Why do I need power management if I have a great power cord?
Isn't it kind of unnecessary to additionally add a power conditioner if I have an expensive audio file grade Power cord connected to a component?
So you buy a Power conditioner from a hi-fi store and they say oh, you need a really good power cord to go with that and then another one to go from conditioner to the component. Do you need it all and why? Seems the last couple of feet before the component should be more than enough.
There exist electrical-magnetical distortions and crosstalk induced by the gear and there is also distortions and acoustic crosstalk induced by the speakers/ room / two ears relation...
I will explain soon the psycho-acoustic geography of my room in my acoustic thread... đđ
"When is it optimal to stop improving the system?" -- is this: *when no more content is added or improved significantly.*
The answer to the question when stop upgrading is related also to acoustic treatment and control...And your own purse for sure...But price tag of the gear is overevaluated much in S.Q. experience and acoustic and psycho-acoustic underevaluated much... Then...
I was hearing new details about sound and more accuracy after acoustic devices tuning or speakers/room tuning...
There is also the acoustic cues and factors that cannot be given by the gear alone in an optimal way and ask for room treatment and control...
Especially listener envelopment/source width ratio and timbre....
This was my motto for years: dont upgrade before the audio system is well embedded in mechanical and electrical and acoustical working dimensions...
I myself for example add a linear power supply for my dac with success and a lower noise level but the linear supply itself must be controlled for his vibrations for example...I even add a "golden plate" on it (shungite+copper tape)...
Exactly so, A large, Â fast, Â over specâd capacitor bank in a power supply is the key.Â
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The capacitors only get filled up when they are at or below the voltage coming out of the transformer-rectifier-regulator. That physically is happening in a rectified sine wave that operating at 120 Hz. So there is a great deal of time (maybe a 1/4 of the time), where the AC is NOT feeding the capacitors any DC.
The power supply in an amplifier is holding DC and buffering the AC to provide that energy reserve..âÂ
So my observation is that a blacker background on a tv does not make the programming better or worse. However if you focus on the blackness of the background you can make yourself unhappy with your equipment. Is that a smart thing to do?....Is there such a thing as 'optimal stopping' in audio? I think so.
I would agree that there is such a thing as optimal stopping. What I have found recently -- by adding a relatively inexpensive linear power supply to my streamer -- is that the content (or "programming") *did* get better because I was able to hear instruments and notes that were not previously available to me. If that occurred by adding better power to my whole system, it would be quite reasonable to do.
So, Â perhaps, one metric to answer your excellent question -- roughly, "When is it optimal to stop improving the system?" -- is this: *when no more content is added or improved significantly.* Or even, *when I cannot justify spending this money, here.*
Knowing when to stop is kind of a judgment call which comes down to each of us. It's that same part of us that knows when to stop eating at an "all you can eat" buffet!
Holmz, there is no future in trying to have a cogent discussion with a person that misses 90% of the conversation to dwell on 10%. You are obviously so much smarter than I am.
How do you arrive at concluding that I am smarter than you?
I am just trying to understand here, and make sense of the physics.
What is wrong with me only needing further explanation of 10%?
Maybe I got the other 90%
Â
Letâs take your analogy to the opposite side of your argument. 900W represents 7.8A @ 120VAC. 24AWG wire has a current rating of 8A. Are you willing to use 24AWG on the Xs300?
No!
would probably use whatever cable Nelson provided, or I would ask him.
Â
Ask yourself why Nelson would use a Neutrik powerCON rated for 32A @ 250VAC.
The output of the amp needs to be larger speaker cable because the voltage is lower and there the current is higher for the same wattage.
The PowerCon is a great connector. I think that they only come in 32A, and that covers most all professional needs. Is that between the seperate power supply and the amp? Or is it from the wall to the amp? If it is âbetweenâ then it makes sense as the separate box is probably supplying 50V ârailsâ, so it needs be higher current capability than the 120v side is.
