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

[avliner]

...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.

Good points indeed, but,

would you mind elaborating a bit more on the "they are playing with the grounding" stuff??

 

[jinjuku]

Good points indeed, but,

would you mind elaborating a bit more on the "they are playing with the grounding" stuff??

There is a bonding characteristics that they can play with. It's not black and white either connected to ground or not connected to ground.

What I am concerned with is that they aren't playing with the cable in such a way that runs afoul of NEC. I would hate to see one of these cause a housefire and insurance not cover you because of it.

 

[avliner]

Aren't they UL listed? Think not, as most of magical cable manufacturers

 

[haraldo]

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?

$21K for a power cable, I'm in the wrong business, I will start making cables

 

[jonnythan]

Today I used a $15,000 gas chromatograph, a $5,000 oscilloscope, and a $200,000 50-TB storage array.

Every single one of them was powered by a standard power cord.

Just saying.

 

[jonnythan]

Also... don't receivers have voltage regulation built in? Why add another voltage regulator? And if you only need high-dollar power cable after the voltage regulator, does the voltage regulation inside the receiver obviate any cabling outside?

And on top of that, have you looked inside the receiver/amp? What kind of thousand-dollar cabling does it have connected to the other side of that power socket? I'll bet dollars to donuts it's plain ol standard 14 or even 16 gauge hook-up wire. You ever look inside a McIntosh or Rotel amp? There's no magic dielectrics in there.

How does it make you feel to realize that you have a thousand-dollar power cable connected between 50-cents-a-foot romex and 20-cents-a-foot hook-up wire?

 

[slipperybidness]

Today I used a $15,000 gas chromatograph, a $5,000 oscilloscope, and a $200,000 50-TB storage array.

Every single one of them was powered by a standard power cord.

Just saying.

Nice. I used a $200K ICP-MS, $60K HPLC, $100K TXRF (total Xray fluorescence), and none of those had fancy schmancy cables either.

Working in analyzing trace contaminates down to single digit ppt levels. Taking my tiny signal and amplifying it out of the noise is much more difficult than amplifying audio signals.

 

[slipperybidness]

The more I've been thinking about power cables and electronics, I would have to suspect that if any piece of electronics, in the history of electronics, could possibly have benefited from upgraded power cords it would have been the CRT TVs.

Just the nature of CRT technology, firing electrons and steering them with a magnetic field. If anything COULD MAYBE have benefited from high end cables, it would have been CRT TVs.

I could be wrong, but I don't recall ever hearing about anybody swapping to thousand dollar power cables for CRTs. Case closed.

 

[Craigslist Joe]

My local Hi-Fi dealer loaned me a PC to try out, no strings attached. Everyone who has heard my audio systems with and without the Vishnu PC agrees there is an improvement.

So I talked to the electrical engineer that designs our battery chargers (I work as an analyst for the biggest stored-energy company in the world). I discussed the claims that I could hear a difference when I changed cables. His response was that there are a couple of contributing factors that could improve the sound of my systems. There is an experiment I will try over the weekend that should prove that the Vishnu insulates better than the Pangea cord I replaced. It's not the only factor but its the most measurable.

The real test, though, is listening. Try it if you can.

 

[Craigslist Joe]

Also... don't receivers have voltage regulation built in? Why add another voltage regulator? And if you only need high-dollar power cable after the voltage regulator, does the voltage regulation inside the receiver obviate any cabling outside?

And on top of that, have you looked inside the receiver/amp? What kind of thousand-dollar cabling does it have connected to the other side of that power socket? I'll bet dollars to donuts it's plain ol standard 14 or even 16 gauge hook-up wire. You ever look inside a McIntosh or Rotel amp? There's no magic dielectrics in there.

How does it make you feel to realize that you have a thousand-dollar power cable connected between 50-cents-a-foot romex and 20-cents-a-foot hook-up wire?

Have you ever used a voltage regulator?

 

[Craigslist Joe]

Also... don't receivers have voltage regulation built in? Why add another voltage regulator? And if you only need high-dollar power cable after the voltage regulator, does the voltage regulation inside the receiver obviate any cabling outside?

