My sixth experience w/ CH Acoustic cables (December):
Subjectively, this experiment provided the most SIGNIFICANT improvement, supports Mcondon's recollection, and probably points out a poor component...which was previously unknown....
For years, I plugged in my source components to power conditioners...as suggested to me by a few friends and component manufacturers. Initially, I noticed an improvement and never did any serious A/B comparisons afterward.
Craig Hampel, of CH Acoustic, told me that his power cords performed better w/o power conditioners (or at least did not require them). Realizing that I had the source power cord plugged into a power conditioner, I decided to do an A/B comparison.
First, I made a few changes and plugged the cord into the wall. I needed to re-sort (tidy up) cord paths, etc. & let the music play while I worked. Suddenly, the music was WAY TOO LOUD. Though behind my speakers, I had to find my remote & turn down the volume. I don't mind loud, but I don't enjoy painful. (In addition, I love this hobby too much and want to mitigate hearing loss.) Confused... I didn't remember turning up the volume during this A/B?
Next, I sat down and listened for a bit. The transient impacts were ridiculous. Literally, I turned down the volume AGAIN to get a better grip on the what was happening...sharper differentiation among instruments, big space (dynamic contrast) between sounds, more focus on everything...just sound popping out from individual spaces...
So..I switched to a few songs I knew well. Generally, it appeared that I had upgraded my source. Obviously, the power conditioner had "choked off" the musical capability of my source. Maybe this potential was always there & I was negligent in doing an appropriate A/B comparison in the past. Regardless, I WOULD NOT dispute Craig's & Mcondon's claim that CH Acoustic power cords perform best plugged directly into the wall.
Subjectively, this experiment provided the most SIGNIFICANT improvement, supports Mcondon's recollection, and probably points out a poor component...which was previously unknown....
For years, I plugged in my source components to power conditioners...as suggested to me by a few friends and component manufacturers. Initially, I noticed an improvement and never did any serious A/B comparisons afterward.
Craig Hampel, of CH Acoustic, told me that his power cords performed better w/o power conditioners (or at least did not require them). Realizing that I had the source power cord plugged into a power conditioner, I decided to do an A/B comparison.
First, I made a few changes and plugged the cord into the wall. I needed to re-sort (tidy up) cord paths, etc. & let the music play while I worked. Suddenly, the music was WAY TOO LOUD. Though behind my speakers, I had to find my remote & turn down the volume. I don't mind loud, but I don't enjoy painful. (In addition, I love this hobby too much and want to mitigate hearing loss.) Confused... I didn't remember turning up the volume during this A/B?
Next, I sat down and listened for a bit. The transient impacts were ridiculous. Literally, I turned down the volume AGAIN to get a better grip on the what was happening...sharper differentiation among instruments, big space (dynamic contrast) between sounds, more focus on everything...just sound popping out from individual spaces...
So..I switched to a few songs I knew well. Generally, it appeared that I had upgraded my source. Obviously, the power conditioner had "choked off" the musical capability of my source. Maybe this potential was always there & I was negligent in doing an appropriate A/B comparison in the past. Regardless, I WOULD NOT dispute Craig's & Mcondon's claim that CH Acoustic power cords perform best plugged directly into the wall.