Power cables - am bewildered!

[manoj.p]

Do you know which other company does not believe in measurements? Bose.

Ironically, that co also believes in heavy promotional and marketing talk/activities. Go figure.

 

[abhijitnath]

Well, you and I know that in the context of a high-end system there are things that you can hear that you cannot measure. Measuring equipment is not up to the challenge of discerning very small differences that we can hear. And what audiophiles call big differences -- in reality if you could measure it, they are not big differences at all. They are small and they are subtle.

But look, when we were cavemen out in the forest and foraging for food and theres a mountain lion out there, the slightest, subtlest auditory noise was the difference between life and death. You hear the snap of a twig and instantly the brain can calculate what direction it came from. How far it was. Was it a soft paw? Was it the hard paw of, for instance, a deer?

All of those things the brain can calculate, and those senses evolved over millions of years. The brains ability to discern and perceive far outstrips the ability of test equipment to measure it. When somebody comes to me and they say, "I dont believe in that," I say to them, "It's your right; you dont have to believe it." You can believe your ears or you can trust the measurements; it's your choice.

CAEILIN GABRIEL (Shunyata Research)

So- if the cable manufacturers don't know what they're trying to improve (since it's so unquantifiable), how do they know what to build to improve it? When they say- this cable will give you a 'blacker background' or whatever, how do they know they need to add 4 strands more of copper, or 2 strands of silver? Blind luck?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Their answer would be trial and error --- although they might use more fancy words. You know, stuff like listening to every batch to see which direction an ethernet cable should be connected!

 

[Santy]

There is another alternative to develop stuff without numbers on paper.

It is known as "Trial and Error" method.

It appears that it not only applied in manufacturing them but also in choosing them at consumer level. Why? Because an inexpensive cord may sound good and an expensive cord may not. So how too choose? Keep buying (importing) every weekend, power cords to find out what actually makes difference. Ofcourse the trouble in disposing them is inevitable especially when prospective buyers know that the cord you sell didn't work satisfactorily. Another problem is a cord which works on one system may not work on another. Synergy is important. Wow. I am sure one can derive fun in doing this all the year. And what about upgrade? Why should one stop with that cord which made difference. There could be another cable, expensive or inexpensive that could give a better difference. All this, when the electronics on the output side of the power supply sees a plain, nicely filtered, constant DC voltage. I somewhere read. Hi-end cables are good for the economic balance of the society. Because it helps in distribution of wealth. I concur.

Edit: Thad beat me on that.

 

[Santy]

https://app.audiogon.com/listings/ac-cables-elrod-statement-gold-power-chord-2013-12-06-power-spain

I wonder how these Power Cords would be ?
Has anyone tried them ?

Will be keen to see if we have any of the "experimental researchers" buy this cable and post share their experience with others on how it made a difference.

Asking Price: $2,900.00
New Retail Price: $6,400.00

LMAO.

 

[randhir_s]

Do ferrite beads help in power cables? Or are they only good for data cables?

Does anybody know where we can get clampable Ferrite core/ beads in India

If something cannot be measured then it could not have been recorded or played back.

Humans cannot even hear what dogs can hear, let alone bats. And yet, there are microphones and recording equipment that "hear" (measure) what bats hear. The ability of the human ego waaaay exceeds the ability of the human ear.

The above statement is just a piece of marketing nonsense, appealing to the ego of a certain customer base. Carefully aimed bullshit.

It might have been more honest to say something like, we can measure everything, but the measurements are not necessarily relevant or useful.

You don't just hear music, you feel music. If music could be only heard then Bose's experiment of music on plants is irrelevant.

 

[magma]

Measurements dont really mean jack

the distortion figures in most tube amps compared to the SS counterparts is a joke
then to, many prefer tubes

so the ear likes distortion?
well in short, in does , it may or may not

the 2order and 3 rd order distortions are actually preffered by some ( including me ) since it makes the music more "pleasing"
well some say so

so if you are looking for measurements and equating price to measurements
youre barking up the wrong tree

a benchmark DAC2 measure far better ( in almost all respects ) than many dacs that cost multiples of it
However does everyone like it ?
probably not ?

well all audio companies know this
and this is precisely the reason they hit upon a certain something that may be considered good by some

 

[bornfi]

When one spends big money to buy these expensive cables his mind starts playing tricks and he starts hearing improvements. This is not just limited to power cables but other interconnections too.

The question is how big of an investment. Just so that new enthusiasts coming to this forum do not get misguided, since I have been through this journey, my take is that cables do make difference but not alone. See, any system is like a magnifying glass so, in case you have revealing system, please ensure to have decent cables too.

The more I talk, more rotten tomatoes would get lined up for me so, please at least, try Mogami.