And on top of that, have you looked inside the receiver/amp? What kind of thousand-dollar cabling does it have connected to the other side of that power socket? I'll bet dollars to donuts it's plain ol standard 14 or even 16 gauge hook-up wire. You ever look inside a McIntosh or Rotel amp? There's no magic dielectrics in there.

How does it make you feel to realize that you have a thousand-dollar power cable connected between 50-cents-a-foot romex and 20-cents-a-foot hook-up wire?

By that logic, analogue interconnects and speaker cables would make almost no difference. I think we would all agree they do make a difference.

If you understand how a series circuit works, lowering the resistance of any part of the circuit increases the current flow for a given voltage. Also, receivers generally have a transformer, not a regulator in them. I see how you could be confused. A transformer is often used in a voltage regulator.

 

[jonnythan]

Have you ever used a voltage regulator?

I'm not sure you really know what a "voltage regulator" is. A voltage regulator is a $1.50 electronic component you can pick up at Radio Shack. Pretty much anything with a circuit board uses them. Your amplifier and computer are probably packed with them. Here's a row of them.

 

[gene]

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.

Craig;

there is no valid theoretical reason why the Nordost power cables should make any difference in your system but if you feel like it does and your happy with your purchase nobody can fault you for it. Enjoy, their stuff is pretty and if you've got the coin to spare for it, that's your choice.

Personally I like exotic cables for dressing up my system but I don't hear any magic unfortunately.

 

[jinjuku]

Have you ever used a voltage regulator?

Amps, generally speaking, have more than enough filtration/regulation built in. If you have problematic power and you have a full sine wave regulator/regenerator that wont sag under heavy load then you should use one.

If the transformer that feeds my house and five of my neighbors keeps acting up I'll be in that boat with you. Getting fluctuations all the time now and all LG&E can do is send a tech that wanted to talk about what is wrong with my house wiring. I took him to the neighbors on either side of me and let him see for himself. At least it has been escalated.

For the cost of what one of those cables run I would tell people that are getting into this to simply get a sub-panel installed. At least the entire rack would benefit by moving the ground.

 

[jinjuku]

By that logic, analogue interconnects and speaker cables would make almost no difference. I think we would all agree they do make a difference.

If you understand how a series circuit works, lowering the resistance of any part of the circuit increases the current flow for a given voltage. Also, receivers generally have a transformer, not a regulator in them. I see how you could be confused. A transformer is often used in a voltage regulator.

I wouldn't agree with that. Most receivers are going to have voltage regulation and filtration built in.

 

[Craigslist Joe]

I'm not sure you really know what a "voltage regulator" is. A voltage regulator is a $1.50 electronic component you can pick up at Radio Shack. Pretty much anything with a circuit board uses them. Your amplifier and computer are probably packed with them. Here's a row of them.

I was simplifying. I'm referring to a voltage regulating power conditioner which is not found in 99% of receivers. Given the banter so far, I figured that if I mentioned a power conditioner you might fire back with a "power shampoo" joke. I was sparing the pun!

 

[Craigslist Joe]

I wouldn't agree with that. Most receivers are going to have voltage regulation and filtration built in.

They don't filter the incoming AC voltage 99% of the time. Nor do they regulate voltage on the AC side.

 

[Craigslist Joe]

Can someone chime in here that has actually owned Nordost power cables...or any Nordost cables?

 

[jinjuku]

Music Direct has the Nordost Vishnu PC for $339. I don't know if this falls under their 30 day MBG however since the fine print talks about closeouts being final.

If I can I'll pair this with a Crown XLS 2000 DriveCore and let you know. Round up a few people and setup a SBT.

I wonder if this cable makes a difference on a 90% efficient amp.

 

[slipperybidness]

My local Hi-Fi dealer loaned me a PC to try out, no strings attached. Everyone who has heard my audio systems with and without the Vishnu PC agrees there is an improvement.

So I talked to the electrical engineer that designs our battery chargers (I work as an analyst for the biggest stored-energy company in the world). I discussed the claims that I could hear a difference when I changed cables. His response was that there are a couple of contributing factors that could improve the sound of my systems. There is an experiment I will try over the weekend that should prove that the Vishnu insulates better than the Pangea cord I replaced. It's not the only factor but its the most measurable.

The real test, though, is listening. Try it if you can.

Were these blind tests? Just sayin....