Do powercords make a difference in sound?

Dave: That's a very interesting question you asked. I am quite frankly surprised by the answers.

(It would be too politically incorrect for me to explicitly say why -- although in another sense I guess I shouldn't be surprised at all, since I myself was once asked if I would be interested in reviewing for one of the publications mentioned above, by its editor. I wasn't, but also declined because I didn't feel that I was qualified: not as an audiophile, nor technically, nor as a writer.)

Zaikesman, let us consider what might "qualify" someone as a reviewer. Would it be an EE degree, years of experience in audio, experience as a dealer in audio, knowing many manufacturers, being wealthy enough to not be bought to give a good review to get the component at a good price, being articulate, hearing well in tests, etc.?

When I entered audio in the late 50s, there were few manufactures and JG Holt listened to them and said what he thought without any influence of advertising on his judgment. Even in small towns there were dealers who were more interested in the best audio than making a lot of money and who would get products in where you could go a give a listening. All of this is gone now. Even were I to travel over a hundred miles, I could not hear a comparison of products that interest me. Even going to shows where such products might be in separate rooms allows no such comparison.

What becomes very important now is opinions of others about these products and hopefully a comparison with two that interest us. I think today that reviewers now serve to replace going to a dealer and listening and hopefully hearing a comparison between two of the few available products that interest us. I still remember hearing a comparison between Crown and SAE amps.

I seek always to be aware that others might have different circumstances, tastes, and rooms than I do. I view my reviews as personal experiences, with more substance than just saying "this product blows my mind" or "sucks."

Two of my undergraduate majors were EE and physics. I always had trouble with these two as they often contradicted each other. One focuses on building things that work and the other on exploring how things work. I am constantly aware of my not understanding why quartz some places helps, in others does nothing, and in yet others greatly hurts the sound. There is no theory as to why this happens. There are many, many instances of this, in my experience. All that I can conclude when reviewing such products is that in my system they are very important.

Of course, ethics are very important. In the old days, if a dealer had both products that interested you and you heard one that you liked, there were no ethical concerns other than whether he would honor the warranty. I have no real solution to whether you should trust a reviewer.

Just another point of view, a key question is why so many different points of views and results. The first step in building a stereo or home theatre system should be the electrical, the level of electrical would determine what type of components you should buy and the level of performance one CAN achieve.

Here's my example: in drag racing the type of fuel determines the potential of performance, so the nitro fueled cars set the standard, you won't say your street legal unleaded fueled car is top dog. What I see in this hobby is people with all levels of gear claiming to have reached that 4 second
mark, with unleaded gas. This is not a plug and play hobby, you may be able to tune a Toyota but a nitro fueled car?

Btselect - that's true, power is very important but when you're in drag racing you don't care how smooth is the ride. There is plenty of very dynamic systems that sound horrible in spite of super outlets, dedicated lines etc. I do still agree about benefits of basics (good power delivery) but it is only a (necessary) part of the picture.

09-04-11: Zaikesman
Paperw8: How do you explain the audiophile, such as myself and no doubt just about anyone who has actually tried a variety of power cords and hears differences among them (or any other component for that matter -- power cords are no different from anything else in this regard), who has had the experience of buying something that yes, they hoped would succeed and fulfill their expectations, and yes, paid good money for it, and no, their auditioning wasn't performed double-blind (of course), and yet, wound up NOT preferring the most expensive, or the newest, or the prettiest, or the best-reviewed item? This does happen not-infrequently in the real world...

you're effectively asking me to tell you what is going on in your head, and i can't do that. suffice it to say, and as noted earlier in this thread, this topic is a *highly* controversial one. in general, i have difficulty with stuff which seems to operate by magic. when i read comments about the presumed sonic benefits of power cords, and "tweaks" in general, my reaction is to think that these people should remember to wear their tin foil hats with the shiny side facing outward. in my mind, this stuff is no different than with other controversial topics like the loch ness monster, area 51 ufo theories, and the abominable snowman.