Iv tried a 1500$ power cable on my 20.000$ system just for fun. No difference at all as I expected, and returned it back with a "just as I tought" comment to the dealer. Only difference was that the cable looks ticker and nicer, and I would have been 1500$ broker... i watch paul's videos daily and learning alot from him, but he is also a salesman, and as we all know, them are not always to be trusted;)
Don’t forget ... Paul DOES sell $21,000 speaker cables. Sooooooooo if you’re hooking it to the right equipment, then you’re “going to hear a ‘big’ difference”. I love Paul’s videos, but it is really laughable. Anyone that falls for that ought to be embarrassed, unless of course you have that kind of money to burn and it makes you feel better spending that much for an audio cable. I always say, if you make a product and market it the right way, you can slap any price you want on it .... and some people will pay it. Also ... I’ll note that adding 4 feet of cable adds $12,000 to the cost.
Ac power still has to go through your house wiring so, what difference would an expensive power cable make? It's like putting one steel link in a chain where all the other links are just weaker iron , it's a total waste. You just need a power cable that is at least as good as your house wiring .
The main reasoning for hifi cables and conditioners/regenerators is to fix the problems and manage tweaks according to preferences or as far as psychically possible. So it's never a optimal delivery solution since the root problems cannot be solved completely like you succinctly point out. But then again, when you can use regenerators that basically recreate the sinus wave completely, and various cables that optimize the pre and post delivery of signal and power, then the results will be based on the quality of all the small parts and things that play a role in both the digital and analogue domain. Unless you're Scott free of any digital involvement. But many prefer the top DACs and streamers to replace vinyl. That's for another discussion.
@@Barb5001 Sure, but you can't really disconnect the relationship between the one and the other's purpose. Everything is connected and it's down to the small details where cables make the differences in the highest end. But more drastically when comparing 5 dollar stuff vs, say, 100USD stuff and the more 'normal' ranges of hifi. But I've never experienced super high end in person, so I won't have too strong opinions about it.
Sorry Paul. You lost me on "yes there is a difference but this is not the place to explain why". Yes it is, this is exactly the place unless you can't. Unless you have magic active components in the cable that will make the building power connection quality better, its just BS. You are feeding the input of a power supply. The only thing you need to worry about is can the cable handle the current and is the build quality good enough to remain sound over time.
You're right. I should throw out my EE degree and 30+ years of experience in aerospace and go off into the sunset whimpering because the audio world is too complicated and magical for me.
"Yes it makes no sense..." The only thing you've said that does. Don't want to hear from me? Please stop responding to this post. I already stopped following this channel.
Dont forget the 10's of meters of wound wire in the primary winding of the transformer as well, or the thin high resistance wire of the input fuses inside the amps and cd players. Its like building a minor road for 100miles and then putting a motorway on the last 100 meters and saying you have increased the speed of the road. It makes NO sense at all. Next they will tell us not to turn your equipment upside down so the electrons dont fall out.
Let's see, we have 5 comments, all from people arguing from first principles, using bad analogies, and none of them have actually tried power cables. Typical skeptic nonsense. Skeptics are so arrogant and think that they are so knowledgeable that they go around policing other people's claims, but their own comments show that they're just assuming stuff, making lazy a priori arguments, and generally talking nonsense and arguing from ignorance.
Interesting and a sensible conclusion for the system in question. I built my own power amp back in 1989 and upgraded the capacitors and internal cables last year. Huge difference. It is 200W per channel but the dc supply is capable of 500W per channel. That huge reserve means that the sound is not affected by anything before it. Even at full volume the audio continues for s few seconds after switching the power off. If all good systems were built with a reasonable amount of reserve power then the dynamics would be optimised and mains cables wouldn’t matter at all. Running a power conditioner is ok but the amp power supply should be better designed. After all, the rest of the amp is just controlling how much of the power supply DC is let through to the speakers.
Paul is absolutely correct, power cables DO make a difference. I used to run NO power cables, and boy did my system sound BAD! I tried moving my speakers around, changing gear, etc... and it still sounded dreadful. Then I purchased "ROMEX" brand power cables, and boy did my system come alive! All my equipment would power on with force and authority! I mean, you could literally see light emanating from within the components. But get this, even other components plugged into the same circuit would turn on, such as my television, phone chargers, and even my Nintendo Entertainment System. I was so surprised that I contacted ROMEX for additional power wire and ran outlets ALL throughout my house. My wife was really stoked because now she didnt need to wash and dry our laundry outside, she could do it inside with a "washer and dryer." Last month, I wired a sub-panel in my garage! And not with just 120V, but also with 240V!!! Now I am able to power my welding machine. Guys, let me tell you... my welding machine sounds INCREDIBLE. You can clearly hear the high-frequencies generated by the TIG welder. Welding aluminum has never sounded this good! I dont know about this year's budget, but for 2018 I am going to contact Paul about re-wiring my ENTIRE villa with their power cables. And to take it even further, I am going to contact our city officials and see if they are willing to re-wire the entire city PCOCC wire. This will ensure that everyone has a fair shake. After all, everyone should enjoy HIGH FIDELITY AUDIO.
