Why does better power = better sound?

I had a listen to one of my audio friend's sytem the other nite.

He was the fellow who got me started down the road of power cords and power conditioners and has always been a Shunyata fan boy.

He reported that replacing his top of the line Shunyata PC with top of the line Siltechs on his power amps into a Shunyata Talos was quite an improvement.

It did sound very good to me,but his system always sounds great.

After a couple of weeks with the new power receptacle from Furutech,the GTX D gold, I decided to try wallpluggin my Acoustat amps direct into this dedicated 20 amp line and omit the hydra 2 and it's 20 amp Annaconda power cord.

I will eat crow now, and say that this gives me better sound.

The reason for this I believe, is that the Acoustat tube servo amps also drive the panels and there are 5000 volts that need all the power they can get.
Whereas in the past, every conventional tube or solid state and D amp that I used needed the Hydra 2 combo to sound good in all previous systems.

In my case,the more direct power path to the amp/speaker the better the sound,( 20 amp dedicated line, to the Furutech receptacle to 2 Annaconda Helix power cords to 2 Acoustat tube servocharge amps).

I would have to add that the addition of the Furutech GTX on the dedicated 20 amp line was a revelation.

Why do some tubes sound better than others?
Possible answers are- design, build quality,materials used,
and others.
Similar answers for the following can apply.

Why do some tube circuits sound better than other ones?
Why do some solid state designs sound different?
Class A, A/B, D- do they sound different, or maybe no?

Why do some capacitors sound better than other ones?
Why spend the big bucks for something that's just another cog in the wheel?Why should they have a sonic signature?

Why do people tube roll or modify gear?

Why does one fuse sound different than another?

Why does vibration control or room resonances have any thing to do with how I enjoy my mega buck quality audio gear?It's the best there is, designed by a genius.
Impervious to the effects of the surroundings it placed in or the power it's fed.

Dedicated 20 amp line? Hogwash.My gear's doing just fine plugged into the sound bar on the same line as my furnace and fridge thank you very much.

I just turn out the lights and it sounds better.

It's not the light factor that was being referred to, so that gave me a chuckle and I'm not alone.

Late night listening, when the grid is used less( less demand in the wee hours of the morning 12 am 1, 2 am,has most oftern been the defining factor that systems sound better when there is less electricity being consummed in the homes of non audiophiles and less demand from industry and business.Hence bad power bad sound, so live with it or do something to improve it.

The music always sounded better to me later at nite.

Some folks would argue that a well designed product should sound good at anytime of the day.
Again, I state that I have never owned any gear so well designed.

Whether you turn out the lites or not, or whether you close your eyes or leave them open , late nite listening sounds better and it's not the absence of light that is the reason.It's the absence of grunge on the lines, and low voltage, two things that are present when listening at other times of the day.

There are some people who would never turn the lites off when listening.Depriving oneself the pleasure of gazing at the sheer beauty of those designer power amps would be a diservice to them and to the craftsman who made them so beautiful.

Fuses, who sees them?

People do seem to oogle big fat power cords though.
Is that why they sound better?

It's easy to ask for the measurable proof to back up the "improvemnts" some folks state.

Are dedicated lines just a figment of some folks imaginations?

Surely it's the same panel, same breaker and same electrical current going to the gear, which some folks say just can't be improved upon or altered . It's just electrical current afterall, look at all the miles it's travelled and thru all the wires it's travelled ,how can a dedicated line make an audible improvemnt?Why bother?

Yet I don't think I've seen one negative remark about dedicated lines.

I'll leave it to the myth busters to tell me why it can't make an audible difference.

I hear it, but I can't prove it.

Now on to the fuse.

Again how can it make difference?
Well I can't explain why and I don't have the gear to measure if it does or doesn't.

But I heard how a stock fuse can cripple the sound of most amps and fuse protected speakers that I owned.
So did Peter Aczel.
Magnepans and solid state and tube amps benefitted sonically when I used diy fuse substitutes.

Not advised,but the sound was better.
I did not have any bad luck, no meltdowns or failures gear wise, but I never left my gear on 24/7 either.

When the designer fuses came out they offered the sonics of no fuse but with the protection of a fuse.

I switched to the upgraded fuses, the best of both worlds.

I guess I am one of those folks who has to see it, or I should say, hear it for myself before I accept anyone's opinions one way or the other.

If I never tried dedicated lines and fuse alternatives,how would I have been able to give my impression of what they do?

Spouting a lot of techno babble is very impressive,but until one does the experiment for themselves, it's just speculation and conjecture based on scientific jargon.

That's as much a belief system as those who believe things do work but don't know why.

Or care less for that matter.

Hi Lacee - I too am a believer in dedicated lines and late night listening. I even use fancy fuses. And I agree that the most informed opinions are ones that include personal experience. Having said that, I readily acknowledge that plenty of folks have technical knowledge that I don't, and that many of my opinions are under-informed.

Above all else I am a fallibilist, though I don't always act like it. People can be wrong about anything, including experts. IMO, expertise is something that should be respected and challenged in roughly equal measure. And so I tend to listen to both Skeptics and Believers.

FWIW.

Bryon

Hi Bryon - your comments here on expertise reminds me of the final film of Orson Welles, F is for Fake. If you haven't seen it, you need to. I think you would really enjoy it, and it is very much on your topic.

Hi Learsfool - I haven't seen F is for Fake, but I know what it's about and it sounds interesting. I will put it on my Netflix list. Thanks! :-)

Bryon