Power cords

Well I don't know much about fancy violins but I have a few old Gibson and Martin Geetars and it's pretty clear that nobody is able to duplicate those for several reasons. One is that the wood is no longer available for the most part and the wood ages with time. Second, every fine instrument has its own voice. Most folks would consider "replicating" such an instrument as simply out of the question. A new copy of a two hundred and fifty year old wooden instrument can never be a "perfect copy." With all due respect Sugarbrie (and I do respect your knowledge of classical music greatly), that's silly.

I will leave the cable cabal to ya all.

Sincerely, I remain

I don't think it's in the 'hearing' per se but rather in 'listening skills' which are acquired via years of experience. I say that because I know my hearing has degraded with age (there's those scientific measurements again) yet I now know how to listen for sonic charactaristics that I did not very well understand many years ago.
& another thing: I concur with Sugerbrie that you can have two of the same model cables yet they don't sound the same. I sure can't begin to explain that!
Pbb if you want to try this out risk free just call Cable Company www.fatwyre.com & get a loaner cord for a couple weeks. The % rental fee is credited to your account & can be applied to any purchase from them, not just their cables. It'll only cost a few bucks for the shipping.

About Strads: every Strad has aged for a couple of hundred years and was played extensively in its lifetime. Is any new copy going to sound the same, even if made identically?

About power cords: audio electronics as a whole, including power cords, are made by ee's according to the same design principles used in all other areas of engineering. Because of the sensitivity of human hearing and the extension of the dynamic range envelope in high end design, many low level noise variables become evident that are off the screen in other applications. Audio design budgets are not big enough to do the kind of R&D, together with mathematical modeling and testing, that is routinely done for similar high resolution problems in areas like aerospace or medicine.

It's important to try to reduce issues like power and vibration control to a reasonably well understood set of principles because without it, you are simply doomed to tweak forever, chronically repeating the same mistakes from person to person. Individual choice and taste will not disappear during the gaining of understanding.

.........IMO, it may be a "matter of belief", but the belief is based on: 1. having an open mind 2. trusting one's senses 3. learning critical listening skills 4. having equipment capable of showing differences between/among wires, components, tweaks, etc., and 5. maybe other factors. Afterall, isn't listening to music what this hobby is all about? Cheers. Craig.

I think we can all agree, at least those of us who believe that pcs can make a difference, it is very component dependant. I have had some some success using inexpensive aftermarket cords on my preamp's power supply and my cdp but in a variety of cords costing $300 or less and yes I know there are many out there that cost big bucks which may "work" I have yet to "hear" any difference on my Bryston 4B-ST amp. That being said, I say try one or a few to see what if any differences there might be. If there are no differences then you'll have more money for software which I firmly believe will bring you more enjoyment than the "angst" of deciding on what side of the fence to fall on this ongoing cable debate...