Power Cord "upgrade" question

I do not mean to be "disprespectful", but I am confused about the desire to replace power cords on audio equipment.

I know, if the thing comes with a "lamp cord" (like old '70s stuff), I can understand it. But it is unclear in my mind why someone would replace a decent power cord with one that costs a lot.

I mean, we a talking the power from the outlet to the amp/receiver, right? Well, since the house is wired with plain old ordinary 110 flat wiring, how would a fancy high tech cord improve the power flow and performance of the amp/receiver when it's coming from the panel on this cheap stuff? Would not a piece of this house wiring do the trick (in a sense)?

I don't see how these cords can make a difference. Please explain.

THANKS

:-jon

 

It's pretty much like sex. There isn't much point in explaining, you need to try it for yourself.
Once you have experienced either one, the need for words fades away, the actual experience speaks for itself.

However, one can be quite content by keeping things at a verbal level. It depends on the person, I guess.

Goran

 

I don't use his cables or power cords, but I have a lot of respect for Caelin Gabriel (Shunyata) and the explanations offered in this article may provide some insight.

6moons interview with Caelin Gabriel

and one more ...

 

Hmmm. Interesting. Thanks for the link. I was not intending to disparage anyone or any cable. I was just curious, as from time to time, I run into people or audio guys who speak highly of replacing power chords and such.

There was one high end audio store here in CT that sold this little digital clock because when it was plugged into the outlet that the audio equipment was also plugged into, it would "help" the sound of the receiver.

These things always bewilder me.

 

Ah yes, the "Tice Clock ". Another of the classic Audiophilia Nervosa legends.

 

ok that's audio and power understood.....now to the sex part.....?

 

Yeah, the Tice Clock was a good one.

But honestly, power cords are not like that.

When I came over to the US 6 years ago on a somewhat temporary assignment, I satisfied my hifi jones' with a few bits and pieces for portable sound (Sennheiser 600, Headroom Supreme, portable CD player). The "big rig" was in storage in Australia - and it still is!

Then I came back for a longer term, started reading the magazines again, and just had to get a little hifi system for the apartment. I picked up a mid-fi system (Arcam Alpha 9, Arcam Alpha 10 integrated, Paradigm MiniMonitors) and started playing around with making interconnects and speaker cables, getting a pair of Sound Anchor stands and generally fooling about with vibration control and so on. Small, but steady improvements.

It seemed to happen one day - but I suddenly became entranced by what I started finding on the Internet regarding power cables and stories on AA from audiophiles. It was early days in some respects, but the stuff I was reading did not make any sense. How could a power cable make any difference? I knew about speaker cables and interconnects and had played in that space for 20 years - but power cords?

I had never heard of these in Australia - and possibly the 240v makes a difference there - but it was more a timing thing.

Power cords had started to migrate from an underground thing into a more commercial arena and were ruffling the naysayers feathers - mine included!

I had had this little system for a year or so, and it was making pretty nice sounds for what it was. One day I went to the store where I bought the Arcam stuff from, and they offered to lend me a Cardas Golden for a few days, just to try it out. I took it home, connected it to the CD player ... and picked my face off the floor.

This just wasn't right - it should not work like this. How can it change the sound so much (for the better)? I ended up not getting that cord, for although it was great on the CD player, it made little difference on the Arcam integrated. I ran into Bob Crump about that time and bough one of his TG Audio HSR-II cords - it made a phenomenal difference on the integrated amp.

Well, that was about four years ago; and I think the power cord thing is one of the great steps forward. I'm not saying it's completely understood; but no manufacturer/distributor at CES is going to show their system off without considering the connection to the mains.

You have to just try it for yourself.

 

But doesn't the house wiring screw things up? What if you ran a length of house wiring from the panel in the basement directly to the receiver, thus nullifying the need for a power cord? Would this improve anything?

I know it has to be true, as people I trust are telling me so, but I don't understand why?

