AudiogoN Forums: Power Cords Snake Oil ??

Power Cords Snake Oil ??

Having been a long time audiophile living with countless high end compnents I have to wonder about the theory and practicality of high end power cords.

I have yet to hear the difference a power cord makes. Ive owned, synergistic, Shunyata, BMI and cardas. I in no way can detect any sonic signature or change. Give me a pair of interconnects and I imeadiately notice a difference somewhere in the sonic spectrum. Not the PC though. I have accomplished 4 blind tests with my friends. 3 out of the 4 they did not know their cord was replaced. All 4 were using a stock factory supplied cord. Each of the 4 tests were done on different components. Amp, CDP, Preamp & dac.

My electrical backround tells me that provided you supply the component with its required voltage bet 110vac or 220/240vac its happy. Now, change the incoming frequency from 60hz to say 53hz and watch how quickly your soundstage collapses.! This is often the case during the summer months when home air conditioners are in use and the utility company power output is taxed to the max. A really good power conditioner should however take care of the frequency fluctuations. But 110vac is still 110vac regardless of the conductor it passes through as long as its remains 110vac when it reaches the intended circuit. Does your 8k amp or preamp know the difference of the path the voltage took to reach it ? Many an audiophile will use a dedicated 20amp circut for their equipment.That is a good idea as voltage & frequency fluctuations will occur in the home circuit to to other loads on the main breaker panel but again, A power cord simply is the means of transporting the voltage from the wall to the component. IF there is a clean 110vac @ 60hz at the wall socket, no matter what the medium is to go from the socket to the component, it will still be 110vac @60hz.

Could somebody expand on this a bit more. I just dont understand it. ??

Jetmek (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

12-12-03

Responses (1-50 of 227)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

12-12-03 Somewhere in the archives you'll find a post that i made whe ... Sean

12-12-03 I hear the differences in pcs but nothing huge, just slight ... Bigkidz

12-12-03 This is something im skeptical on, i have no experience with ... Slappy

12-12-03 Slappy, you're right on track. who knows what garbage is bei ... Jetmek

12-12-03 Honestly i think some of them are worth it alone for the pre ... Slappy

12-13-03 Sean, i'd love to see the charts you're talking about. there ... Jdombrow

12-13-03 Slappy, your comment about the last 3-6 feet is exactly what ... Drubin

12-13-03 There are different ways to use your "snake oil." ... Viggen

12-13-03 I hear differences between pc's on most of my components, so ... Zaikesman

12-13-03 Wow! i read another thread on power cords, looks like they ... Slappy

12-13-03 The power cables you are disscussing are basically the same; ... Corona

12-13-03 The power cables you are discussing are basically the same; ... Corona

12-13-03 My 1st experience w/pc's was when a friend brought over a mi ... Ezragreen

12-13-03 I was pretty much a power cord agnostic until i had the oppo ... Dopogue

12-13-03 Just as an aside, if you are still in posession of any of th ... Jependleton

12-13-03 This is one of the more ridiculous ideas in audio, but, to h ... Eldartford

12-13-03 The only thing that matters is what you hear. if you try on ... Danlib1

12-13-03 Sync to grid that is, eldart! Psychicanimal

12-13-03 If you don't think they matter, than don't buy one. my dad ... Sugarbrie

12-13-03 I can share my experience, but i can't verify anything with ... Nrchy

12-13-03 Eldartford: you are correct the power cord does not change t ... Corona

12-13-03 I am of the "for those that can hear, buy.. for those ... Elizabeth

12-13-03 Sugarbrie, whats the point of your comment. im simply asking ... Jetmek

12-13-03 i'll qualify my post, as i am a former consumer, reviewer a ... Samuel

12-13-03 Elizabeth, you're missing the point as well. while i say i c ... Jetmek

12-13-03 Nrchy, i (and i'm sure many others) had an experience simila ... Zaikesman

12-13-03 The effect of a power cord depends entirely on the power sup ... Audioengr

12-13-03 Audioengr, have you done a control experiment where you take ... Flex

12-13-03 Samuel (grant), thanks for one of the most well-written post ... Calanctus

12-13-03 What amazes me is how heated these power cord discussions ar ... Slappy

12-13-03 For what it's worth, my experience is that, yes, an upgraded ... Brimac

12-13-03 Audioengr: glad to see that we are on the same page i.e. my ... Sean

12-14-03 Hey sean: while you were doing that, my '60's hollow-bodied ... Zaikesman

12-14-03 Sean; “hundreds of dollars” to reverse engineer our product ... Corona

12-14-03 What is the story on the "corona power cord"? Lapaix

12-14-03 Flex wrote: "audioengr, have you done a control experim ... Audioengr

12-14-03 Sean - i will try the zoebel experiment. what values do you ... Audioengr

12-14-03 Corona is a mexican beer... Psychicanimal

12-15-03 You mean too much mexican beer! Subaruguru

12-15-03 Corona: i wasn't trying to insult you or "lowball" ... Sean

12-15-03 Psychic: i think that "corona" takes his name fro ... Sean

12-16-03 Umm...shouldn't that be a twelve-bar blues? yours sound abo ... Zaikesman

12-16-03 Z: that should tell you something right there. it's been a ... Sean

12-16-03 Must be all those years of listening to nothing but goth and ... Zaikesman

12-16-03 Sean; no problem, i took your interest as a compliment. what ... Corona

12-16-03 Corona: are you implying that your product achieves 'unifica ... Zaikesman

12-17-03 Zaikesman: i didn’t say that you did; according to e. whitte ... Corona

12-17-03: Vvrinc
?!¼?ion:
Why not have forum sub-categories under "CABLES" (IC or PC.)

ie.
Forum>Cables>for those who "do" hear a difference
Forum>Cables>for those who "don't" hear a difference

I now belong to the former after being a rabid member of the latter for many years.
I have had electrical engineers, physicists, mathematicians, and palm-readers explain to me the laws and characteristics of an electrical current...I've also visited my doctor for an ear exam. My conclusion is that my ears are right and the theories, although not wrong according to present level scientific knowledge, will eventually be deciphered correctly when more facts are available through experimentation.

I don't own megabuck PCs. All of mine were purchased from Signal Cable. Incredibly well made and the first PC that let me hear the difference between regular equipment cables and after market ones. Although I have auditioned quite a few much-more-expensive cables, the small differences in sound–for me–didn't warrant the expense.

We can go on beating this dead horse until even the flies will refuse to land on it! (However, it was my reading of a few of these combatitive threads that lead me to give other power cables a listen.) So, maybe this carcass still has some meat to pound on.
Vvrinc (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

12-17-03 Corona, i strong agree wtih "all revolves around r ... S23chang

12-17-03 So lets take one of corona's cords and check it out on audio ... Flex

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