Why Power Cables Affect Sound


I just bought a new CD player and was underwhelmed with it compared to my cheaper, lower quality CD player. That’s when it hit me that my cheaper CD player is using an upgraded power cable. When I put an upgraded power cable on my new CD player, the sound was instantly transformed: the treble was tamed, the music was more dynamic and lifelike, and overall more musical. 

This got me thinking as to how in the world a power cable can affect sound. I want to hear all of your ideas. Here’s one of my ideas:

I have heard from many sources that a good power cable is made of multiple gauge conductors from large gauge to small gauge. The electrons in a power cable are like a train with each electron acting as a train car. When a treble note is played, for example, the small gauge wires can react quickly because that “train” has much less mass than a large gauge conductor. If you only had one large gauge conductor, you would need to accelerate a very large train for a small, quick treble note, and this leads to poor dynamics. A similar analogy might be water in a pipe. A small pipe can react much quicker to higher frequencies than a large pipe due to the decreased mass/momentum of the water in the pipe. 

That’s one of my ideas. Now I want to hear your thoughts and have a general discussion of why power cables matter. 

If you don’t think power cables matter at all, please refrain from derailing the conversation with antagonism. There a time and place for that but not in this thread please. 
mkgus

Showing 2 responses by gwbeers

For those of you who have already reached your power cord decisions, there’s a limited time opportunity on A’gon which will end in just a few days…

 https://www.audiogon.com/listings/lis986gg-matthew-bond-audio-analog-reference-interconnect-cable-in...

Sure they’re $24k but that’s for a PAIR and includes free GROUND shipping. You won’t believe the sound these cables are capable of producing! "It started with an earthquake-like rumble in the sub-frequencies, then exploded with midrange ferocity and peaked with piercing sustained highs!"  Never leave receipts where your wife can see them….


After reading 11 pages of riveting commentary -  here's my take away - buy the most expensive cable you can afford. If you hear a difference keep it, If you don't, return it.