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

[everettT]

Have they made audiophile grade romex yet?

 

[Out-Of-Phase]

No, because it is marketed to audiophiles....just not very knowledgeable ones.

I was being sarcastic.

 

[lovinthehd]

I was being sarcastic.

I figured as much

 

[lovinthehd]

Have they made audiophile grade romex yet?

What and bury it in a wall after they prettied it up?

 

[panteragstk]

So where are these effects that are "so demonstrable, so obvious"?

Uh, of course they're obvious to people that have the ears to hear it. If you can't tell the difference, then you obviously don't have a critical enough ear.

 

[Speedskater]

Have they made audiophile grade romex yet?

Yes! It's real Southwire brand Romex®. Everything else is just NM-B (Non-Metallic) cable.
Bill Whitlock of Jensen Transformer wrote an Audio Engineering Society Paper about it.
Conveniently it's the brand that Home Depot and Lowe's sell.

 

[keith_h]

A good article. I might contribute something to the conversation. For no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity, I bought a pair of cheap "audiophile" power cables. These were connected to a NAD M10 with PSB Imagine Mini speakers and PSB Subseries 200.

My expectation was there would be no difference. Consider the following points:
1. According to Purifi, the power supply is of no consequence for class D. M10 has nCore modules but lets assume the same conditions apply.
2. If there is any mains power conditioning, it only needs to occur at the last drop.
3. I already have a Furman power conditioner, although it was intended only for surge protection, not any audible improvement. I never checked anyway when it was installed long ago and don't really care.

Power is supplied from behind the Furman power conditioner, not direct from the wall. So in theory there should have been no difference right? I certainly was not expecting any. I am a self proclaimed cable skeptic after all.

And yet, yes there was clearly an audible difference. I would describe the sound as crisper, fuller, greater clarity. I had to turn the sub level down a frag after plugging in the new power cable. The sub absolutely pumps now.

Am I imagining stuff. Maybe. Did my wife imagine it? No, she was unaware I had made a change and commented that it sounded better had I changed something. We listen to it every day together so make of that what you will.

Can I explain it? I cannot, its a mystery.

All I can report is what happened. Using the cheapest cables I could buy (it was an experiment), it unexpectedly made a difference so noticeable that someone who listens to the system every day and was unaware of the change noticed and commented. There goes the placebo theory.

Would I buy the uber expensive ones. No. But for under 100 pacific pesos, and on the back of an experiment too, bargain for the result I got.

 

[lovinthehd]

A good article. I might contribute something to the conversation. For no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity, I bought a pair of cheap "audiophile" power cables. These were connected to a NAD M10 with PSB Imagine Mini speakers and PSB Subseries 200.

My expectation was there would be no difference. Consider the following points:
1. According to Purifi, the power supply is of no consequence for class D. M10 has nCore modules but lets assume the same conditions apply.
2. If there is any mains power conditioning, it only needs to occur at the last drop.
3. I already have a Furman power conditioner, although it was intended only for surge protection, not any audible improvement. I never checked anyway when it was installed long ago and don't really care.

Power is supplied from behind the Furman power conditioner, not direct from the wall. So in theory there should have been no difference right? I certainly was not expecting any. I am a self proclaimed cable skeptic after all.

And yet, yes there was clearly an audible difference. I would describe the sound as crisper, fuller, greater clarity. I had to turn the sub level down a frag after plugging in the new power cable. The sub absolutely pumps now.

Am I imagining stuff. Maybe. Did my wife imagine it? No, she was unaware I had made a change and commented that it sounded better had I changed something. We listen to it every day together so make of that what you will.

Can I explain it? I cannot, its a mystery.

All I can report is what happened. Using the cheapest cables I could buy (it was an experiment), it unexpectedly made a difference so noticeable that someone who listens to the system every day and was unaware of the change noticed and commented. There goes the placebo theory.

Would I buy the uber expensive ones. No. But for under 100 pacific pesos, and on the back of an experiment too, bargain for the result I got.