If one is using a 12 gauge wire for the speaker, then the incoming power, being at 120v, should not need to be bigger than 12 gauge (If we assume that the amp was 100% efficient). The amp is not 100%, but the 120v is a lot higher than a 50V rails so the current will be lower on the AC side.
The whole thing about 2 gauge coming to the house, is to cover things like ovens and dryers which need huge amounts of power/current.
a 1kW hair drier or 900W amp does not need 2 gauge.
Holmz, there is no future in trying to have a cogent discussion with a person that misses 90% of the conversation to dwell on 10%. You are obviously so much smarter than I am.
To quote directly from one of many reviews on the Xs300: "The Xs 300 mono amps were not only better sounding in every respect than the XA-160.5s, but they had nearly twice the power: 300 watts into 8 ohms, 600 watts into 4 ohms, and 48 amps worth of peak output current."
Letâs take your analogy to the opposite side of your argument. 900W represents 7.8A @ 120VAC. 24AWG wire has a current rating of 8A. Are you willing to use 24AWG on the Xs300? Ask yourself why Nelson would use a Neutrik powerCON rated for 32A @ 250VAC.
Basic physics. Everytime you double the size of a conductor, you reduce the resistance of the conductor by half. Output impedance is the product of LCR. Reducing any aspect of the impedance allows the available current to increase (the current well). Instantaneous power demands in audio are not often spoken about. Take the Telarc recording of the 1812 Overture as an example. Someone smarter than me did the calculations on the reproduction of the cannon shots in that recording. To accurately reproduce that event considering the average listening level of 2 watts would require 10,000 watts of instantaneous power.
The capacitors only get filled up when they are at or below the voltage coming out of the transformer-rectifier-regulator. That physically is happening in a rectified sine wave that operating at 120 Hz. So there is a great deal of time (maybe a 1/4 of the time), where the AC is NOT feeding the capacitors any DC.
The power supply in an amplifier is holding DC and buffering the AC to provide that energy reserve..
This is pretty much analogous to how a toilet works. The thing flushes very quickly, but takes many seconds to fill the bowl. The pressure and size of the pipes coming into the house do not go directly into the flushing⌠they merely keep the bowl filled for subsequent flushes, thereby buffering the demand for water.
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The power distribution cable from the transformer to the entry service is #2 wire.
For the entire house⌠running an electric oven, AC, etc. It is not for a single (0r pair) of MB amps that draw 900W (~9A) each.
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It just makes sense, logically and mathematically, to supply a dynamic system with huge instantaneous current demands as much current as possible.
Do the lights in the house flicker whenever the bass drum hits?
If not, then the amp is not pulling that output power directly from the input AC.
It is buffering the energy in the capacitors.
Â
A Class A PASS XS300 monoblock will dump 48A on demand.
How do we arrive at 48A? Are you using 8 ohm speakers? Or what is their impedance?
300W at 8 ohms implies ârailsâ at ~50V, and at 8 ohms that is about 6 amperes.
(Driving a 1 ohm load can get us to 48A - so I guess you have 1 ohm speakers?)
In any case that amp is a device providing voltage amplification and impedance matching. It is not forcing 48A into the speaker, it is only providing up to 50V. The speakers get whatever ohms law translates into in terms of current.
My two cents. If you have clock radio as you source of music any power cord will work and everything will sound the same. If you have something more resolving and you have good hearing, then everything makes a difference. My ears are definitely not what they were, but with my equipment, I can hear the difference between lamp cord and 12 gauge romax and a $300 power cord that was designed hifi amps. And then there comes the point of diminishing returns, but thatâs a whole other story.
