Monstrous power cables

Thanks for the info, alexatpos.  The cables that came with my Maxim is just slightly larger in diameter than the Crown Jewel.  I think I’ll remove the tape at some point to see what the connectors look like and to see in the manufacturer’s name is on it.

waytoomuchstuff, my system sounds quite nice to me.  But I’ve not swapped the cable to the Maxim with another one.  I do know (now that I’ve thought about it) that I have the generic cable that came with my PurePower 2000 sitting around somewhere.  I upgraded(?) that PC with a shorter run of the Pangea PC.  

Did I notice a difference when I did that?  Nope.  But then I didn’t really do an A/B test since the PurePower has a few large batteries it cleans and stores the power into.  With no power coming into it it’ll still provide juice to the components for about ten minutes or so.

But I’ll be honest here:  99% of the time I interact with my stereo I’m not wearing my audiophile hat.  I just listen to and enjoy the music.  That also oftentimes happens when I change cables or or even components.  I seldom A/B test listening for the differences.  My motto is if the new item doesn’t immediately make me want to remove it, or I notice I’m not enjoying the music as much as before the swap, I normally just leave it in place.

I have lots of tubed gear, both for 2-channel stereo and headphone listening.  And whenever I buy a new (to me) piece of tubed gear I always buy extra, and in some cases, many extra sets of tubes for “tube rolling”.  When I’m buying all the extra tubes I’m normally wearing my audiophile hat.

My tube rolling goes like this:  I’ll listen to a few minutes of my test tracks a couple of times so that the sound is fresh in my memory.  I’ll swap out the tubes and will notice a difference.  Then after a few minutes my ears have adjusted to the difference and I’m right back to just listening to, and enjoying the music again.

It might just be that I take my audiophile hat off too quickly.  Or maybe my hearing just sucks.  Or I don’t focus hard enough.  Or most likely, I’m a Lazy Audiophile (if there is such a thing).

So many times I’ve danced with my speakers an inch here, a half-inch there, a quarter-inch over yonder and even an eighth-inch movements all over the place going from my chair to the speakers back to my chair over and over and over…

After many hours or days of this madness is when I’d get tired of it and throw in my Bose 901s!  Because with the Bose, they sound pretty good no matter where I put them and I listen to them differently than my other gear that I dance with.

Hello Audiowebe. Have you ever watched a salesman present one of these thick, not-so-flexible cables to a male, particularly senior, potential customer? It's a psychodrama of the free enterprise kind. I spent an afternoon in a stereo emporium in the early days of big cabbles. He grips it about 18 inches from the end and lets the rest dangle straight down. He hand is about waist high and cable points upward at somewhere around 10 to 40 degrees. Get the picture? The communication is instant and unconcious, but the optic nerve is pulsating with excitement as the man reaches for his wallet. All the while the salesman is talking about maximum power delivery. etc. To a neutral observer over 21, it is a hilarious spectacle.

Like another member (pun intended), I use power cords I found on Amazon for around $50. The improvement was immediate. The wire was 12 gauge. I think it's the shielding that does it. I am  former wire skeptic. So I experimented and discovered that speaker wires make a difference. Then, I discovered HUGE differences in USB cables (the one I use cost $150 and it's made in Canada). Then, I discovered that interconnects matter too. The ones I use are always gong on sale for 40 -60% off. 

I noticed a response from an obvious wire skeptic. Friend, try an experiment. It'll cost you $50 or so and that's a very low price to pay to avoid embarrassing youself in the future. Get one of those $50 Amazon power cables. Put it on your integrated amp or power amp. Listen continuously for two hours at least while the cable breaks in (yes cables break in). Well, I'll be snookered!

If you don't upgrade your cables, they may mask any improvement a new component (costing $1000s!) would make because poor cables prevent you from hearng the improvement the new device gives you. If wire doesn't make a  difference, why do medical devices often use gold wires to couple nerve signals to medical devices? The next time hospital folks put stickers on you chest, just tell 'em, "Good ol' 14 gauge line cord is good enough for me!"  Stop spouting your inexperience and start hearing what yor system would like to do for you. Don't we spend $$ on this stuff so we can hear beautiful music? Your system is better than you think. Keep Smiling1

Honest question. Can someone explain how a expensive power cord is going to over come the 50 to 100 feet of Romex (about 1 $ per foot) that runs from the breaker box to the outlet? I can understand if the stock power cable was worse then the Romex, thus creating a bottle neck, but it seems to be the very long run of inexpensive Romex that will be the ’weak link’, were the electrons to care. And, I am all for listening, but it must be a blind test. Even with that, it would be interesting to know the science behind how that last 6 feet of cord overcomes all the ’ sound’ from the 100 feet of crappy Romex.

@12many

I would refer to Shunyata… the founder has a good video on the subject. The point is that power is like a lake not a hose. The reality of us that have experience is that a high end power cords are the most effective at improving sound… the second is to replace low quality Romex with a 10 gauge direct line or better. Depending on your power grid, a power conditioner can be at the beginning or end of the list.

One thing to notice is that great sounding audio equipment invariably has a large amount of technology and weight dedicated to power… it is the foundation of high quality sound.

With as decent power supply in an amplifier, then there is also a “lake” inside of the amp.