Why do I need power management if I have a great power cord?

@rtorchia

Your system? It would be good if put photos of your system on line under your user ID. Your experience? What components and power components have you tested?

@bruce19 

Because when you do it, a good audio system sounds better. 
 

How do I know this? I have tried it multiple times on different iterations of my system over the last twenty years or so of my fifty years in pursuit of great sound. You can see my systems under my ID. 

@testpilot

”Why do I need clean water if I have good quality copper pipes? ”

Good one.

I take a break from listening to music when the leaf blowers get near. Hopefully they will be replaced by electric soon… mine is.

@raysmtb1

There is an amazing amount to highend audio. I am a scientist, trained and worked for a living as one for over ten years, before graduate school. I quickly realized there were too many variables to account for what is any of what I heard as easily, explainable by easily with a few variables. In the last forty years of working with engineers constructing leading edge audio equipment and spending thousands of hours evaluating components and the nuances of the effect of components, interconnects, and tweaks I have learned a lot.

High end audio is a very complex endeavor… full of ambiguity and complexity. I am doing my best to coach those new to the endeavor to take the shortest path to what they are trying to achieve… assuming that is outstandingly satisfying sound quality. So, I try to educate folks on the nuances as best I can. Sources like The Absolute Sound, Stereophile can be really helpful… perhaps the best source as a starting point is Robert Harley’s The Compete Guide to the High End. This really lays out the basics of high end audio.

I appreciate your interest in sharing your observations and interest. It is a great and rewarding pursuit.

@raysmtb1

Sorry, you are conflating issues. First of all, yes, you are right, one of the major improvements in components is how it address power. This is one of the keys to great sounding components… correct. But the more the more better. For instance, I added a $9,000 power supply to a $9,000 DAC (Sim Moon. 650D adding the 820 dedicated power supply)… big difference. This is why flagship components are frequently two box components, with one remote box dedicated to just the power supply. 

A really good power conditioner, and direct lines I have put in have significantly improved my sound quality above that.

A power amp has different requirements. It needs unconstricted current or it is going to loose dynamics. So, most of us with high end systems use a direct line to the amplifier with no power conditioner and use a power conditioner for our other components… lowering the noise floor… by the way, something you do not hear directly. It takes experience to understand what a noise floor “sounds like”… you don’t hear it. It is the blackness in the background.. the comforting silence that makes you relax and fall into the comfort of nothing.

@hilde45 

+1

Usually, I think about 90%+ the answer is because your system will sound much better. Mine always has. My neighborhood has underground power and I have two direct lines to my system; one for my components and one for my amp. The power seems very stable… but my system sounds significantly better with a conditioner.

I recently tried a Cardas power distribution strip ($1,500, with great cords attached to it) instead of my power conditioner… it took a couple second to hear the drop in sound quality. This is what most… but not all people experience. You could be one of the lucky ones… but odds are not in your favor.