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the magic of power cords

We need a bit of magic in our lives. It might be the reason why audiophilia has such traction among people from all walks of life.

The neophyte's skepticism is likely proportional to the level of technical training - the more you think you know, the stronger the conviction that, for example, the power cable business is a sham: "electrons are electrons" and "if the house cabling is bad, why would the last 3 feet matter?". The stronger the conviction, the more humbling the experience of hearing the power cord magic in action.

A few years back a Sophia Electric amp came into my hands with what looked like a generic power cord. The few non-generic cords I tried (Audioquest AC15, Audio Magic XSteam, Shunyata Research Diamondback) made a significant difference for the worse. The thin, black, generic-looking original cable allowed for a clarity and definition of voice and instruments that got totally washed out with the aftermarket cables. A night-and-day difference. No doubt - the power cord made a huge difference - but not in the expected direction. The Audioquest AC15 was particularly bad.

For awhile, I kept trying them around on all incoming equipment (be it DACs, preamps or amps). The AC15 sounded so bad every time that after awhile I wasn't even trying it out.

Many years and few amps later - something seemed not quite right with the presentation of my KAV-300i: slightly dull upper bass. Power cord: Zu Birth. Finally (after multiple interconnects and few speaker cable swaps) I pull out the power cord stash (same as above). This time around the AC15 was the great surprise: it allowed for clarity and macro dynamics well above the others.

What do I learn? Nothing, really. When is shielding important? When is gauge? How about the conductor or the insulation? How come there isn't one "best" design?

The magic continues.
cbozdog
jea48
2,944 posts
 

04-04-14: Onhwy61
When I hear phrases such as "night and day difference" or "completely transformed my system" I start to tune out. Clearly cables can make a noticeable sonic difference, but if it reaches that magnitude, then something is wrong with the rest of your system, or the cable in question.

BTW, magic is applied technology that you don't understand.
Onhwy61

04-04-14: Brownsfan
Onhwy, The key to understanding my use of the term "transformed" is linked to the virtual absence of fatigue I experienced after replacing the PCs. I did not mean to say that it completely changed the overall sound. Perhaps I could have used a different word, but what I heard was far more than an incremental or marginal improvement.
You are of course welcome to tune out.
Brownsfan
Differences? subtle change? Transformed?
How much better will a $250K 2 channel audio system sound than a $50K system? Five times better? How about twice as good? Or maybe only 5% or 10% better?
mapman's avatar
mapman
15,679 posts
 
Two concrete reasons why some power cords might work better than others:

1) EM shielding, which can work both ways.
2) current delivery, which may be beneficial for high power amps in some cases, but probably not all.

Power conditioning often helps as well, but I do not view that as part of a power cords job. Other devices better suited for that if needed.

Night and Day is a strong yet ambiguous term. It really only means there appears to be a discernible difference as opposed to not. It will likely be small on the grand scale of things with power tweaks in most cases, but enough to be significant for those whose ears are very well tuned in, which tends to be the case with most "audiofiles". Beyond that, when a difference is heard, it can be hard to attribute to the known change versus perhaps some other unknown factor, like changes in our own physiology day to day and how that might affect what we hear.

I preach the approach to try tweaks if there is a good value proposition and some clear reason to expect it might work. But go easy, don't flush a lot of money down the drain. Look for value and good customer service/return policies if not satisfied.

"Magic" or even pseudo-science alone is not a good reason to try something.

cbozdog OP
63 posts
 
Hi Mapman, perhaps "free will" can be reason for trying? After all, a commonly accepted practice is the worship a supreme being not (yet) confirmed by science. Swapping power cords seems benign in comparison. For me, perhaps its magic compensates for my inability to adhere to more prevalent non-scientific practices and beliefs.
mapman's avatar
mapman
15,679 posts
 
"Hi Mapman, perhaps "free will" can be reason for trying?"

No doubt.

But in any task, there has to be priorities. This stuff is based on science and technology first so best to cover those bases as best possible first before getting into the greyer areas, where much more uncertainty exists.

Its more a matter of what is practical. Of course one has free will to go about however one chooses. How about throwing darts or eenie meenie miny moe (spelling?). But that's not to say that all will be equally effective. We know that will not be the case.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
04-04-14: Schubert
If there is one thing I'm sure about in audio its that that hunk of wire that sounded terrible on one piece of gear will sing on another.

Well said Schubert, it seems as if we have reached similar viewpoints. I have played with enough cables and cords to realize that it really is all about synergy, the *magic*. I have heard cables/cords that I previously thought were dreadful, sound amazing with certain gear. I have also heard my favorites sound terrible, worse than stock even, when placed on certain equipment. There is just no understanding or predicting the rhyme or reason in this equation. The only true test is in the listening.
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