Basic physics.  Everytime you double the size of a conductor, you reduce the resistance of the conductor by half.  Output impedance is the product of LCR.  Reducing any aspect of the impedance allows the available current to increase (the current well).  Instantaneous power demands in audio are not often spoken about.  Take the Telarc recording of the 1812 Overture as an example.  Someone smarter than me did the calculations on the reproduction of the cannon shots in that recording.  To accurately reproduce that event considering the average listening level of 2 watts would require 10,000 watts of instantaneous power.  Point of the exercise was to illustrate the power demands on a musical system.  I don't know of any presently available amplifier to produce that type of current dump.  If there was an amp capable of  that considering that most amplifiers (not talking class D here) are somewhere between  50%, - 78% efficiency.  Do the math.  The power distribution cable from the transformer to the entry service is #2 wire.  It just makes sense, logically and mathematically, to supply a dynamic system with huge instantaneous current demands as much current as possible.  A Class A PASS XS300 monoblock will dump 48A on demand.  You need two of these.  See where this is going? Â
Solid state systems are current hogs. Â Ever feed a hog?Â
@ditusa thanks, I understand how a home circuit panel works. I have no reason to make this up. I got a crazy high electric bill and I asked my friend who was the vice president of engineering for a large electrical firm why my bill was so high. He came by the house switched around some wires in the panel and said everything would be fine and let them know. The next time my bill came it was approximately half. I asked him what I had done wrong and he explained to me that my electric meter reads the higher of the two phases  and that is why my bill was out of whack I was drawing 80% of the current I was using on one phase. Then he said thatâs why things that draw a lot of current like air conditioners stoves etc. are always 220 v So that you never have to have that issue. They draw an equal amount of power from both phases. I promise you Iâm not making this up and I saw it firsthand.
@ghdprentice"High end audio is a very complex endeavor⌠full of ambiguity and complexity."
Well said. The problem is not "trying to prove a negative," as someone else said, the problem is to hear something that one does not yet know how to hear. Hearing is mostly interpretation and only partly physical. One needs to know what to listen for.
I think of the days before OLED TVâs. People would say, "This IS a black background." Then, much blacker blacks came along and people could now see that they had been missing something. And it was not just the blacks. It was everything on the screen. Everything gets better -- and the whole experience gets better.
So, the first reaction -- "This is just 'up-selling' or 'snake oil' -- turns out to be wrong. What folks came to learn was that quieting visual noise (making backgrounds blacker) changes the foreground by changing the background. That is very hard for people to understand, because they are focused -- almost exclusively -- on what is in the foreground. The fundamental mistake they make is to disconnect foreground and background. They are entangled for both perception and conception. @mahgister makes this point very well when he tries to direct attention to the room's acoustics. But his point applies very well to the technological devices' designs and their power sources, too.
This point about the "blacker background" applies pari passu to other things besides background noise; the way highs, mids, bass registers are expressed by speakers, the way transients and dynamics are shaped. And the technologies that make all these areas better are often not easy to grok, which is why your suggestions of resources like Robert Harley is so appropriate.
I think you have nicely put your finger on a key aspect of the hifi pursuit. As you say we need to learn (train our ears) to find the some imperfections once we get beyond a certain level.
So my observation is that a blacker background on a tv does not make the programming better or worse. However if you focus on the blackness of the background you can make yourself unhappy with your equipment. Is that a smart thing to do? Does this all come down to the old saw about whether we want to listen to the music or the equipment? The brain is very, very good at filtering. It can filter all kinds of distractions if we allow it to. But some are too distracting. For instance I really dislike the surface noise that comes with many LPs, so for me digital sources are preferred. Is there such a thing as 'optimal stopping' in audio? I think so.
@atmasphere do you have experience with your amps benefiting from using the two example of power conditioning units that you mentioned?
Yes.
@atmasphere great discussion of these two power conditioners. I wonder 2 things:Â
1. How much load do they add? To supply a 400W amp does the load (and heat in the room) go up to 800 watts?
To supply a 400W amp the total draw is likely about 475-500 Watts.
2. Are these expensive high end units able to totally eliminate transformer hum?
Maybe! If the transformer is noisy because there is a 5th harmonic, then yes. If the transformer is noisy because of DC on the AC line, then very likely yes also (although a $50 DC blocker can sort that out). If the transformer is noisy out of its load and/or design, then no.
