Why do AC cords make so much difference?
The info that Mr Crump presented about iron core transformers vs toroidals is pretty well known to anyone that has ever measured various aspects of transformer performance. Bob and i are basically on the same page in this regard and on several other AC related "beliefs". As such, you now know several of the reasons why i have preached the superiority of "old school" Iron Core ( E-I ) transformers in the past. They are quieter ( blacker background ) due to increased AC filtration and they ( typically ) offer better dynamics / bass performance due to reduced core saturation. I don't know anyone that doesn't want equipment with a lower noise floor and increased dynamic range. I mentioned something similar to what Bob brought up earlier today prior to seeing these comments. You can follow along on the thread entitled Best Cable Tweak Ever. I'm trying to find a source on the web to support some of the info that i posted and as soon as i can, i'll forward a link to it in that thread or cut and past the info that i find. Sean |
I'm going to start marketing some power cords very soon and decided to share the design here with you folks. First of all, you start off with heavy ( 8, 10 or 12 gauge ) bare copper wire. You then take all three conductors and twist them together as tightly as possible. Select one wire as the hot, one as the neutral and one as the ground and wire them into the AC plug and IEC jack accordingly. I will GUARANTEE that this design will allow a greater amount of current flow in less amount of time than any commercially available UL approved design on the market. The initial amount of energy that is drawn upon first use of this cord will amaze you. I guarantee that the results will be so drastic that you would swear it was like the first "bang" for those of you that believe in the "BIG bang" theory. On top of that, you will not believe just how quiet your system is and how much the noise floor has been lowered. You would swear that your equipment was not even turned on it is so quiet. Your "black background" will be SO black that it resembles charcoal. I GUARANTEE IT !!! Sean > PS... The above is all a hoax. Do not follow these directions unless you want to burn down your house : ) |
Piezo: Your comments about low inductance to Audioengr are something that i've tried to stress to him in other posts. It is not so much the low inductance than can be helpful in low current demands as it can be the added capacitance that many such designs bring with them. If someone doubts the effectiveness of added capacitance, try sticking an AC rated cap into an outlet and measure / view the differences in the power provided at that outlet. Redbeard brings up added capacitance in his post ( rightly so ) and also touches on the lack of filtering in components making the differences in power cords being noticeable. I agree with him whole-heartedly in this respect and am glad to see that someone else shares this view. Most products are NOT properly filtered, regardless of price paid or brand name "prestige", and that is why one can hear the differences with various AC delivery systems. The only problem with Redbeard's suggestion to install a power line filter / conditioner to remedy such problems is that they too are mostly under-engineered and end up being a "band-aid" rather than a "cure-all". As such, poorly designed filter based products can bring with them almost as many side effects / problems that they try to solve. Sean > |
Redbeard: The parts to make a "real" AC filter are all commonly available. One need not even buy parts as you can buy commercial grade units that will work phenomenally well. Just make sure that you have a freight truck to transport them, a dolly to wheel them in on, the physical room to mount them and an electrician to wire them into the system. Obviously, what i'm getting at is something that will "work right" is NOT a "lightweight toy". The reason that most audio based manufacturers make cables and "audio grade" PLC's is that the profit margin is WAY, WAY high. This is not to mention that one can build, package and ship a "Super Duper AC Snake" for peanuts as compared to what it would cost for the chassis alone of the type of device that i'm talking about. If you were in business strictly for the money, what route would you take ??? As such, P.T. Barnum was right. Most of the people that he's refering to are audiophiles and they are investing in wires / cables rather than forcing the companies that build their active equipment to do it right. On top of that, when the "snake oil" wires, cables or PLC's don't live up to the hype, they disregard everything else in the same category. After such an experience, many folks will even "black-ball" products with real research and technology invested in them and remove the mass majority from their systems. Either that or they keep throwing good money after bad trying to find something that truly is "magical". It's too bad that many folks that are truly seeking to upgrade their system end up resorting to buying such products based on industry hype rather than educating themselves and finding the "real deal". Sean > |
Digital is NOT an audio signal at it's point of origin or when being transferred in digital form. It is an RF based signal that operates above 3 MHz. As such, a design that makes use of some type of bandpass, high pass or low pass filtering or has bypass caps in the design may require a low resistance Earth ground for optimum operation. The reason that a designer would shunt such signals to ground would be to try to keep stray signals from "leaking out" or interfering with other sections of the player. While the device would still "work" without having a low resistance path to ground, it might not be performing up to snuff or meet spectral purity as documented by the FCC in terms of spurious emmissions / interference. As such, not all designs are the same when it comes to grounding, nor should they be treated as such. Sean > |
