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
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At the start of this thread, @ghosthouse linked to this article.
https://www.gcaudio.com/tips-tricks/why-power-cables-make-a-difference/

After all the crazy post in this thread, mostly filled with speculation, opinion, and misinformation... I took the time to read this article by Caelin Gabriel of Shunyata Research Inc.  Now, I certainly realize that he is selling his wares.  But, this article seems much more closely aligned with reality than a lot of the other comments in this thread.  And, it really explained to me why a power cord could make an audible difference.  If you want to learn something about this concept, definitely take the time to read the article.   Then, decide for yourself! 

Just the idea that an audio component is NOT at the end of the power chain (it's actually in the middle) was a revelation for me.  It helps clarify for me how the power cord could act like a component.  

For the record, I recently put in Signal Cable PCs and even though I was a skeptic before (and my better half thought I was nuts for even considering spending money on a new PC), I have to admit we both agreed there was an audible improvement after we put the cables into the system.  These are under $100 each, and I think they are worth that cost.  I don't think spending $1k would be worth it... at least not to me.  But, I am more of a believer now that I've tried it.
maritime511,282 posts12-21-2018 2:39pm

debate

 verbdebated; debating

Definition of debate (Entry 2 of 2)


What’s the point in posing the question if your foreclose any “general” discussion?
@maritime, I looked carefully at the OP.  I don't see anything asking for a debate.  His presupposition was that it makes a difference, and he asked for a discussion of why.  And he specifically asked not to have the debate.
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