Why do designers/manufacturers...?


If audiophile grade feet, power cords, and fuses can really improve SQ, why don't high end designers/manufacturers just incorporate these audiophile grade components at the time of build? Why sell an under-optimized item that can be easily improved upon by the owner or a modder?
rockyboy
Tweaks huh? A long time ago we started using toroidal power transformers, and we noticed some odd things. One was that if the amps were too close together, they sounded different. Another was that the bolts supplied by the transformer manufacturers were heating up- in fact were hotter than the transformers!

Turns out that the magnetic field of a toroid is not as compact as they say. The bolts were heating up because they were ferro-magnetic. We switched to non-magnetic stainless mounting hardware and the heat problem went away and the amps sounded better! We moved the transformers in such a way that the amps could sit side by side with no ill effects.

Now we noticed that about 25 years ago yet to this day all transformer manufacturers will supply magnetic bolts that heat up. I don't see anyone in the industry talking about this either. This effect is sonically more pronounced than many tweaks I have seen audiophiles do.

BTW, you can see the links inside a fuse 'dance' when you put power through them. If you think that the fuse does not make a difference you are simply not paying attention. We figured out they were a problem in 1990 when we were designing the MA-2 amplifier. It uses a different kind of fuse that is much larger (the fuse rating is an FNM8 in the MA-2)- we figured out that they sound better that long ago.

I can easily measure differences between power cords. I have seen them rob an amplifier of as much as 40% of its total output power. With an effect that profound, you think it won't be audible? When I have people tell me that power cords don't make a difference, I always ask them to show me their measurements, because I have measurements I have done with a simple 3 1/2 digit multimeter that says they are wrong! But so, far, none of the skotics saying that power cords don't make a difference has ever had any numbers to support their position.

Geoffkait, I'm not looking for an argument, just curious. What do your Mpingo disks do and why do you think they have been forgotten?
Atmasphere,
I find your post very interesting, because it involves a measurable difference. Are you comfortable in telling us which brand or brands of power cord you found that do not limit current flow? That is obviously important, and now I am wondering about mine.
The Mpingo discs, even ONE in the room, bring a certain sweeteners and warmth to the upper bass and midrange. But the drawback is you have to find the place or places where they work. For that reason, many audiophiles opt out. Most audiophiles never heard of Mpingo discs so how can they forget them? :-)
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