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Power Cords Snake Oil ??

Having been a long time audiophile living with countless high end compnents I have to wonder about the theory and practicality of high end power cords.

I have yet to hear the difference a power cord makes. Ive owned, synergistic, Shunyata, BMI and cardas. I in no way can detect any sonic signature or change. Give me a pair of interconnects and I imeadiately notice a difference somewhere in the sonic spectrum. Not the PC though. I have accomplished 4 blind tests with my friends. 3 out of the 4 they did not know their cord was replaced. All 4 were using a stock factory supplied cord. Each of the 4 tests were done on different components. Amp, CDP, Preamp & dac.

My electrical backround tells me that provided you supply the component with its required voltage bet 110vac or 220/240vac its happy. Now, change the incoming frequency from 60hz to say 53hz and watch how quickly your soundstage collapses.! This is often the case during the summer months when home air conditioners are in use and the utility company power output is taxed to the max. A really good power conditioner should however take care of the frequency fluctuations. But 110vac is still 110vac regardless of the conductor it passes through as long as its remains 110vac when it reaches the intended circuit. Does your 8k amp or preamp know the difference of the path the voltage took to reach it ? Many an audiophile will use a dedicated 20amp circut for their equipment.That is a good idea as voltage & frequency fluctuations will occur in the home circuit to to other loads on the main breaker panel but again, A power cord simply is the means of transporting the voltage from the wall to the component. IF there is a clean 110vac @ 60hz at the wall socket, no matter what the medium is to go from the socket to the component, it will still be 110vac @60hz.

Could somebody expand on this a bit more. I just dont understand it. ??
128x128jetmek
stevecham
3,340 posts
 
Hey, has anyone tried direct wiring their system components into the house wiring and bypassed all use of so called detachable power cords at the wall and the component? Also, removed all circuit breakers as well between the power company and the house.

In fact why not have the spouse get on an exercise bike with generator (maybe 120 Watts for about 30 minutes, good workout) and power the system completely off the grid via solid 10 gauge copper monofilament directly into the components. And first run this off-the-grid current through a power plant that completely reregulates/regenerates the AC from a DC voltage source. Lets' get down to doing this correctly once and for all.

How about a local audiophile society that gets on the community treadmill several times week and that treadmill generates clean power for all subscribers'/exercisers' systems. Our ears will hear better and we will have enhanced the listening experience because of the true source of the current.

Plus we'll all live longer because, afterall, you can't take it with you.
matchstikman
205 posts
 
I started another thread on something similar and I apologize for cross posting this, but while we are at it, what is the theory behind digital and analog power cords? And HIGH current digital cables? If power cords truly make a difference, does the type of power cord, analog vs digital, make the next difference? Are there such a thing as high current CDPs?
corona
132 posts
 
Matchstikman:

We have found the same degree of improvement whether we are attaching our power cables to digital or analog audio equipment. A real insight manifested when we linked a pc to a battery supplied preamp. Since the unit stores it energy in the form of DC we felt that no real performance benefit would occur with a state of the art power cord; to the ownerÂ’s and our surprise the improvement was substantial. This probable means that while the unit is drawing energy to store the effect the pc have on the electromagnetic configuration is not altered even when converted to DC and stored in the battery.
kt_88
242 posts
 
Corona,

I'll worry about the beer later. In the mean time..... why don't you tell me how much quality audio equipment you have designed. And then call CJ and tell them how wonderful your cables are. And then get back to me.

Slappy,

Yes I suppose no matter how big a snake is, there is always a bigger one lying in wait of some unexpected passer by. And in the case of the one found in Indonesia, they found it, before it found them. I guess when a snake grows to big, it becomes quite obvious to all. It has no place to hide.

This is my final post in this thread. So Corona, you have the last opportunity to knock me out with your words. But be careful, if you miss perhaps the wind your words will knock you out.

I think at this point my time is better served listening to me music.
vvrinc
323 posts
 
For all the hyperbole in this thread, (in particular surrounding much of Mr. Corona's comments, no one has answered Mr. Drubin's question above. Searching previous threads on "Sahuaro", there is a mention in one that an Audiogon member has auditioned (?) some. Maybe, if he is willing, he can at least, give us his opinion. Or anyone else?
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