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  3. 169085-1635

If Power Cords Don't Matter...

First of all, I don’t own any high-end power cords, mostly because I can’t fit them behind my rack. Second, I am not trying to stir up controversy, as you will see from my question. I understand that the people who believe power cords make no difference argue that once the power gets into the component, the AC is converted to DC and the power supply of the component takes over completely. I think I have that right for the most part. So it that’s true, and it probably is from a traditional EE standpoint, why is it that I have not heard anyone say that power conditioners make no difference? I am not aware of anyone with a decent system ever saying that a Niagara or Triton or Audience teflon conditioner didn’t affect their sound, for good or for bad. So if the EE theory is true, wouldn’t power conditioners make no difference either? I have an Audience AR6T for almost 10 years and I think it made a big difference. BTW - I am not talking about Power Plants, which deal with voltage stabilization, which is a different topic.  Obviously, if your AC voltage is way off, it's going to cause problems.  
chayro

Showing 8 responses by andy2

andy2
1,522 posts
 
But if it doesn't, would that represent all power cords performance?
Probably not.


andy2
1,522 posts
 
Most people especially those who don't have background in EE think that electricity is like water, but that is a wrong analogy.  How electricity flows is not very obvious.  Unlike water, before you turn on the switch, the electrons are already in the equipment so it's not like the electricity flows from one place to another.  It's not like that at all.
andy2
1,522 posts
 
Please leave out the $50 Amazon waste of money power cord.
I suppose you don't believe that the cheap Amazon power cords will improve the sound?

andy2
1,522 posts
 
Get the largest gauge you can.
Can anyone care to explain why that would be?  Imagine the tiny little fuse between power cable and your equipment.  Wouldn't it be a bottleneck?  Then why would a power cable make any difference that whatever current has to pass through the tiny little fuse?
andy2
1,522 posts
 
+1 for cheap power cords from Amazon. For $50 per power cord, even if it won’t satisfy you, you only lose $50 which is miniscule when it comes to HiFi.  They are made in China but most of them are very decent in quality.

I got some myself and they definitely improve the sound.
andy2
1,522 posts
 
They are actually afraid of trying out new cables for fear that they will be proven wrong.  
andy2
1,522 posts
 
One would think that they could put a scope (or A2D) on the power coming out the end of that cord… and then actually see some things that are other than 60 Hz (or 50Hz) being removed.

If I was able to see some high frequency noise on the bad cords, that was removed on the good cords, then it would be easier to imagine that that is a reason to believe in using a fancy power cable being worth having.

This post won the award for the most simpleton-minded.  


andy2
1,522 posts
 
^^^ Glad it worked out for you.  I checked out the link but too bad it doesn't have any pictures of the cable.  Could be some Chinese-made ones that you can get at Amazon for cheaper price.
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