 

[bornfi]

Measurements dont really mean jack

the distortion figures in most tube amps compared to the SS counterparts is a joke
then to, many prefer tubes

so the ear likes distortion?
well in short, in does , it may or may not

the 2order and 3 rd order distortions are actually preffered by some ( including me ) since it makes the music more "pleasing"
well some say so

so if you are looking for measurements and equating price to measurements
youre barking up the wrong tree

a benchmark DAC2 measure far better ( in almost all respects ) than many dacs that cost multiples of it
However does everyone like it ?
probably not ?

well all audio companies know this
and this is precisely the reason they hit upon a certain something that may be considered good by some

I agree totally, it is all illusion and one should build one's system based on what one likes. I recently had a visitor who openly accepted that he likes the colored sound so he shifted from a $4000 to $250 DAC and regretted all his expenses so far.

 

[sound_cycle]

You don't just hear music, you feel music. If music could be only heard then Bose's experiment of music on plants is irrelevant.

there's music

and

there's audio

the latter is physics. it is measurable. the psychology of the perception of that audio is well understood.

Plants get eaten. they don't organize and form rock bands. They do not produced more starch for your consumption just because you played that nocturne brilliantly either.

JIC required science is not necessarily *****t because it is honest about uncertainty.


ciao
gr

 

[Sean de Silva]

From my high school knowledge, transmission power loss is dependent on resistance of cable. Theoretically, a better conductor will reduce power loss from the plug point to the equipment i.e. more power is available to equipment at any instant.

I have experienced a dramatic increase in volume after using Mr Murthy's high quality power cables which replaced the cheap generic used earlier. The difference is so palpable that I never have to go beyond 9am (which is appreciably loud to me) on the vol dial for most CDs unless ofcourse it's a dodgy recording.

 

[kromastorm]

Hi All,
I had few queries regarding speaker cables. I have a Denon X1600H receiver coupled with Polk Audio T series speaker package in a room with dimension 25 x 14 Feet. For cables I had bought amazonbasics 14 gauge CCA wire ( not sure if it is accurate) initially. I am not too perceptive of finer differences in audio frequencies but wanted to explore switching to other alternative cable types and see if I can detect any sound improvements.

In this regards, I wanted to check if it would be better to try out any electrical cable like OFC finolex/havells. The other option I was thinking of was to contact ProFX team for cable options, not aware of their price range but just a thought at this point.

Also, if I want to purchase any electrical cable, would it be better to buy it online? Sometimes I find online products with damaged/loose packaging which creates doubt on their authenticity. I am located in Bangalore and am looking for a modest budget of Rs 2-3K.

Please let me know if this budget is reasonable to find slight improvement in audio.

 

[spirovious]

In this regards, I wanted to check if it would be better to try out any electrical cable like OFC finolex/havells. The other option I was thinking of was to contact ProFX team for cable options, not aware of their price range but just a thought at this point.

Polycab 1.5sqmm 2 core electric cable sounds good in ht. 2.5sqmm sounds bigger,but can compromise on details in music.
speakers wires from Monoprice, DAC are good vfm cables.

 

[matazooma]

Was wondering if there would be any improvement in Subwoofer sound if we change the stock Cables?

 

[spirovious]

Was wondering if there would be any improvement in Subwoofer sound if we change the stock Cables?

Yes as SW signal is analog. Need good 75 ohm cable for better results.

 

[matazooma]

Yes as SW signal is analog. Need good 75 ohm cable for better results.

I was referring to power cables not signal cable.

 

[drkrack]

I was referring to power cables not signal cable.

Yes it does change very much.
I changed my Svs pb 2000 Pro power cable to Supra Power Cable and there was a phenomenal improvement in Bass Accuracy and Punch etc...
As usual YMMV

 

[matazooma]

Yes it does change very much.
I changed my Svs pb 2000 Pro power cable to Supra Power Cable and there was a phenomenal improvement in Bass Accuracy and Punch etc...
As usual YMMV

Good to know. I have pb1000.
Pb2000pro has IEC c13/c15 connector but pb1000 has iec c7 connector so finding c7 connector for DIY is becoming difficult. I am looking for compact c7 connector not the bulky ones found in eBay.

 

[kromastorm]

Polycab 1.5sqmm 2 core electric cable sounds good in ht. 2.5sqmm sounds bigger,but can compromise on details in music.
speakers wires from Monoprice, DAC are good vfm cables.

Thanks for the response.

Would you please also let me know the preferred way to purchase monoprice cables?

 

[pkhammu2005]

Was wondering if there would be any improvement in Subwoofer sound if we change the stock Cables?

I found great difference after upgrading to Murthy power cable(16A) compared to my stock Xtz one. Sounds much tighter now