The Last Power Cable Question EVER (from me)

@thyname 🤣

@lucky53 In France They Kiss On Main Street. 🤣

@mitch2  My experience has been the same as yours.  Replacing the stock PC provided by Hegel, with a $1500 PC from Furutech, made zero difference in sound.  According to Audioquest:

SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE SILVER (PSS) & SOLID PERFECT-SURFACE COPPER+ (PSC+) CONDUCTORS

Solid conductors prevent electrical strand-to-strand interaction, major sources of distortion. Surface quality is critical because a conductor can be considered as a rail-guide for both the fields within a conductor, and for the magnetic fields that extend outside the conductor. The astonishingly smooth and pure Perfect-Surface Copper+ eliminates harshness and greatly increases clarity compared to OFHC, OCC, 8N and other premium coppers. Extremely high-purity Perfect-Surface Silver further minimizes distortion caused by grain boundaries, which exist within any metal conductor.

Once again, it's almost as if the manufacturer is using words relating the sound quality of electricity.  As you have pointed out, your amp is going to do all kinds of wonderful things with the electrical current.  I'm still not shure how "increasing the clarity" of electricty before it enters your amp can alter the sounds quality from your speakers.  Audioquest also states thier PC can handle 20 amps and that is sufficient to accomodate power spikes in your amp.  So then any quality 10 AWG wite shouold also work? If $1500 for Furutech made no diffrence, I willl not be spending $7500 with Audioquest.  

@dougthebiker So what are you riding?

@lostinseattle I think it's called a double-conversion online UPS

I believe that is exactly what the PS Audio Power Regenerator is?  

@8th-note Thank you very much for your excellant post.  I feel my questions have been answered fully, at last.  Your attached Blind Test article, while quite lengthy, should be required reading by everyone in this hobby.  Not only does it confirm many of my personal beliefs, it also helped me soften my views on a few issues.  From the entire article, this passage really rings true:

"Now there are perfectly good reasons to buy expensive power cords. For one they look cool. 'The better it looks, the better it sounds.' (This has been shown to be the case in studies that compare sighted to blind tests using identical equipment.) Another reason to buy them is that they cost a lot. They are status symbols. Status is good in our culture. Fear is another reason. Fear of not doing everything you can to get 'the best sound.' Of course there is plain old faith. If you believe that they make your stereo system sound better, then they do! If having them makes you feel better, makes you more relaxed when you listen to music, gives you comfort in knowing that you have left no stone unturned in your pursuit of musical enjoyment, by all means, go for it!"

Thanks again and happy listening.
 

@retiredfarme "we never have to read another bull post from the op about this subject"   Sorry, but makes my opinions any less valid than yours?  

I have actually learned a few things of interest thoughtout this disscussioin. 

1. The good folks at Shunyata have turned the “last 3-6 foot” argument on it’s head with their assertion the PC is actually the first 3 – 6 feet of cable that forms a continuation of the transformer winding in your amp, and the quality of the cable determines the ability to allows noise created by your equipment to travel out of your system as opposed to being reflected back into your system and lowering sound quality. Could be true?
2. The results of an extensive blind test showed even experienced audiophiles were not able to score better that 50% at picking the Nordost cables over generic cables supplied by various manufacturers.  The people who performed the blind test also stated the result will be argued by those who believe in the benefit of better cables and low and behold that is happening in this thread
3. The “sighted” bias on listening has proven to be quite powerful as proven by the sound tests whereby people first listened to a cable blind, and then listened to the same cable a second time after seeing it, and being told it was a different cable.  The test subjects overwhelmingly chose the cable they had seen (it was a good-looking cable) as the better sounding even though it was the same cable both times. 
4. Confirmation bias is a real and powerful contributor to our decision-making process. 

I have invested in “quality” cables, partly from being influenced by sites like Audiogon and trade publication like Absolute Sound.  For all the reasons listed in the blind test article from fear of missing out to they just look cool.  They range from Puritan Ultimate to Furutech PCs to Audioquest and Morrow MA6 interconnects.  I even splurged on a very nice 75 Ohm Coax cable from Snake River Audio.  So I’m not in the camp that believes quality cables make no difference, rather I’m agnostic on the subject.  I want to be a believer because I want the best sound possible.  Sadly, for me anyway, my personal experience has been that upgrading cables has never brought about at increase to sonic performance.  I envy those who have been able to widen their sound stage and put more air between the notes by simply buying a new PC.  I justify all my cable expense with the thought that even though I didn’t hear a big improvement with any individual change, the sum total of incremental sonic improvements has combined to make my system sound better. 

@ozzy Not sure how much I would need to spend to hear an improvment but my $1500 Furutech did not do it, and the $2000 I spent on 3 Puritan Ultimate PCs did not do it.  I see there is yet another brand new discussion on this same topic going on, on the thread Do I Need A 10 AWG PC?  Apparently, this discussion will not find a happy ending.  My system sounds great, not buying any more cables.  All is right with the world.  

@tonywinga The proof you ask for would appear to be in the attached blind test results.  Set up is such a way as to have results that really can't be argued.  

https://hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_4/feature-article-blind-test-power-cords-12-2004.html

Lots of reasons given why we should all buy great Power Cables, but an improvment in sound FOR MOST PEOPLE is not one of them.  I do not claim that some people, for a variety of reasons, will hear a difference.  That has never been my personal experience and maybe my 68 year old ears just can't detect the additional space between the notes like some others can.  If it brings you joy to buy better cables, then by all means, rock on.  

@jackhifiguy @thyname   Ha Ha Ha .  Are you two the same guy?  I think the "how old are you" is suspicious.  

@unreceivedogma Surprised this thread has come back to life. I only referenced the $34K cable as an example of the outright lunacy in this hobby, IMHO. Having tried many power cables and never hearing a difference, I personally remain unmoved by all the claims of PC magic. Afterall, it’s the the front end equipment and amps that produce the audio signal, which is transported by cables. So long as your PC can deliver the amount of current your equipment requires, one cable is pretty much the same as the next. Again, in my opinion. And as opinions go, it’s pretty much the only one that counts. 😂

@thyname Really?  Then why are they made and marketed?  Or $75,000 speaker cables.  Or $35,000 for a fiber optic cable?  Your assertions are simply not supported by the facts.  Oh wait, forgot who I'm talking too.  Carry on.