This cliche from a highschool kid of 16 years who is not into audio. After the XLO I went on to audition JPS PC's. I recently jumped off the deep end and purchased 4 Shunyata Research PowerSnakes. And YES they sound different (better IMHO) than any of the others I tried. In fact 2 out of the 4 I demoed sound differently on the same equipment (Sim Audio/Goertz/NHT). I too am far from any kind of electrical expert, but Calin Gabriel at Shunyata is. He makes significant arguments (via his website www.powersnakes.com)as to why well designed PC's make a difference in sound quality. While goblin and others may not experience the sound improvments I have the only way to know for sure is to listen - if you are able to keep an open mind. Mike

After reading this forum for months now, I still cannot quite get over the fact that people seem to need an engineering explanation of why something makes a difference before they can believe there is a difference. There are two reasons for my incredulity. First, it seems to be paying homage to science, when the whole point of the scientific process is that reality drives theory not the other way around. That is to say, the scientific process is not about denying an experienced reality just because of a lack of theory. Second, an engineering explanation adds nothing of value, except to equipment designers. For example, if someone explains to me how a 24 bit DAC can outperform a 20 bit DAC, due to its ability to perform more dither or some other purpose, this proves nothing of practical benefit to me. It does not proove that all 24 bit DACs will outperform all 20 bit DACs, for example. It does not prove how much more money I should pay for a 24 bit DAC over a 20 bit one. In fact it tells me very little, if anything, about whether my musical enjoyment will be enhanced. So what is the point? For me - I have tried lots of power cords, and they all sound different. The nature of the difference is of a similar order of magnitude and musical significance as changing speaker cables. Anyone who spends large amounts on a speaker cable and then uses stock power cords has their priorities wrong IMO. This is what I hear, and this is all I need to know. Snobgoblin, you may choose to put your head in the sand and comfort yourself that those like me are all wrong. An alternative would be to listen to some cables and, who knows, you may remove all doubt. What is there to be afraid of?

My intention wasn't to 'troll'... Bear in mind that I'm referring ONLY to 'High End' Power Cords here - Hell yes, ICs and speaker cables make a diff, I've seen it on my (decidedly pedestrian!) system (Arcam 6+ integrated with Marantz CD 6000 KI sig and Celestion 5 speakers) Sturdy power cords made to electrical codes and Good Industry Practice is definitely a requirement - ther's nothing new about this. Hospitals use good quality bits because that's the relevant code and stuff like X-Ray machines draw oodles of power. Fine, use those robust pieces, you cant go wrong. BUT we need to draw the line somewhere folks. I've changed my power cord out of necessity (UK plugs to India code) - I'm certainly not blessed aurically to hear anything different. I'll bet it would sound coarse if the grounding was bad or the plugs were corroded, but that's plain to see and understand. What isn't logically consistent is the magic a $500 cord can do. And IMHO the cord better have a degree sorcery from Hobbitt U. to fulfil its expectationas. Finally, that's all I'm saying.

Snobgoblin: Even modest mass electronics can benefit from a thicker gage power cord or even a hubbell plug. If you have been visiting audiogon for a while there are a bunch of us that dedicate time to AC power quality and cords...... and differences do exist. If you browse through old threads you'll see even long time evaluation projects like Carl_eber has shared with us his experiences on power cords and this facts (sound changes that are heard not seen) are experienced by many. If that wasn't the case I assure you that there wouldn't be a business for the guys making them and a time and money investment from the audiophile crowd. Suggest you give it a try. Regards

I agree with Mikem and Hiwaves. My DIY tweaks is almost exactly what Mikem describes them. Mikem, please post here or email to me the VA rating of your isolation transformer. I'm about to buy one but not sure what VA rating will deliver the transient peaks in music. My wall socket wires are large enough for 20A at 240Volts. If I go for full 4800VA, the transformer size would be colossal!wouldn't it :)~