No reasoning detected whatsoever, just usual audiophile marketing racket. Here is THE reasoning though: you have dozens of feet of the cheapest possible wire running into and through your house. Add a couple of feet of the $600 cable running from the wall to your amp, what difference does it make? Would it instantly upgrade all the wiring in your home? I highly doubt. Ok, let's assume you got an industrial grade AC conditioner, which gives you a perfect voltage, can run enough Amperes through it, and produce a perfect "audiophile grade" sine. I dare you to compare a 10$ cable to that $600 one. There's only 3 parameters to measure: resistance, inductance and capacitance. Resistance is pretty much the only thing that matters here and can easily be matched to the requirement just by going a gauge or two thicker. But then again, what's the point if the wire in your walls is twice (or more) as thin? The inductance and capacitance can be fully neglected here because they only affect frequency response, and no cable is capable of 'tainting" that perfect sine of yours, not at 60Hz anyway. To summarize: given low enough resistivity, power cables don't and can't differ significantly enough to be able to affect any operational parameters of electronic equipment. Just laws of physics, nothing else to it. Oh no, actually there is: marketing! Marketing makes everything sound so much better, even a piece of copper wire!
It's Snake Oil. At best it can be compared to putting tires rated for 200mph on a base model 90's Civic and claim it will have a higher top speed. You'll need a more power engine and rebuilt suspension to make that purchase worth it. PS Audio is firmly aiming to put themselves out of business or at best aiming to cater to people who fall for anything. The actual audio products seems to be of good quality. Just drop the BS and move on.
10 years ago I had a $150? Shunyata Venom IEC power cable that I had purchased for a used phono pre amp that didn’t include a power cable. I didn’t think much of it and took it out to sell it since it didn’t lose its value. I put in a regular IEC power cable; it was fine. A few years went by before I finally decided to put the Shunyata up for sale. Well, before I packed it up, just for fun I a/b tested my power amp’s stock power cable (Parasound a23, $995) with the Shunyata. I went back and forth 5 times and every time the Shunyata power cable made the vocals sound a little more realistic. I couldn’t believe it. I WANTED to sell that cable but the improvement in sound quality was undeniable. It was noticeable enough that I kept the Shunyata. I was really surprised since it wasn’t even an audio cable. You never know unless you try I guess.
Hang on...the audio doesn't flow along the power cable, so why? Its the power supply's problem to filter out noise from the power source so if it doesn't do its job, just improve the power supply design - a much cheaper solution. It doesn't matter what the incoming AC is like if the power supply can clean it up.
I spent $100 on a power cord vs the free one. The difference was worth the $100 I spent. I heard it on a very resolving system. I also have a cheap system that I didn’t hear the difference. Everything matters in your chain.
A company here in the UK that only makes mains conditioners and cables were taken to court for selling cables because they couldn't prove they worked . they did get away with it because who ever took them to court couldn't prove they didn't work . strange but true .
Greetings, In the early 1980's, high-end speaker cables were beginning to appear on the market. Some of the product claims were totally unbelievable and had prices to match. And, the nonsense is still being foisted on us today. Audio cable must be burned or run-in for a 100 hours. The best cable is cryogenically treated. Audio cables are directional. They must be supported off the floor via insulators. They have damping factors. They must be 'conditioned' to keep the wire molecularly aligned. Ad nauseam. It is all snake-oil designed to part the naive buyer from his money. It is all a crock! The ONLY factor that affects performance of audio cables is the wire gauge for a particular maximum distance between amplifier and speakers at a particular Ohm rating. If you have the proper gauge, all audio cable will sound exactly the same! "Realizing that wire resistance was the critical factor in speaker wire, Gordon Gow, then President of McIntosh Laboratory, still a maker of world class, high fidelity amplifiers, used a speaker cable demonstration to show there was no listening difference between high-end audio cables and plain line cord (14 AWG lamp cord wire). Fifty-foot lengths of wire were used in the blind comparison. The setup consisted of a master control relay box and two slave relay boxes. A three-position switch was used to select one of three different speaker cables of equal length. One was common line cord. The other two cables were from popular high-end manufacturers. 8-ohm speakers were selected for the test. The two other brand name cables were heavier than the line cord. The test proved his point. No one could hear ANY DIFFERENCES using several different 8-ohm speaker systems." -- from Speaker Wire, A History by Roger Russell.
Amplification stages run on DC. That DC is supposed to be stabilized by rock-steady voltage regulators, separate foe each channel. There almost always are fluctuations in the AC supply, be it 117 volts (America) or 220 volts Europe). Weak power cables will induce such fluctuations at the power input of the amp. Also consider that the house wiring and the kilometers of cable from the grid transfo to your house are also part of the "power cable". The DC regulator is supposed to smooth them out and a good DC regulator will make them completely disappear. So I don't see what difference power cables can make IF (I insist: "IF") the DC regulator does its job adequately.
