The Truth About Power Cords and there "Real" Price to Performance


This is a journey through real life experiences from you to everyone that cares to educate themselves. I must admit that I was not a believer in power cords and how they affect sound in your system. I from the camp that believed that the speaker provided 75% of the sound signature then your source then components but never the power cord. Until that magic day I along with another highly acclaimed AudioGoner who I will keep anatomist ran through a few cables in quite a few different systems and was "WOWED" at what I heard. That being said cable I know that I am not the only believer and that is why there are so many power cord/cable companies out there that range from $50 to 20-30 thousand dollars and above. So I like most of you have to scratch my head and ask where do I begin what brand and product and what should i really pay for it?

The purpose of this discussion to get some honest feed back on Price to Performance from you the end user to us here in the community.

Please fire away!


 


128x128blumartini
I would like to thank blumartini for inviting me to participate in this "so far" civil discussion. I rarely, if ever, participate in discussions like this since some "experts" cannot (or refuse to) understand how power cables can make a "difference" in sound quality.

As I perused through the responses, I noticed quite a few assumptions & opinions that, IMHO, are inaccurate, such as "Good Shielding is never going to hurt a power cord"... yes, good shielding but not "traditional shielding"... Traditional shielding, that most cable manufacturers choose to use, is detrimental to sound reproduction. It adds capacitance to the cable, which results in a duller, lifeless, less dynamic power cable... I would never use traditional shielding in Triode Wire Labs products for that reason. Some innovative methods of obtaining a great sounding cable can involve advanced cable geometry, use of piezoelectrics as well as advanced shielding materials that do not add capacitance to a cable...

Everything makes a difference. Yes, that is true... Yes, the receptacle you connect your power cables to can make a noticeable difference. (Please note I wrote "difference" not "Improvement").

Power cables can make a significant difference and "improvement" in sound quality. Recently (two weeks ago), I participated in FIVE rooms at the Capital AudioFest, providing the entire cable looms. I partnered with manufacturers & distributors, such as Vinnie Rossi, Gigawatt, Innuos, Daedalus Audio, Volti Audio, BorderPatrol, PI AudioGroup, Esoteric, QLN, Well Pleased A/V, GT Audio Works, Sound Insights, Pass Labs, etc. In the large Frederick Room, we had Pass Labs "best" gear... XS-150 mono blocks ($65K), XS preamp ($38K) & XS phono preamp ($45K)... Yes, placing my power cords on the Pass Labs gear made a significant improvement in sound quality... I did have the opportunity to "A-B" test the XS phono preamp in my "test set-up" at my Lab and the results were similar to many other preamps I tested. Yes, power cables can make an "improvement" in sound quality.

I'd like to also add that Triode Wire Labs offers a 30-day trial period, money-back guarantee on all its cable products... I believe blumartini stated that only one manufacturer offered that...

As far as my top of the line "Obsession NCF" power cable (6 ft. - $1399), I'd like to point out that it uses the expensive ($385 each connector ($770 of connectors per cable)) & incredible sounding Furutech FI-50 NCF series of connectors. The "Obsession NCF" competes with and exceeds performance of cables costing multiple times as much... money-back guarantee! Here's Jay's review... https://audiobacon.net/2019/08/17/27-audiophile-power-cables-reviewed/15/

In all of Triode Wire Labs products, there's exceptional value, since all TWL's products are directly-marketed with very low overhead costs.  

I'd like to thank Jay Luong for his incredible review of power cables, which much have been very exhausting... and to blumartini once again for inviting me to provide my $0.02...


Cheers,
Pete
Triode Wire Labs, Inc.
Affordable Audiophile Cables
https://www.triodewirelabs.com

@atdavid,

My point is simple:

You have "mains feed" into your breaker or fuse box at your listening location.

From there, you have a breaker or fuse that protects the circuit.  That breaker or circuit is sized according to the amperage of the circuit you will run off that breaker.

The AWG wire sizes I listed are the minimum electrical code standards for circuits of the listed amperage.  There is potentially a very LONG run of Romex that goes from that breaker / fuse box to your AC outlet.  Then you have the outlet itself. (I recommend a hospital grade outlet simply because they are robust and grip your cord tightly.)

Thinking that the last six feet of wiring after the outlet makes a difference after all of that...and thinking you can hear a difference...is crazy - unless the cable is doing something other than just transmitting the power (such as a choke / filter or power conditioning system).

Things like a Furman, PanaMax or Monster cable power conditioner DO make a difference...because they have filters and chokes that CLEAN the power.  An Emotiva CMX-2 DOES make a difference because it filters and eliminates DC offset.

Silver cords, braided cords, excessively oversized cords, etc. don't do a darn thing that is audible unless they have a choke or filter in the cable. 

A cord that is too small for the current draw will actually get hot and be a safety hazard.  
Imagine if I made two cords to prove my point that have the following construction:

  • 3 feet of 12AWG Romex that plugs into your wall outlet with a Marinco or Wattgate  plug...or even wired directly to your mains box.

  • The other end of that Romex would go into a junction box.  Inside that junction box will be a Marinco or Wattgate 3 prong plug that plugs into a hospital grade outlet (which is wired to the Romex) and coming out of that box would be 3 feet of a fancy twisted pair, cryo treated silver conductor, blah blah blah cord that terminates in an IEC plug that goes into your gear.

  • The second box would be Romex all-the way.  Same junction box.  Same plugs.  Same outlet.  Just 6 total feet 12AWG Romex all the way to your gear.

Are any of you willing to tell me you could hear a difference?  Because that is how your house is wired.

I am confident nobody could not pass an A:B comparison noticing any difference with any consistency.
JS:  Unearned money can be from a number of sources...inheritance for instance.

MAM says:
I began with the CD (OPPO-105) connected to my power conditioner using the stock cord. The sound was unlistenable.
I have an OPPO-105 and I use the stork cord.  I have never, not even once, thought it put out audio that was unlistenable.  At one time the 105 was the most popular disc player on the market...tested with a stock cord.  My, your ears must be very picky....or a fan of high dollar accessories.  Confirmation bias?
The entire setup with the Pass XS gear feeding the GT Audioworks speakers were all Triode Wire Labs obsession power chords on the amps and TWL speaker cables and interconnects - this resulted in the best sound at show- don’t believe me read Herb Reichert’s review on Stereophile  where he said that this system can go toe to toe with cost no object systems. Thanks Pete great product at an unbeatable value in all of high-end audio.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/gt-audioworks-loudspeakers-pass-laboratories-eletronics-basis-au...