Audio Power Cables / Cords - Do they really make a difference?

[jonnythan]

How much money did you spend replacing all the romex running from the circuit breaker to the outlet?

 

[signalshifter]

Does anyone carry 2' and 3' power cords? I'd love to shorten up on all those 6'ers for components in my rack.

Yes there are several outfits that have such power cables for you. See the next post so I can give you the link to one such outfit.

 

[signalshifter]

Here you go, I have lurked on this site for awhile as a refuge from the speaker cable, power cord, and interconnect battles on other forums,

Middle Atlantic IEC Shorter Length Power Cords

 

[TLS Guy]

I agree with everything stated except this: Nordost power cables make a difference. I am guessing it has to do with the lack of dielectric contact with the conductor. The best way to describe the effect is an eddy current or a spinning bullet versus a smooth bore slug. I hear more detail in the middle of the treble frequencies as well as a cleaness in the mid bass region. The attack and decay of percussion instruments is noticeably better than with any other power cable I have tried. So take it for what it's worth: less dielectric contact makes an audible difference. Is the difference worth the extra dough? That's your call.

As Elliot says in his Audio Myths. You are talking absolute Bollocks!

Your science is fantasy and it is absolutely impossible for those cables made by criminal fraudsters at Nordost to make a difference.

So know by all men who read this post, this poster has been swindled by snake oil salesmen.

 

[Craigslist Joe]

There are two kinds of people who talk poorly of Nordost cables: those who haven't tried them and those who can't afford them. Which camp shall I put you in? I guarantee you'd change your tune if you tried it.

 

[TLS Guy]

There are two kinds of people who talk poorly of Nordost cables: those who haven't tried them and those who can't afford them. Which camp shall I put you in? I guarantee you'd change your tune if you tried it.

Nonsense! I know my physics and it is absolutely impossible for an AC mains cable to affect sound quality, unless in the highly unlikely event it is undersized.

If it were undersized it would get warm, so you would be in no doubt.

The trouble is delusional posters like you post, and have no clue what components are in a units power supply and what they do. The difference between you and me, is that I know what is in a power supply and the function of each component intimately, whereas you don't have clue and are easy prey for snake oil salesmen.

As far as Nordost cables are concerned, a dealer installed Nordost speaker cables in a rig of a very close friend of mine. Well one failed after a few years and I had to redo some terminations. I rated the standard of construction cheap and poor. I would hang my head in shame if the cables I make up and terminate were of such poor quality.

So don't you bum Nordost's load round me.

If you think an AC power cord can change what comes out of your speakers, you have a delusional disorder.

And yes, I could afford Nordost cables, but I'm not a fool easily parted from my money.

 

[Craigslist Joe]

Have you personally tried them? I have and they work. Talk about theory all you want. The reality is that I tried the Vishnu cable in my system with immediate results. I heard the difference and so did my wife. Now, having said that, we also agree that the lower-end Blue Heaven cable had less effect. So, please go out and try a Vishnu power cable before responding. FYI - the cable I was using previously was a Pangea 14 ga. Power cord. The point here is to not knock it until you've tried it.

 

[TLS Guy]

Have you personally tried them? I have and they work. Talk about theory all you want. The reality is that I tried the Vishnu cable in my system with immediate results. I heard the difference and so did my wife. Now, having said that, we also agree that the lower-end Blue Heaven cable had less effect. So, please go out and try a Vishnu power cable before responding. FYI - the cable I was using previously was a Pangea 14 ga. Power cord. The point here is to not knock it until you've tried it.

Why would I waste my time?

As others have pointed out, there is hundreds of miles of cable between the power station and your outlet. So you seriously expect anyone to believe that changing one nth part of the AC supply line could make a difference? If you do then you really are gullible in the extreme.

The next thing is that your equipment makes no direct contact with the AC line. There is only a magnetic connection between to primary and secondary of the power transformer and not an electrical one.

From the secondary of the transformer the power supply generates anew a series of highly controlled and smoothed DC voltages for various circuits and boards in the unit.

So the feed to the boards and circuits has no relation and is independent of the AC feed. All that is required is that the AC voltage be within specified parameters and for reasons of reliability the distortion of the AC waveform should be within grid specs. Even if these conditions did not exists a cable would not change the situation one iota since it is a passive component.

