McIntosh C2300 Power Cord Recommendation

Notbananas - What always makes me laugh at objectivists in this hobby is that they insist that they are correct, and subjectivists are wrong. If a subjectivist thinks he hears differences in amplifiers, cables, etc., it is only his imagination, like the old lady and the TV. By denying for others what they perceive with their own ears, the objectivists attempt to commandeer this hobby from its practitioners. A subjectivist, like myself, would never tell an objectivist he is wrong: If you don't hear the differences in cables or amplifiers, well, good for you. You can save thousands of dollars without losing any enjoyment from your audio system. Why can't the objectivists just allow the subjectivists to enjoy this hobby to the extent that they can? If we perceive differences in cables or amplifiers, why not allow us to enjoy whichever products make us happy? In the case of the OP, let him try some power cords. If he hears improvements, well, good for him. If he does not, he can stick with the factory-supplied cord. How does that hurt you, other than your ego as a scientific objectivist?

Bondmanp, I am going to copy and paste what you just said on the other thousand or so cable debates. This should finally end the discussions.LOL

By the way, I like BMI power cords! That is my subjective observation.

Is the McIntosh C2300 a pre amp? My web search says it it. This then sounds even more incredible that a device which normally is required to produce only a couple of volts output could be the victim of an inferior power cord. Not to mention that McIntosh would slight its customers by such a trashy OEM power cord. Where's the humanity???

Bondmanp, Objectivists are not saying that subjectivists are wrong in their perceptions, but that they are wrong in claiming that there is a real difference in sound, when indeed there isn't a difference.
BTW, Objectivists can tell the difference in sound when there is indeed a difference and usually there is concrete evidence and data to explain the difference.

You have stated that you 'barely understand how electricity and electrical appliances function', yet boldly claim that "every stretch of wire has the potential to introduce extraneous noise .... etc". If you did have a better understanding of "how electricity functioned" you would know that your statement is NOT true.

Regards, Bob P.

As I mentioned before, all tube and some solid state amps have a power transformer which literally isolates the power line from the rest of the electronics.

Unless somehow this new fangled power cord overcomes the laws of physics, there's no way it can have any effect.

Here is an excerpt from their website they explain why it's better:
"By increasing the surface area of normal round wire tenfold or more, skin effect is no longer an issue."

Are they joking?? Do they (or anyone else) know what "skin effect" is? Well boys and girls, I do!

I was an amateur radio operator (WN2CMF) and built my own 40 and 80 meter transmitter and receiver, and studied analog RF theory, I know what skin effect is! It mostly applies to frequencies in the megahertz range and higher, where it has a significant contribution to transmission of signal. Skin effect is when the frequency of the signal is such that the electrons (yes, electrons are what moves to create a flow of current) move to the surface of the conductor away from the center. This is why waveguides in the gigahertz range are actually hollow tubes.

So, obviously the 50 or 60 hertz frequency of the power line has such a negligible effect on the migration of electrons to the "skin" of the conductor that it has absolutely nothing to do with the alleged improvement! Period! Their claim makes great advertising black magic, but has no scientific basis.

They even named it appropriately: Grand Illusion! How ironic.

Besides, who would pay $1,700 for a 4ft. length of flat copper conductor you can make yourself for $25?