*_"I hear 'Oh that's bullshit!'... No it's not."_* As an electrical engineer, yes. The idea that power cables make a difference is indeed bullshit. You're changing the last few feet of cabling on what is probably a 100+ foot run from your distribution box. And from that box, there may be another LONG run to the transformer. I'm sorry, but it's *_NOT_* going to make an audible difference. It's so disappointing when I hear people buy in to this nonsense. :(
Why are you personally "disappointed" by other people's choices and beliefs? Try not to get so triggered by other people's business. If you don't believe cables can make a difference, all the more power to you. Why get upset that other people see the situation differently? Maybe they hear the improvement, but you can't. Or does that idea trigger you? It can't be possible that someone else has better hearing, or is better trained in listening than you.
I'm sure folks like you would prefer to abolish freedom of speech, but as of right now, if you put your beliefs on the internet for everyone to see, they're open to criticism. If you're going to get triggered by that criticism, I suggest not coming down into the comment section. *_"Maybe they can hear the improvement, but you can't."_* Plenty of people can hear things I can't. However, nobody can hear the difference between a normal power cable and an expensive one. If you disagree with that statement then you either don't understand human anatomy and the limits of our sensory capabilities OR you're ignorant about the electrical characteristics of the circuitry that powers your audio system. But lets assume for a moment that I too was ignorant of these things. Prove it. Prove you can hear the difference. I want to see statistically significant data and methodology showing SOMEONE can hear such a difference. Otherwise it's all just a scam.
You've changed the subject on every post, Falcrist. Now you're talking about freedom of speech and accusing me of wanting to abolish it? I am a strong supporter of freedom of speech. What are you on about? Your ideas are full of magical thinking and you keep refusing to engage in good faith, but you accuse me of not being able to handle criticism? Have you even presented any criticism? Not as far as I can see. All I see is you making magical claims, like the idea that the physical properties of the conductor have no affect on signal transmission. When it comes to the cable debate, whether power cables or any other cables, it's the skeptic who suffers from magical thinking, not the believer. "Prove it. Prove you can hear the difference." Prove it to whom? I've proven it to myself. It's impossible to prove it to somebody who refuses to acknowledge the possibility that there is a difference, and accuses everyone who does claim there is a difference of lying to themselves or suffering from placebo.
*_"I am a strong supporter of freedom of speech."_* Could have fooled me, coming from someone who can't take even mild criticism directed at someone else. *_"Your ideas are full of magical thinking"_* Well isn't that something. Who would have thought an audiophile would accuse someone else of magical thinking. No. I'm rejecting the faith-based thinking of much of the audiophile community, because my rather basic understanding of electronics and anatomy both reveal the abject ignorance required to believe in this nonsense. I'm sorry, but I'm not part of the cult. You're really going to have to do better than that. *_"Have you even presented any criticism?"_* Indeed I have. I'll refer you to the root comment of this thread where I explain in no uncertain terms what is bullshit and why it's bullshit. *_"Prove it to whom?"_* The answer to your question should be quite obvious. Prove it to me. Or if you don't like me. Prove it to someone else who is skeptical about your claims, record the trial, and present it as evidence to anyone else who doubts you. I'd point you to James Randi, but he actually died while waiting for people like you to prove it to him. *_"I've proven it to myself."_* Exactly how many shits do you think I give about your faith? If you shat in one hand and held your faith in the other, which do you think would be worth more to me? I'm sure I could come up with a few more scatalogical analogies if you like.
You're a lost cause, dude. Grow up and learn to respect other people, instead of the typical engineering personality disorder bullshit you are displaying here. No one said anything about faith, you keep changing the subject, mind-reading, and projecting. You just pigeonhole thing immediately because you know everything. Have fun with that.
I have listened to this endless debate on audible improvements in cables for decades. As an engineer in the defense industry having worked on analog circuits from DC to over 100 GHz, I will simply say this. Show me the measurement of differences between your comparisons. This should be trivial at audio frequencies. Why is it that no one ever brings data to these debates? Ask yourself what the likelihood of someone having spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on cable products to enhance their system being objective in any listening test. The only reason that NASA or the military use exotic materials in cables is for severe environment applications like space. I have never experienced anyone using litz wire in a phased antenna array with requirements for cable matching that would stand your hair on end. Your power cable is plugged into the limiting factor of your system. Run a separate 30 Amp line to service system, isolate it with a transformer and filter it before wasting a nickel on expensive power cables to your system components. Should be stated that most testing reported is done by those that have this basic AC power upgrade. However as experimental setup drawings are never provided or described the consumer is left uninformed. Engineers rely on test data for comparison. Psychoacoustic subjectivity has no place in usable comparison evaluations. Listen and back your blind A to B testing with measured data to confirm them.
"IF YOU CAN'T MEASURE IT, IT isn't REAL" As you did not provide a proper reference to the issue of "Copper" I had to search and finally found it and then part 2 . Again, this is not engineering. