Assuming this is all true, so now my question is why do some of these cords/cables cost so much? Materials are not "that" expensive (copper wire for a six foot cable, silver wire, shielding, etc.)
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.
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.
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@bigkidz Every audiophile who has experimented with better power cables has heard the performance advantage they offer. Not true at all. Outside of certain audiophile site bubbles, plenty of audiophiles, audio enthusiasts etc don't hear any difference between power cables. Then there are those of us who have "heard" obvious differences, but through more careful testing, realized it was our imagination.Of course, we are the fallible ones; the infallible don't even have to test themselves ;-)
The problem is that the technical claims tend to be marketed to audiophiles who typically don't have the technical know-how to vet the claims. They get that cool sounding technical story and think "wow, that sounds convincing, sure looks like they know what they are talking about!" Then of course they "hear" the effects. I certainly include myself among those not technically competent to vet the claims of these high end cable sellers. But that's why I try to look at the opinions of those who know more than I. Instead of just being impressed by the marketing spiel of a cable company, I've done my best to look at other opinions. In a nutshell, I've seen the technical claims made by Shunyata shredded to pieces numerous times by people with actual knowledge in the field of electronics. (And who aren't trying to sell cables - who can look at the claims and say "they are pulling the wool over the eyes of anyone who doesn't know better). It seems many audiophiles mostly look to have their biases and subjective experience confirmed, so if the spiel sounds compelling, and they believe they heard a difference....case closed. And the Cable Sellers sell cables for thousands of dollars and live happily ever after ;-) |
bigkidz1,711 posts12-24-2018 8:03pmYou can always save a few bucks and build your own. You can buy the cable by the foot. Buy the connectors for the ends of your choice. Just scroll down the page to AC power cable. https://www.vhaudio.com/wire.html Home page. https://www.vhaudio.com/ There are other sites you can buy from as well. . |
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