Why Power Cables Affect Sound


I just bought a new CD player and was underwhelmed with it compared to my cheaper, lower quality CD player. That’s when it hit me that my cheaper CD player is using an upgraded power cable. When I put an upgraded power cable on my new CD player, the sound was instantly transformed: the treble was tamed, the music was more dynamic and lifelike, and overall more musical. 

This got me thinking as to how in the world a power cable can affect sound. I want to hear all of your ideas. Here’s one of my ideas:

I have heard from many sources that a good power cable is made of multiple gauge conductors from large gauge to small gauge. The electrons in a power cable are like a train with each electron acting as a train car. When a treble note is played, for example, the small gauge wires can react quickly because that “train” has much less mass than a large gauge conductor. If you only had one large gauge conductor, you would need to accelerate a very large train for a small, quick treble note, and this leads to poor dynamics. A similar analogy might be water in a pipe. A small pipe can react much quicker to higher frequencies than a large pipe due to the decreased mass/momentum of the water in the pipe. 

That’s one of my ideas. Now I want to hear your thoughts and have a general discussion of why power cables matter. 

If you don’t think power cables matter at all, please refrain from derailing the conversation with antagonism. There a time and place for that but not in this thread please. 
128x128mkgus
Oh, N80 hears the improvement with his updated house wiring. Ok, that is a start. I do caution anyone to use knob and tube wiring, as it does not sound better ( unless it was installed " dedicated " from the panel, which I believe is what he is hearing ). and certain electrical ordinances do not allow it. When building a new home, the wiring used, and " how " it is routed from the box to the dedicated sound room / theater room, will be very significant in the final results. Nonoise, the entire argument of the naysayers is ridiculous, because, they either did not try it, or tried it and heard no difference, as pointed out by N80. You and I, and a few others, know what we hear, and this thread, as far as " I "am concerned, will be ending soon. The heading of this thread is " Why ", and this is a reason for the naysayers. But interestingly, so many threads have started " wow, I hear a difference ", and the naysayers still show up as well. A joke, actually. Enjoy ! MrD.
mrdecibel,

The reference to my old house wiring was intended as humor. Sorry if it fell flat.

But in all seriousness, presuming power cables are an enhancement item, will that still work when your house system is crap? Or maybe it would make more of a difference?

nonoise, what is the actual price for what you consider a good quality aftermarket power cord? If we use that number in place of a thousand dollars are we still framing the argument in a ridiculous fashion?

Are there cords out there that cost more than that? If so, why?

Are there thousand dollar power cords? If so, why? What do you think their happy owners have to say about them? Are they ridiculous? Would you question the validity of their positive assessment of such a cord?

Is there a dollar figure, in your mind, at which point it becomes ridiculous to you? At that point would you be any different from the naysayers?

Edit: A quick Google reveals any number of 1.5 meter power cables for 5 figures. One of them is $22,500. Found a few lower end ones for $5000 to $8,500 for a full 3 meters.
N80, would you mind if I forward you information on a cord, specifically for your Proceed amp. It is from China by an excellent manufacturer, and depending on the length you need, would run under $100. I recommend them often. You could also rent one from the cable company. Listen, I have no clue why ? I am thinking your cousin who had the system before you, purchased the system from a high end shop ( possibly an expert ), who put the system together for him, as, I feel it is proportional to the cost of each piece, and I can conceivably have an idea what your system sounds like, as I am familiar with each of the components, as well as the speakers. Enjoy ! MrD.
Why is it that almost every single time someone mentions "better powercord" the argument against it is "one costing thousand of dollars" when it is not the case?
It’s a type of logical fallacy called a “straw man.” In effect, they set up an argument that is supposed to encompass the opposition opinion but is actually distorted or exaggerated making it easy to “knock down” or refute and then they strut around like they won the argument. Some may not even know they are doing it.
Yang Hong, dont try and persuade audiophools here.  Its kinda like Copernicus trying to persuade that the earth revolved around the sun :-)