Because when you do it, a good audio system sounds better.Â
Â
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.Â
I will just throw this into the mix. If you take a look at the box that contains your circuit breakers for the house you will probably find that all the lines that run through your house have 12 gauge copper wire. So explain to me why anyone would think that they need 10 gauge or thicker running the last couple of feet from the plug to the amplifier.
On my system power cables do make a difference with power conditioner or similar such devices. I use two WyWires Juice II Platinum HC power cables on my Nordost  QB4, one feeding the QB4 and off from that one feeding my amp. It clearly is noticeable changing out power cables. Iâm evaluating at the moment a Nordost Valhalla II PC feeding my PS Audio P10 and it is noticeably different than the WyWires Juice II Silver HC I own and currently use. Dedicated circuits definitely make a difference as well, but system dependent. Before dedicated circuits my Pass X250 was a little on the lean side and lacked authority; adding dedicated circuits opened up the Pass and extended and controlled the bottom end. I ran No.10 to my amp and another No.12 circuit to the rest of my system. Best just to try for yourself and not be steered one way or another by others.
... I really didnât sign on to audio Gon tonight looking for a beef. I guess some of you guys are hearing something, I tried to hear it and spent a bunch of money in the process and nothing...
Money that may have been better spent on things that do make a difference
Â
My answer is yes to your first question, but your own conclusion is incorrect. It doesnât require a detailed knowledge of logical and/or formal fallacies to understand why that may be so.
âŚ
People often will spend a few hundred or more on questionable things, and do it multiple times. And often not spend teh same total amount in a single âupgradeâ.
Hope rings eternal.
Â
@atmasphere do you have experience with your amps benefiting from using the two example of power conditioning units that you mentioned?
I learned this the hard way about 30 years ago. I built a loft apartment in an old building and when I put circuits in the panel I didnât know about balancing the load. When I got my first electric bill it was sky high. I was delivering parts for an electrical construction company and I asked one of the engineers what happened. He Came over to inspect my job and laughed because I had all the circuits on one leg. He explained me that the electric meter reads the higher of the two legs and if you donât balance the load youâll get a crazy electric bill.
I guess, what I wonder, is if some âpower conditioningâ devices still may add value.
If passive devices, it can, and will be marginal.
Iâm going to research more into the 240 V option that makes sense. Does anybody else know anything about this?
Yes. If you are having problems with AC line noise, this will do nothing since the noise is coming from outside the house. Your house is powered by 240V which is split into two halves; that's what electricians are talking about when they talk about 'the other side of the line'. You can see this by simply looking at your breaker box- the left and right columns of breakers are the two sides of the line. There is no transformer involved to cause the two sides to be 117VÂ (or 120V or whatever).
Ditusa#. This makes the most sense out of any electrical tweak I have heard about. Iâm going to research more into the 240 V option that makes sense. Does anybody else know anything about this?
@atmasphere I greatly respect your advice.  I guess, what I wonder, is if some âpower conditioningâ devices still may add value.  Iâve got an Audience AR-1p plugged into a quality power strip to power my HeadFi setup.  Am I kidding myself?
Maybe we should throw dedicated outlets into the mix, just to allow the denialists a trifecta!
Lets up the (ante) dedicated outlets with 250 volts!
Â
I know the power goes through multiple transformers as part of the electric grid's distribution system before it reaches the transformer in my neighborhood. I know my audio equipment has transformers. In my experience by adding transformers to the main AC power branch circuits, from the electrical panel in my house to the audio equipment in my room, would be sound degrading. i.e. step up / down transformers, bucking transformers, power conditioners, AC regenerators (none of the former are on my audio lines). FWIW: I have four dedicated audio circuits in my audio room all four circuits are 250 volts, 20 amps. All four wall plugs are Hubbell IG4550A.
