How can power cords make a difference?

Trelja, if your buddy can get some stuio time to try something, I was thinking that recording a test disk of three power cords would be interesting. This would be better than the "double blind" in that first we wouldn't know wich or if a cord was switched and all the equipment would be exactly the same. I'd love to hear the results of such a test. I'm sure it wouldn't meet mr. 702's "high" standards but it would meet mine. If 702 really wanted it sounds like he has the same ability, but I'm sure he doesn't know wich cords to try, so I think your a better canadate. J.D.

Albert -

You're being somewhat inconsistant in that you talk about reduced "lag time" from so-called better cords, while complaining about stevemj's analogy only filling the tank faster. But you're exactly right when you say that this should have no effect on final performance.

RFI, that's another story. And one that's ended with a few bucks worth of ferrites.

JHunter

Brulee, HDM -

If folks feel that aftermarket power cords improve the sound, OK! However, the ability of the senses to be mislead is legendary and I'd bet big bucks that's what is happening for most people who honestly feel that the PC makes a difference, other than instances of too-small cords or RFI issues. In the end, though, all that really matters is your enjoyment of the sound.

The people I have an issue with are the rip-off artists (either ignorant, just plain greedy or both) putting these kilobuck wastes on the market in the first place.

JHunter

Listen Albert, The differences in power cords and ICs that you ,I and others hear, are also quite audible to non- audiophiles as well. I have done the trials on many people in my sound room. I am sure Steve and 702 would hear alot of what the rest of us hear too. The simple fact is that these people don't hear the changes, because they don't want to hear them!! No amount of dialouge is going to change their philosophy. If I put these guys in a room with, say ,Radio Shack ,MIT, Siltech and Magnan cables and changed them in that order, with the same music and amplitude level, and they told me NO DIFFERENCE, then I would have to say they were flat out lying...these are not subtle changes. You dont need golden ears to hear these differences, you just have to be honest with yourself.
If they were to say, "We hear the changes, but will not support the obscene prices and therefor condemn the entire wire and cable scene as plain robbery", then that would be a more honest post.
In the end I think the driving force here is the thrill of conflict with you guys (and gals). This will continue to be a weekly battle with no results. I must admit it does draw alot of interest, but forget about the truth ,it won't happen........Frank

Albert - Since I don't know all the laws of science, it's more than a little presumptious of me to claim that an effect must be outside all known laws. So, sticking to the few laws I do know I checked the resistance and voltage drop of 18 vs. 12 gauge line cord. I know claims are made that there are other effects of some kind that are more important. Anyway, I thought you might find these numbers interesting as they help keep things in perspective.

Assuming that your DVD draws about 10 watts, a 6 ft 12 gauge cord will drop .0016 volts while the stock 18 gauge cord will drop .006 volts. Now, it is typical for your utility voltage to vary 10 volts during different times of the day. Also, good gear is design to handle two or three times that amount without any problems. So, the voltage stability provided by the larger line cord is somewhere around 1 to 2 thousand times smaller than the normal variations of the utility's voltage.

I picked my analogy of the pump nozzle effecting the performance of the car because it is similar. Electricity is pumped to your power supply where it is transformed, rectified and stored for (by electrical time standards) later use. Much like the gas from the service station pump doesn't flow into the engine, the electricity from the line cord doesn't flow into the digital/audio circuitry.

It is this tremendous isolation between what is happening at the line cord (330 peak to peak volts) and what is happening at the circuitry level (low nearly perfectly regulated dc voltages) that make it incomprhensible that the minute contributions of exotic lines are significant.