I would heartily recommend that you stop touting your ignorance further.

We have zero tolerance for your sort of nonsense on these forums.

 

[jonnythan]

There are two kinds of people who talk poorly of Nordost cables: those who haven't tried them and those who can't afford them. Which camp shall I put you in? I guarantee you'd change your tune if you tried it.

You ignored my question about the 50 feet of plain cheap romex in the wall going to your outlet. I assume you replaced all of that with super expensive audiophile cable as well?

 

[Craigslist Joe]

Yeah, I get the arguments. I am in agreement that it SHOULDN'T work. But it does. It may be more current-carrying capacity or something you haven't looked at but it works where others don't. Period.

 

[Craigslist Joe]

You ignored my question about the 50 feet of plain cheap romex in the wall going to your outlet. I assume you replaced all of that with super expensive audiophile cable as well?

I use a voltage regulator so that's a moot point.

 

[josko]

Bu!!$hit alert!

 

[slipperybidness]

Yeah, I get the arguments. I am in agreement that it SHOULDN'T work. But it does. It may be more current-carrying capacity or something you haven't looked at but it works where others don't. Period.

Placebo effect.

Or your original cables were defective. You really can't dispute TLS comments b/c they are based on sound scientific evidence, vs subjective arguments. Have you tried a double-blind test on the cables and had the same results 9/10 times?

If you really wanted the cleanest power to your equipment, remove the transformer and power it off straight DC batteries

 

[jonnythan]

I use a voltage regulator so that's a moot point.

I'm not sure how you make that logical leap, but it raises a question....

Would your high-price power cables not make any difference if you didn't have a voltage regulator?

 

[TLS Guy]

I'm not sure how you make that logical leap, but it raises a question....

Would your high-price power cables not make any difference if you didn't have a voltage regulator?

That's a totally brilliant question to ask!

Of course the voltage regulator is designed to protect from voltage fluctuation and nothing else.

 

[avliner]

Some food for thought guys:

if the so called "high end" power cords really makes a difference in SQ (for the better, of course), then it's just about time to call all - I repeat - ALL Electrical & Electronic Engineers' round the globe and send' em back to school to "re-learn" how to do the basics; period!

In other words, they must "re-learn" how to properly develop a power cord that has miraculous properties, rather than developing a "poorly designed standard power cord" they insist, over & over, to put on basically all AV gadgets from Denon, Marantz, Yamaha, Pionner, HK, Arcam, JBL, SVS, Klipsh, Polk, Crown, HSU, Aperion, Energy, etc, etc, etc...

Furthermore, by specifying those standard-poorly-designed-power-cords, these engineers - for unknown reasons - are deliberately downgrading their own projects, because they're just refusing to use those magical power cords that improves a lot the overall SQ..., go figure!!

In case those magic cords really makes a difference, we better start calling those Engineers Wizards from now on, no?

 

[Rickster71]

The Nordost Odin Supreme Reference Power Cable.... (Yea, that's really the name)
At 5 meters, they cost $21,000
My question - After using these cables...How does a person determine if their system sounds $5,000 better or even $19,050?
Can you return them if the don't sound the full $21K better?

 

[jinjuku]

If I can order a Nordost cable with a 30 day, harassment free, money back refund I am game.

If I can spend $200 and by simply swapping out a cable and transform my listening experience for the better I would be fool not to.

 

[slipperybidness]

If I can order a Nordost cable with a 30 day, harassment free, money back refund I am game.

If I can spend $200 and by simply swapping out a cable and transform my listening experience for the better I would be fool not to.

That's 2 mighty large IFs

 

[jinjuku]

That's 2 mighty large IFs

I have no problem getting something, and have someone either hook up or make the change randomly and let me simply listen.

If they do what the manufacturer says they will do then I should be able to follow the difference. Notice I said difference. Preference is another ball game.

For all I know they are playing with the grounding on these cables and may be that on some systems it would make a difference. Now if it is a properly formed cable in NEC and IEC standards then I would look to Nordost to explain the transfer function of their power cords.