My audio equipment sounds better on 240 volts. I plug all my audio equipment directly into the plug. See the link below regarding the 240 volt option. Also, see the second link below: Emotiva Page 10 section 7 regarding IEC power cord.
Â
Mike
Â
The 240V Option
Some high end amps can be switched over and run on 220 volts and I recommend it may sound better. The transformer primaries and the core seem to run slight more efficiently yielding lower impedance so the supply might appear slightly âstifferâ to the ampâs audio circuits (always a good thing). Because the amp is now running at twice the voltage but half the amps (current) the wall wiring looks twice as thick to the amp as it does at 120 volt (ohms law). Now the amp makes even less audio noise on the line and it then rejects its own line noise better. The 220 volt outlet can be a standard 15 amp with 10 Ga.. Wire up to 80 feet then 8 gauge beyond that.
For the 220 volt lines, the electrician may, or may not know about a NEMA receptacle and plug number that is the same size and form as our common Edison duplex 120 volt receptacle but the wide blade of the plug is on the opposite side as the 120 volt duplex. Hubble or commercial Leviton works fine for 220 volt, and the 6-20 series looks less industrial in your home.
It is Nema plug number 6-20P. âStay on lineâ is a good source but your electrician may like a local supplier.
BE SURE TO CHANGE OVER THE AMP INTERNALLY IF YOU DECIDE TO RUN 220 VOLT !
Last Trick â Twist the conductors
Lastly, you might ask him to twist the conductors one twist every 6-8 inches or so. Each line should be alternately twisted relative to the one next to it. This prevents any coherent coupling between them. Keep them away from each other by minimum 4 inches. It is perfectly OK to cross them at a right angle.
Final Word
If your electrician has any concerns about all this, be aware he is always concerned about CONTINUOUS current draw and rates everything and splits up the loads like the air conditioning and the electric dryer for the available amperage. Please explain to him that we are designing for incredibly short peak current pulses and we need the resistance back to the utility as low as possible for best amplifier performance. The continuous draw is negligible from an electrical standpoint. 10 gauge wire is the largest size that will fit into a wall outlet and as far as I know does not violate any codes but you and your electrician are responsible to be sure this is true in your state, county, and city.
Be sure that your speaker cable is at least 10 gauge. You should consider 8 or 9 gauge for speakers that are below 87db sensitivity, and/ or 4 ohms. Some manufacturers say, âour 14 gauge behaves like 10 gauge, etc.â, this could be true but I go for the real measured gauge.
Now, without exception over the last 12 years, comments from those that have done the above heavy gauge wire wall power mods say there is audible improvement in dynamics while making the sound even more detailed, yet much more relaxed with dark backgrounds leaving only the notes and music. I was very surprised the first time I did this house power mod. I did not expect the mid-range and the highs to clean up and get more coherent as much as they did. Of course bass and dynamics are better as you would expect with better current delivery.
Fascinating how no one discusses how proper shielding will protect from all the Radio frequency related noises, within all the comments herein, that are generated after the electrons depart from the wall. Itâs all very simple why does everyone overthink this problem?
Further no one seems to discuss measuring the interference that occurs before and after Power conditioning. To me this would be a huge selling point yeah no one talks about it. And what about restricted versus unrestricted electron flow that many conditioners do or donât do. Thereby explaining why amps should go direct to wall unless power management device is unrestricted.
Itâs been fun and interesting reading all these responses this morning. I didnât mean to hijack this thread from the author. I have a question for those of you out there that believe that the majority of these products make a difference. Letâs use transparent cable as an example. Their interconnects range in price from a few hundred dollars to $37,000 for a pair. What makes them worth $37,000 a pair? Just to give a reference of what $37,000 will buy, here is a list of the top 10 cars that $37,000 will get you.Â
