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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 1 response by nrgcustomcables

nrgcustomcables's avatar
nrgcustomcables
16 posts
 
The relatively simple reason behind a well-constructed power cord making a difference is this: more current delivered (quality conductors) + a cleaner signal (proper shielding) = better sound.
The use of multiple gauges, different wire types (stranded, solid core, etc.), and "exotic" materials, are just different approaches to delivering on the same goal - maximum current transfer with minimum interference/noise (and, of course, a healthy dose of marketing thrown in for good measure).
As far as pricing for cables, or any other component for that matter, the price will reflect whatever the market will bear.  That itself is based on many factors, including brand recognition/reputation, and what the current "equivalent" product sells for.To put it another way, the price reflects whatever someone is willing to pay.
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