 

I'm new to the PC thing, but

Scott, from TekLine sent me three of PC's to try out. Scott sent me the Eclipse and two other "more expensive" cords.
It's to early to write a formal review, but let me tell you that substituting his base line cable (Eclipse) for the stock cable that came with my Wadia 301 made a very noticable difference. Immediately, the music had more presence, depth and seperation. My good friend came over for the audition and with his eyes closed he could tell between the stock and Tekline. We played a wide range of music from Tull to Return to Forever and the differences were consistent. Now, Scott informed me that PC's initially sound as good as they're going to get, then seem to break down, and in time come back again to normal. I've been playing music continuously for about 36 hours, so we'll see if the Eclipse degrades some. So far it hasn't. I installed the other two cords on mine and my son's computers to cook. Since we leave to computers on 24/7 they will both have about 100 hours on them before moving them to my music system. I'll keep you all posted.

 

My experience with power cords is that they definitely improve the imagining make everything more musical BUT they all reduce the dynamics seriously. The make it all sound too "beautiful".

 

I agree

I use high end power cords from NBS (Statement) and XLO (Reference) for my amp and CD player.

 

I can´t explain the technolgical background but I can hear it.
Try it out yourself and listen. If you don´t hear it, you don´t need it.

 

I had this experience not with power cords but rather with the excessive use of ferrites. I know that there are some cables which are shielded with ferrite paste maybe you tried these.

 

Two main problems with most "high-end" power cords.

1) Shielding.
2) Ground wire incorporated into the geometry.


Try some unshielded power cords and then report back if the dynamics are reduced.

 

You need to try some more. There are most certainly cables that do quite the opposite and allow the dynamic range on the recording to be correctly realized.

 

For that matter, when is someone going to develop an audiophile-grade Romex (household wiring)? I have a couple hundred feet of heavier gauge Romex here (10/2 in fact) that I'm planning to rewire the garage with, so I can run the compressor...I'd probably use that if I were to wire up my own listening room as well.

 

I'd rather us power regenerating equipment such as that from PS Audio than going into the mess of rewiring my home or setting up a new circuit. After all, you still get whatever crappy power they send you unless, that is, you regenerate it: http://www.psaudio.com/products/p300.asp

and/or: http://www.psaudio.com/products/powerdirector.asp

I've heard a good equipment connected to these and the difference in sound quality before and after was quite notable: you suddenly heard more of the soundstage, better imaging and more velvety high frequencies. That was the time I have heard redbook CDs sound the closest to HiRez and we are talking of hearing them on an Wadia before and after connecting the PS Audio equipment. This hardware made the difference.

 

No loss of dynamics here

This is something we didn't experience during our audition. Maybe you should just stay away from "those" cables.

 

"Can we hear the difference between A/C power cords?"

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_4/feature-article-blind-test-power-cords-12-2004.html

WVK

 

How are these a problem. EMI and RFI shielding is a good thing, for instance.

 

Good point.

 

EMI and RFI...

Maybe folks confuse EMI and RFI interference with "revealing" or for that matter "ruthlessly revealing". When the EMI and RFI goes away their systems seem dull. They're getting all the detail minus the grit. As it should be.

 

Shielding can be a problem - if it is badly implemented. Another poster said that ferrite elements in shielding can reduce dynamics. I am prone to believe that.

My experience with PS Audio power cords (two different models) points to poor performance when it comes to dynamics. I would not be surprised if this is related to ferrite particles they proudly claim to be using in shielding their PC's.

If one uses a power cord like that on a power conditioner, I can see how this can ultimately result in reduced dynamics - even if other users claim that they do not experience reduced dynamics with the very same type of power conditioner.

This is a very slippery area. Trying a poorly made or brand new power cord (that has not been burnt in) may lead to believing that PC's do not make a difference.

Unfortunately, not many people get to try a Shunyata, Elrod or Harmonix power cord as their first venture in this area. And if you watched Halloween XXVII and thought it was no good, that does not necessarily mean that the original Halloween (directed by John Carpenter) is bad, too.

Goran

 

The problem with wiring in the house is that 14 gauge is sufficient for household items (lamps, clocks, radios, etc.) but for higher-amperage applications, 14 gauge doesn't work so well. (I can't even run either of my two compressors in the garage--the 14 gauge can't even handle a single electric motor running on it.) There is less of a voltage drop using a 12 or 10 gauge wire, especially when other items are on the same circuit. IMHO keeping the voltage more stable until it gets to the audio equipment is best in the long run, so the components beyond the wall wiring have an easier job regulating (or even "regenerating") it.

Just simple eletronics "basics" here, no voodoo.

 

The Shunyata site has a great introductory price of $99 on a cord so perhaps more should try this brand sooner...