Why do AC cords make so much difference?


Very simple question.

If you do not believe that AC cords make any difference please do not post in this thread. There are countless other threads you can debate this.

I really need someone to explain to me why great AC cords can make a significant sonic impact on every component I have in my two channel system?

KF
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Showing 1 response by seandtaylor99

Although I have not experimented with AC cords (for lack of time .. young daughter, and daipers being a key reason) my theory is that cords can make a difference for two reasons :

1) they can act as low pass filters. I believe that for digital components this can be important to prevent the digital component from polluting the power supply of your analogue components (preamp, amp etc). It also helps that the digital component doesn't receive noise.
2) They must allow free flow of potentially large amounts of current to the power amp.

I can quite understand why power cords might be good in different applications : a CD transport might benefit from a cord with tons of ferrite to prevent it from modulating noise back onto the power supply. This cord might strangle the dynamics of a power amp that requires large bursts of power.

Ultimately I agree with Sean that if a power supply is built correctly the device should have enough reserve current and should not be either susceptible to incoming noise, nor radiating its own noise back onto the power supply.

Interesting theories ... I hope that potty training will soon give me some more time to experiment.