Nice anecdote but not particularly meaningful. But if the wife concurs, that's scientific gold, eh? Clearly an audible difference was determined how without your expectation bias getting in the way?

 

[Pogre]

A good article. I might contribute something to the conversation. For no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity, I bought a pair of cheap "audiophile" power cables. These were connected to a NAD M10 with PSB Imagine Mini speakers and PSB Subseries 200.

My expectation was there would be no difference. Consider the following points:
1. According to Purifi, the power supply is of no consequence for class D. M10 has nCore modules but lets assume the same conditions apply.
2. If there is any mains power conditioning, it only needs to occur at the last drop.
3. I already have a Furman power conditioner, although it was intended only for surge protection, not any audible improvement. I never checked anyway when it was installed long ago and don't really care.

Power is supplied from behind the Furman power conditioner, not direct from the wall. So in theory there should have been no difference right? I certainly was not expecting any. I am a self proclaimed cable skeptic after all.

And yet, yes there was clearly an audible difference. I would describe the sound as crisper, fuller, greater clarity. I had to turn the sub level down a frag after plugging in the new power cable. The sub absolutely pumps now.

Am I imagining stuff. Maybe. Did my wife imagine it? No, she was unaware I had made a change and commented that it sounded better had I changed something. We listen to it every day together so make of that what you will.

Can I explain it? I cannot, its a mystery.

All I can report is what happened. Using the cheapest cables I could buy (it was an experiment), it unexpectedly made a difference so noticeable that someone who listens to the system every day and was unaware of the change noticed and commented. There goes the placebo theory.

Would I buy the uber expensive ones. No. But for under 100 pacific pesos, and on the back of an experiment too, bargain for the result I got.

Funny how the folks at Cern, who use extremely sensitive equipment for measuring protons use just regular ol' power cables...

Fancy speaker cables are bad enough, but we got folks gushing over power cables too...

 

[panteragstk]

Neat. The advertising bots are here.

 

[NINaudio]

Funny how the folks at Cern, who use extremely sensitive equipment for measuring protons use just regular ol' power cables...

Fancy speaker cables are bad enough, but we got folks gushing over power cables too...

I don't know about "regular" power cables. Some of them are as thick as my leg...

 

[Pogre]

I don't know about "regular" power cables. Some of them are as thick as my leg...

Ha! I was thinking of you when I typed that up!

They might be as thick as your leg, but are they cryo treated with directional arrows and cable lifters on them?

 

[Trell]

I don't know about "regular" power cables. Some of them are as thick as my leg...

Man, you got some thin legs

 

[NINaudio]

Ha! I was thinking of you when I typed that up!

They might be as thick as your leg, but are they cryo treated with directional arrows and cable lifters on them?

No, but most of our power bus is hollow, water cooled, and attached to the wall in some fashion or other.

 

[Verdinut]

Ha! I was thinking of you when I typed that up!

They might be as thick as your leg, but are they cryo treated with directional arrows and cable lifters on them?

What about the batteries?

 

[Mikado463]

Power is supplied from behind the Furman power conditioner, not direct from the wall.

does that mean you're using a regenerative device of some kind ? or just that you plugged your Frurman into a wall outlet and components plugged into it ?

Regardless, in the end you and Momma are happy and that's all that matters !!

 

[mtrycrafts]

Funny how the folks at Cern, who use extremely sensitive equipment for measuring protons use just regular ol' power cables...

.....

Send them an email immediately. No wonder they have such difficulty with their research. Where have they been?

 

[mtrycrafts]

I don't know about "regular" power cables. Some of them are as thick as my leg...

Did you measure it or just comparing it from a picture.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Ha! I was thinking of you when I typed that up!

They might be as thick as your leg, but are they cryo treated with directional arrows and cable lifters on them?

Just what they need, wire resistance. Of course it is in cryo condition as treatment fades quickly.

 

[mtrycrafts]

No, but most of our power bus is hollow, water cooled, and attached to the wall in some fashion or other.

Does the water ever boil away? Don't forget antifreeze will raise the boiling temp enough so it won't.