Power Cords Snake Oil ??

Zaikesman, no I wasn't expecting a unification of all cable design based on string theory (aargh). Why is email so difficult?

The point of testbeds is that they can prove and DISPROVE ideas, and they lead in theory to an exchange of ideas. This is the way it would be done if high end ever entered the realm of science/engineering (!) (Maybe we could progress from a proliferation of diy/artisan cable designers and on to something like power supply redesign, for example.) Nah, its more fun to buy $2500 cables.

The issue here isn't string theory, by the way. It is resonance, and how much resonance has to do with cable response. I have my own strong opinions, and so do both Audioengr and Corona, but those two have data and I don't. That is where a testbed fits in.

Zaikesman,
Here is the equation for resonance
The nth harmonic has frequency fn = v/ln = nv/2L = nf1
You need to figure out how to apply it based on the physical property of the material.
It is not snake oil but rather how you derrive your product based on the basic equation. That's each manufacture's secret ( Assuming if they did design the cables themselves and not buying some finished cable and terminated them togather.)
Just look around you and you'll find at least one thing was designed based on the same theory. This not only apply to audio, it also applies to communication technology industries.

Z: "...I'm congenitally allergic to overweening hyperbole."

Alex, you are a treasure!

I haven't bothered to read all the posts, becuase if I recall there was a similar psot like this. But I will say Jetmek, if all you did was a quick A/B test I doubt I would notice either. It has been my experience that electronics ( especially power cables ) need to sit stationary, and have AC ran through them continously for about a week to reach a good performance. So did you do this first, before your blind tests?

I will agree that the money some of companies is asking for these cables is ridiculous. I don't think they are worth it, I think if you upgrade to a hospital grade plug, and a 12-10AWG cord you will be fine. You can do this for about $50, $15 in you live in China :) Of course I haven't tried everything out there, but I have tried a few.

just my 2 cents worth.....

Flex, here are some Corona quotes cut and pasted from above (with some minor editing applied by me for clarity):

"There is only one power cable that is truly different and commands the technology that astounds, but you won't go there because the answer sounds too radical."

"The design concepts we are using are really 'off the map'. However, since the recent advent of 'String Theory' as the dominant position in physics, what we are doing does not seem so 'out there' any more."

"Any of you Audiogoners that have not yet investigated 'String Theory', check it out on the 'net'; its implementation is what’s going to divide the past from the future."

"So what does 'String Theory' have to do with my audio system, is that your question? Here is a list of conventional electrical engineering precepts which are employed in almost all cable designs to the detriment of all audio systems. The following would not be supported by String Theory:

1. Building a cable without any consideration of the field that surrounds the conductor.

2. Designing a power cable as an isolated entity as if is has no bearing on the performance of the speaker, amp, etc.

3. Claiming that electrical and mechanical resonances are mutually exclusive phenomena.

4. Claiming inductance, capacitance, and resistance are the central issues in all cable design.

What String Theory is asserting: all revolves around resonance."

Flex, here's a quote from you: "The issue here isn't string theory".

While I happen to agree with that last assessment of yours, Corona, it seems to me, is pretty clearly attempting to imply some sort of linkage or support for his design concepts involving said theory, and I'm not buying it. And neither am I buying into his claims that string theory is now the "dominant position" in physics (not for anything involving practical work, it's not), that the theory is essentially "asserting" that "all revolves around resonance" (maybe, mabye not, but that's too simplistic a reduction - more of a new-agey mantra if you ask me - for general applicability here regardless), nor his blanket characterizations of the 'rules' he suggests all other cable designers are allegedly bound to and their shortcomings (or his corollary that string theory somehow contravenes these). The possible merits of Corona's company and cables aside, this approach strikes me as a sketchy marketing ploy at best, and quite likely disingenuous (meaning he knows better). But, I would really think it deserving of the term 'snake oil' only if they were merely repackaging OEM Belden or something, and that I am willing to take on faith is not the case.