Why Expensive power Cables when Romex behind Wall?

Fletchj, I could not agree more.

Sdcampbell, being an Audiogon member that has always read your posts during the last two years ( I began in 1999), I am surprised by your comments.

You built your system with quality audiophile gear and yet you report that power cords provide very little if any improvement in your system.

This completely baffles me, as my results are so opposite from yours. You may have read about the extremes I have gone to make my electrical system the best it can be. Including but not limited to: Private transformer, 220 Volt three phase electrical drop, 750 Amp commercial bypass meter box, 16 dedicated runs exclusive to the stereo, separation of phase between digital and analog, and dedicated 12 gauge copper star grounding for each component.

With all this work, I cannot imagine music without a high quality power cord. I choose Purist Dominus power cords for my system, and the effect is so drastic, that an entire room of people laugh out loud when a stock cord is substituted. The difference is literally that big.

Do I remember you live outside of the USA? Maybe that is part of our different results.

Trich727, you must have somehow completely overlooked my post.

Trich, I have absolutely no doubt that your comments are true. My years of listening and testing have shown me that the only absolute is "we don't really know anything."

I have no idea about the transformer, it is a 25K VA model supplied by TU Electric, and is the third one on my home in the last few years.

Between the wet tree limbs, squirrels and Texas weather, this neighborhood is hell on transformers. That being said, the last two sounded identical as far as I could tell.

Bwhite's comments may be describing some of the differences I hear with premium power cables.

Nikkidanjo may be onto something where he describes cable shielding:

"Shielding the cables as they near this big rack of electronics may make all the difference. Perhaps the worst dirt is the dirt generated by your own system feeding back into itself. This could explain why shielding may help."

It may be a long wait before technology is developed that "proves" how some power cords work in our systems. Having heard significant improvements with several power cables, I don't intend to wait for a piece of paper telling me what I already know is true.

I have not tried metal outlet plates as Bwhite describes. I would not prejudge it effectiveness, until and UNLESS I tried it for myself.

I would likely believe in Mr. White conclusion, even if it failed to improve my system. Every system is different and it would be foolish to pass up an opportunity that at least one member has been successful with, especially one that costs about what some of us spend on a large soft drink.

I intend to purchase a couple of plates next time I visit Home Depot. Worse case I return them a few weeks later.

Audioengr, since you singled out the following quote that I gave credit as POSSIBLY being part of the explanation of why cables sound different.

"Shielding the cables as they near this big rack of electronics may make all the difference. Perhaps the worst dirt is the dirt generated by your own system feeding back into itself. This could explain why shielding may help."

YOUR RESPONSE WAS:
Sorry, but this is technically nonsense. Ask an engineer friend whether this makes any sense. You are mixing shielding from EM fields and mechanical resonances. Shielding eliminates susceptibility to crosstalk from nearby EM or magnetic fields. It does not help with mechanical resonance.

MY EXPERIENCE IS:
I have Soundlab Ultimate One speakers, and the brands of AC cables connected to them and to my ( home theatre use only ) sub woofers make a huge difference in sound. Crazier still, disconnect the sub woofers from the wall and the performance of the Soundlab is improved.

The amplifier and resulting magnetic field of the sub woofer ARE interacting with my Soundlab. This may also be proven by placing a large shield between the sub woofer and the power supply of the Soundlab. I had Purist Audio build such a shield and among a group of six listeners the change of inserting and removing was obvious to every member, every time.

I still contend that there are many things going on in an audio system all at the same time. Any number of changes in equipment and cables can effect RF, magnetic and electrical interference. I've tested TI shield, Purist's shields, Audio Prisms wall filters, dozens of audio grade power cables and ferrite blocks purchased from Ferishield in New York.

Bottom line is they all change the sound. Some can reduce one problem while messing up something else. Ferrite for instance, is not to my liking even though it can reduce or eliminate some radio signals.

As for the wall plate that Bwhite is discussing, I never said that it was effective, only that I am open minded enough to experiment.

I don't know if you are familiar with Marigo dots. They are varying size stick on dots that are manufactured from lead and other materials.

Placing a single dot the size of a pencil eraser on the end of an electrical plug DOES change the sound. The dots work on interconnect cables, equipment faceplates and even on amps beside the speaker posts.

Since these cannot possible have any electrical properties, they are effecting the mechanical properties of the component, regardless if electrical or mechanical in nature.

Seems logical then that electrical plates could contribute to the systems performance.

Anyway, the cost of such a test is miniscule. I have many failed experiments in attempt to improve my music system, but I have also found a number of things that helped.

I think it's important to keep an open mind and experiment with a eye toward learning. Closed minds seldom learn anything new.

Audioengr said:

This is certainly possible. Sounds like you have a combination of magnetic field coupling and mechanical coupling from the sub. Subs put out a lot of energy that can certainly resonate the shutters and probably some component chassis. Power cords make a difference for reasons other than mechanical resonance or magnetic coupling. However, if the subs are on the same circuit as your other components, they may be causing droops in the AC line that the other components are reacting to. Sounds like a complicated problem at best. There is no way it can be diagnosed over the internet.

My comments were not a cry for help, my system is pretty much full out. Please see the thread:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vaslt&1022712214&view

I have a dedicated line for every component, including all six boxes that make up my preamp. My comments were meant to bring to light the fact that mechanical, electrical and magnetic interference all produce changes in a high end system.

The sub woofer affects the Soundlabs when there is NO signal going to it and it is sitting idle, two feet from each Soundlab. The fact that the internal amp is on creates enough problems to hear during two channel playback.

Hope that explains my point more clearly. For what it is worth, each position in my system has been tested with a dozen or more better known products.

I liked several of these, but ultimately the Purist Dominus was first choice for two channel and Proteus and Venustus for the HT system.

My sub woofers can present a problem for the main system in that they affect resolution and distortion levels of my Soundlab U-1.

That being said, this is a two channel issue and since the subs are a deterrent to stereo sound quality, they are not supplied with signal.

However, power even being AVAILABLE to the subs in an inoperative mode damages the reproduction quality of the Soundlabs.

I have my own opinions as to the cause, but since the HT system is used three hours a week, and this is not a problem with Dolby 5.1, the solution is to save electricity and unplug the offending product.

I do the same thing with my DSS receiver, DVD player, and Dolby 5.1 processor. Disconnecting them from the wall mains is a small but audible improvement for two channel analog reproduction.

As for details of my system's wire and cable dressing, a visit by way of my provided link makes it apparent that it is not an issue in this discussion.

As for mechanical resonances, if a system is pushed to a high enough level, solving miniscule problems can be a significant improvement.

I think this dead horse has been beaten enough.

I am confident my Purist interconnect and power cables are not an issue, and wish you success in marketing your products.