Can upgraded power cords help my setup?

Ferrite chokes come in a very wide variety of impedance vs. frequency characteristics, as can be seen by scrolling down the list here:

http://www.fair-rite.com/product-category/suppression-components/round-cable-snap-its/

Some will only present significant impedances at frequencies that are well into the RF region, even tens of MHz in some cases. Others will present a potentially significant impedance at frequencies well under 100 KHz (see the first graph here, for example; while the graph doesn’t depict what happens below 100 KHz, it seems clear that a significant number of ohms would be presented well below that frequency).

In various threads here Atmasphere (Ralph) has explained that the performance of power amplifiers will often be compromised to an audible degree if power cord bandwidth does not extend up to several or even many tens of KHz, because if it does not extend that high limitations may occur in responsiveness to abrupt changes in demand for current, that occur as rectifier diodes switch on and off during parts of each 60 (or 50) Hz cycle. A similar point has been made in some Shunyata literature, accompanied with comparative measurements of various power cords.

So if the chosen ferrite is effective at particularly low frequencies, it may have adverse effects on dynamics or other sonic characteristics, depending on the specific component it is used with. If is effective only at very high frequencies, it may or may not accomplish anything, depending on the specific component it is used with. And in that regard, keep in mind that digital components in particular may generate noise having significant spectral components as high as several tens of MHz, due to the fast transition times between their two voltage stages (i.e., their risetimes and falltimes), which could conceivably couple into other components in the system via their power cords and the AC wiring. (Those frequencies are of course much too high to be directly audible, but could have audible consequences as a result of effects such as intermodulation, AM demodulation, timing jitter in a DAC, etc).

Finally, there is the possibility that even if the sonic accuracy of a system is improved by filtering noise that enters or exits a component via its power cord, that might not be preferable from a subjective standpoint. To cite just one example, toward the end of this paper Steve Nugent of Empirical Audio explains that depending on its spectral characteristics a reduction in timing jitter in a DAC might be found to be objectionable from a subjective standpoint:

Another interesting thing about audibility of jitter is it’s ability to mask other sibilance in a system. Sometimes, when the jitter is reduced in a system, other component sibilance is now obvious and even more objectionable than the original jitter was. Removing the jitter is the right thing to do however, and then replace the objectionable component. The end result will be much more enjoyable.

Jitter can even be euphonic in nature if it has the right frequency content. Some audiophiles like the effect of even-order harmonics in tubes, and like tubes, jitter distortion can in some systems "smooth" vocals. Again, the right thing to do is reduce the jitter and replace the objectionable components. It is fairly easy to become convinced that reducing jitter is not necessarily a positive step, however this is definitely going down the garden path and will ultimately limit your achievement of audio nirvana.

So as is usual in audio, the question of ferrites involves a multitude of complex variables and tradeoffs, and doesn’t have a great deal of predictability, and doesn’t have a one size fits all answer.

Best regards,
-- Al

Tjassoc: Quickest way to assignation on this site is to argue with emotion and personal opinion while brandishing higher education! Save yourself the headache! High end does not mean all opinions here are associated to it! Friendly advice!

Measure the speakers distance to walls and floors - avoid similar or doubled distances.

Have lots of glass, heavy furnishings, a rack between the speakers?  Look into that too.

Get a test CD, and rent/buy a good SPL meter

Play your favorite recordings that you have heard on distinctly better equipment and figure out if there are trends in your system.

Bring in new cables, but have them switched by a friend so they are blind to you.  Have them mark your preferences.  In most cases you won't have one, given audio nervosa and the ego pride of new and expensive gear.

I have heard cables sound different at times, with a preference.  As a hobbyist for over 40 years and dealer for years I've heard a lot, but never have I heard cables do a fraction of what a properly set up ASC trap room does, nor come close to overcoming a poorly set up room, or mediocre equipment.

Said another way, its possible cables may help tune your system to a higher level, but it's at best a cherry on a desert, the other 6 courses of the meal come first.

Drawding, you say:

"Also keep your PC away from your interconnects or if they must cross have the cables at 90 deg to each other."

Here you locked onto one way well designed cables can help your "system" by helping to address the cluttered "cable ecosystem" often found behind our gear.  I cannot tell you how a good PC does or does not "clean up" power from the wall to your equipment (garbage into cable - 4 star power dinner out? OK, maybe), but it only makes sense that reducing stray electrical fields and interference between high current cables and low current cables in the vaccinity of your amp and source can yield real gains in fidelity.  Better cable geometry and shielding across all applications behind your gear helps solve the same problems as keeping "your PC away from your interconnects" in physical space.

Al, terrific input here as usual.  I agree with your assessment of the unique applications presented by the LS50's.  Two issues come to mind:

One, there is unlikely very much other wire clutter behind your speakers, so the benefit of a better shielded PC to reduce interference with IC's and speaker cables all exiting the same amp or reciever i describe above is essentially moot. This leaves a more solid connection to speaker and power outlet as a potential advantage of a better cable with better connectors, along with improved match of metallurgy, dielectric and wire geometry with the properties of what are really very complicated speakers with many things going on inside them as Al notes.

Two, given the complex devices, I might look at PCs that would work well with modestly powered but quality switching AVRs that contain both amplification and digital circuitry.  You need to supply juice for 230wpc of switching power, right?  Suggestions by others above to focus on smaller gauges common for digital applications versus heavy "garden hose" PCs seem warranted as taming digital artifacts may be more important than raw current for this application, and very heavy cables on small speakers may present physical stability issues. But YMMV.

In my experience, better cables across the board make a positive and sometimes radical difference in sound, but as suggested by others, you just have to try several solutions to see what works best in your application.  I like the idea of contacting the Cable Co. and asking their advice for 2-3 cables to send you in your price range to try with the KEFs (and the Node?) and listen for yourself to see which cables sound better, if any, compared to the stock PCs.

Finally, you may want to try at least one power conditioner and move between the speakers and the Node 2 in order to see if that helps improve your sound. You may decide you need two if the Node and speakers are far apart and both show benefit.

Good luck,

kn