Â
10 Best Luxury Cars Under $35,000
2022 Buick Encore GX..Â
2022 Cadillac CT4. ...Â
2022 Acura ILX. ...Â
2022 Mini Countryman. ...Â
2022 Buick Envision. ...Â
2022 BMW X2. ...Â
2022 Lexus UX. ...Â
2022 Mercedes-Benz A-Class.
Â
I know I know this is America you can charge whatever you want blah blah blah. Donât you think that this kind of makes people wonder what kind of voodoo is making two pieces of wire worth $37,000. Do you think it helps or hurts the argument that something weird is going on?Â
From Audio Research VT80SE manual. This manufacturer gets it:
"A.C. Power Connection It is important that the VT80 SE be connected via its supplied 20 amp IEC 12-gauge power cord to a secure, dedicated A.C. power receptacle. Never connect to convenience power receptacles on other equipment. Only use the power switch on the front of the VT80 SE for On/Off control of the amplifier, or the 12V start-up trigger for remote installations. The AC power source for the VT80 SE amplifier should be capable of supplying 10 amperes for 100 or 120 volt units, or 5 amperes for 220 or 240 volt units. For the very best performance on 100 or 120 volt circuits, the VT80 SE should be connected to its own AC power circuit branch, protected by a 15 amp breaker. The preamplifier and other audio equipment should be connected to a different power circuit and breaker. "
Note that it requires 10 amps at 120V. That is 1200 Watts. Nameplate wattage for this amp is 200 watts at low power. This is the concept that many "audiophiles" reject.
Whenever I read these threads about the value of (type your product of choice here) I think about my own journey towards great sound. If I may, I would throw out this analogy. You wouldnât notice the difference in the mirror if you have gained an ounce, but you sure can tell the difference if you put on 20 pounds. I believe my stereo system is a bit like this. Did I hear a big improvement with any individual change, be it an upgrade in power cords, the addition of my Furman conditioner, putting my speakers on platforms, ISO Acoustics under my turntableâŚâŚâŚÂ   The answer would be no. Does my system sound freaking awesome at the end of it all? YES. Sometimes the whole is truly greater than the sum of its parts. Is this where I drop the microphone?  đ
Power cords obey Ohmâs Law. Voltage drops across them can cause a very measurable loss of power in an amplifier. In that manner it can affect distortion and output impedance too.
The voltage drop is easy to measure with a regular digital voltmeter. So this isnât anything mysterious.
A good power conditioner is helpful too. A glorified power strip that gets called a âpower conditionerâ is not. The latter forces all the equipment to obtain its power through the same power cord, FWIW.
A proper power conditioner will not limit current, it will be able to guarantee the AC sine wave distortion (youâll see that in its specs) and should be able to regulate the AC line voltage. One of the more pesky AC line aberrations is the 5th harmonic, which can cause power transformers to become noisy, power rectifiers to become noisy and can affect synchronous motors found in turntables and tape machines.
There are very few power conditioners offered to high end audio that can do everything Iâve mentioned here.
That means that most people on this thread, in particular those that think power conditioners donât make a difference, simply havenât heard what a proper conditioner can actually do. Its not as if they are wrong; most of what they have heard simply doesn't work!
That is why there is controversy on this topic.
I know of only two power conditioners that seem to work. One is made by PSAudio. The other was made by a company called Elgar, who got out of the power conditioning market a long time ago, so if you find one of their conditioners (they show up on ebay) its likely it will have to be refurbished.
A proper power conditioner has to have active components- if passive (for example a choke or transformer is all thatâs involved) it wonât work. To give you an idea of why, letâs take the Elgar as an example. It has a low distortion 60Hz oscillator that is synchronized to the incoming AC power. The AC power goes through an isolation transformer that also has windings to run the conditionerâs internal power supplies. Feedback is taken from the output and compared to the low distortion oscillator; this correction voltage is applied to the isolation transformer as correction (through a power amplifier built in); in addition it also is used to buck the output voltage so that voltage is thus regulated without current limiting.
