Why Expensive power Cables when Romex behind Wall?

Nikkidanjo wrote:

I'm not talking about mechanical resonance, I'm talking about EMI from equipment feeding back into the system through the power cord. This sort of phenomena would happen if you placed unshielded interconnects right next to your speaker wire. The output signal would then be fed back into the amp in some form.

I got what you are talking about. This is a common misconception. It can happen from power cords or speaker cables to unshielded IC's. However, power cords are part of a very low impedance circuit, which as a result of being low-impedance,is not susceptable to pick-up of RFI or stray magnetic fields. This is also the case with speaker cables. Even if they did pick-up some high-frequency noise, this would be immediately filtered by the AC transformer in the component. Power cords radiate fields, but do not pick-up much because they are low-impedance. The ferrites that are on computers, for instance are there to prevent RFI that is generated inside the box from using the ground of the power cord as an antenna. This way they pass FCC regulations. The ferrite is not there to prevent noise from entering the computer chassis. Some AC filters for PC's are useful for "surge" protection and lightning strike protection, which can damage a PC power supply. I know about this because I have been a EE for 26 years and have worked in PC design, including for Intel for 16 years.

On the other hand, if there are ground-loops created by several power cords being plugged into one or more circuits, this is an entirely different story. This ground loop makes a very nice antenna for RF or AC pick-up. Shielding these cords will have no effect whatsoever on the ground-loop unless it lowers the ground-wire resistance a bit. The only real fix is to break the ground-loop or go to balanced interconnects.

Audioengr said:

This is certainly possible. Sounds like you have a combination of magnetic field coupling and mechanical coupling from the sub. Subs put out a lot of energy that can certainly resonate the shutters and probably some component chassis. Power cords make a difference for reasons other than mechanical resonance or magnetic coupling. However, if the subs are on the same circuit as your other components, they may be causing droops in the AC line that the other components are reacting to. Sounds like a complicated problem at best. There is no way it can be diagnosed over the internet.

My comments were not a cry for help, my system is pretty much full out. Please see the thread:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vaslt&1022712214&view

I have a dedicated line for every component, including all six boxes that make up my preamp. My comments were meant to bring to light the fact that mechanical, electrical and magnetic interference all produce changes in a high end system.

The sub woofer affects the Soundlabs when there is NO signal going to it and it is sitting idle, two feet from each Soundlab. The fact that the internal amp is on creates enough problems to hear during two channel playback.

Hope that explains my point more clearly. For what it is worth, each position in my system has been tested with a dozen or more better known products.

I liked several of these, but ultimately the Purist Dominus was first choice for two channel and Proteus and Venustus for the HT system.

Albertporter wrote:

My comments were meant to bring to light the fact that mechanical, electrical and magnetic interference all produce changes in a high end system.

I certainly agree with this. Particular systems can have effects from all of these. What I do not agree with is that mechanical resonances are one of the most important factors in a typical system.

What might be happening with your powered subwoofer is that it might be using a class-D amplifier or a switching power supply. These can create large switching noise on the power line and create fields that can get picked-up as well. If this is the case, I would recommend using a ferrite on the power cord to each subwoofer. Have you tried this? Unless the other cables are draped on top of the subs, It is hard to believe that they are picking-up noise this way.

My sub woofers can present a problem for the main system in that they affect resolution and distortion levels of my Soundlab U-1.

That being said, this is a two channel issue and since the subs are a deterrent to stereo sound quality, they are not supplied with signal.

However, power even being AVAILABLE to the subs in an inoperative mode damages the reproduction quality of the Soundlabs.

I have my own opinions as to the cause, but since the HT system is used three hours a week, and this is not a problem with Dolby 5.1, the solution is to save electricity and unplug the offending product.

I do the same thing with my DSS receiver, DVD player, and Dolby 5.1 processor. Disconnecting them from the wall mains is a small but audible improvement for two channel analog reproduction.

As for details of my system's wire and cable dressing, a visit by way of my provided link makes it apparent that it is not an issue in this discussion.

As for mechanical resonances, if a system is pushed to a high enough level, solving miniscule problems can be a significant improvement.

I think this dead horse has been beaten enough.

I am confident my Purist interconnect and power cables are not an issue, and wish you success in marketing your products.

Do power cables make a sizeable difference? I'm no technical expert, but I'd like to share my experience.
Until a month ago, despite having a high end system (comprising Capitole MKII, KR8000 monos etc.) I was a total disbeliever in power cords. All power cords in my system were stock cords. Soundwise, I was satisfied.
For quite a while I had been wanting to try quality power cords, but there are no dealers in my country, Mauritius, which is close to South Africa is very far away from the US and Europe and dealers whom I contacted for a trial often limited the money back policy to one month. Since postage & customs formalities would take about two weeks for the products to reach me, there would hardly be any time left to audition and return the cables within the specified limit. The risk was too much.
A few weeks ago, I decided to make my own power cords with some Audio Note AN-D speaker cables (retails for about $10/metre). I made 3 cords; those on the power amps were grounded while the one on the CD player was not.
Result: well, after two days, I could not believe my ears. A huge amelioration in musicality, smoothness, detail and soundstage. Almost creamy and gently massaging my ears.
To be honest, my experience tells me that the addition of power cords had a better impact in my system than my Audio Aero Capitole MKII replacing my Micromega Stage 6.
I don't know whether that would apply to every system, but my advice is, one audition is better than 100 debates, as already mentioned ealier in this thread.
Since I am curious to know how far the performance of my system can extend, I am still willing to try megabucks power cords but can't find any dealer willing to send me 3 so-called high end PCs for a 2 months trial period, everything paid in advance, but fully refundable. I am even willing to pay a fee of $100 for the trial if I don't end up buying any of the three cords sent to me. Anybody (including fellow audiogoners) willing to help? thnks.
Dr Jawa Lallchand
Mauritius