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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. 
128x128mkgus
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
stevecham
Rutherford said,
"An alleged scientific discovery has no merit unless it can be explained to a barmaid."

I much prefer the quote from Richard Feynman,

”If I could explain it to the average person they wouldn’t have given me the Nobel prize.”
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
4,382 posts
 
How 'bout, "An average barmaid explained an alleged scientific discovery meriting her the Nobel Prize." 🤔
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
I have noticed explaining things on audio sites to folks has certainly helped deepen my own understanding. Even of my own motives...aka I just bought two refrigerator magnet whiteboards as a pseudo E Mat. So I posted on the big E Mat thread about how I am gonna try this as they even make it clear on the E Mat website the thing is a refrigerator magnet.. (sort of) So the very next post is asking me ’Are you trying to start a dustup? mmmmaaaaaaaayyyyyybbbbeeeeee? More like just seeing if a 1/26 the price for 3 times the size btw. has more than 1/78 of the effect???
gpgr4blu
810 posts
 
mzkmxcv:
You can build your system based upon measurements. I’ll build mine, as I have over the past 40+ years, based to some extent on measurements, but to a greater extent on what I hear.  As for the science you believe to be definitively on point, I disagree with your characterization of how the measurements you present relate to how the sounds measured are processed by the human ear.  But let's assume you are correct, well, then --if the current science cannot measure why I hear differences in PCs and ICs , then I submit that it is not measuring everything. Or as a scribe once said:
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
fleschler
766 posts
 
@ elizabeth  As to the kitchen magnets, I tried six of them and they are worthless as to affecting my audio and video systems. On the contrary, the E-Mats, full size, one dozen, greatly improve my sonics. Just one on the main power box significantly improved the video picture with enhanced color and brightness on my 75" Sony 940D. My wife does not want me to remove it.  Since 100s have tried and purchased the E-Mats and found the same results, why knock it?  I would have returned them unless they provided a very significant benefit for the cost.  Again, the E-Mat is NOT a kitchen magnet.  The kitchen magnet has a low level magnetism and helps hold it to some metal products.  It is being used only as a convenient way to hold the inside "mystery" product that Tim Mrock uses to achieve the sonic enhancement.  I don't know what the "mystery" product is but it works.   As to TC product, I reserve judgement although I have applied it liberally last year.  I prefer the E-Mats.
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