Thatâs a bit of sophistication! If you donât have that in your power conditioner, it canât filter out the 5th harmonic, it wonât be able to correct line voltage, it wonât be able to provide a clean AC waveform to your stereo. Put another way, +90% of all âhigh end audioâ âconditionersâ are so much junk.
If yâall want to argue about this topic, at least have the facts available!
And now that I've solved the power issue herein, thank you, Â what do I do about nonstop landscaper noise now that spring is here?
Ever since they invented the leaf blower things have never been the same. Â Carrying a jet engine on your back and walking around the neighborhood is impacting Quality of life substantially. Â It's like a frog in gradually heating water we never really recognized this problem as it grew and now it's too late. Somehow it's very important to remove every last leaf on the lawn and be absolutely neurotic about edging. Â Are brooms still being sold?Â
We no longer can see most of the stars at night and now we can't enjoy peacefulness during the day.
Just make sure you have large gauge cords for your amp. Because after dozens, and likely hundreds, of feet of 14 gauge romex, that last 3 feet of 10 ga copper will make all the difference.
@hickamoreAgreed. Mileage varies, but the thing about calling it all BS is that the denier gets the relief of emotional closure. Not denying them that pleasure; the problem emerges when their closure is proffered as empirical proof for a more general claim. That's where they go wrong, though others seeking closure like to pile on to support their faulty reasoning.
noske, I asked of deniers, "Do you think that these cords and conditioners have just been fooling everyone for decades?" For the record, your answer is "yes."
Iâll agree we should remove the word "stupid" and let the person who thinks *everyone* has been fooled *for decades* use their own adjective to characterize so many people buying useless gear -- or just forego attaching any adjectives at all. This is a hobby. Let people have their audio kabuki!
There is nothing careless about that reasoning. Thinking so is reasoning carelessly.
+1 hilde45
The video comparison with "black background" rings true. Same principle applies in framing pictures. Or plant a rose garden in an empty lot -- you may think it looks fine until you surround it with a hedge of dark yews. Now you see what you've been missing, with sharper resolution of both form and color. Similarly, lower the noise floor in an audio system and your resolution improves.
Â
Not saying any particular change will be noticeable in OP's system. Just that the principle is valid as applied to hearing as well as seeing (and to other sensory appreciation too, well beyond the scope of OP's question).
@hilde45People who say itâs all snake oil raise two questions for me:
1. Do you think that these cords and conditioners have just been fooling everyone for decades? And they are too stupid to realize it and too deluded to know that they are not hearing a difference? If your answer is "yes" then you have a very low opinion of thousands of audiophiles.
My answer is yes to your first question, but your own conclusion is incorrect. It doesnât require a detailed knowledge of logical and/or formal fallacies to understand why that may be so.
I think that using the word stupid isnât very nice, by the way, but using careless reasoning is disingenuous . Anyway, cords and conditioners, being inanimate, canât fool anyone. People can, and do.
My system has all digital sources and each time I've upgraded the power conditioner the improvement in detail, soundstage, resolution and especially the bass performance has been significant. I suspect that the cleaner AC power allows the DAC to perform better.
I've also bought high end interconnects and power cords, and when I deployed higher-end interconnect, I enjoyed better sound quality, but the resulting improvement wasn't as great as the improvements from upgrading the power conditioner.
I can't speak to vinyl-based systems, but for digital sourced systems my vote would be "yes" for upgrading the power conditioner.
... When I listen to my Mcintosh 611 mono blocks the meters usually say that theyâre drawing around 6 W each ... if you do the math for watts to amps that means that the amp is only drawing .5 amps each
Those meters show power output, and even then they don't show peak levels. The meters don't show power consumption, which you can be sure is much more than the output. That's because the amplifier isn't 100 percent efficient, and wastes some power that it dissipates as heat.
 Iâm not trying to change anyone Iâm only trying to be a voice for the new people that stumble onto some of this craziness.
Everyone has a voice here. That's the point. I'm usually dubious when a user pretends to speak for or "protect" others.
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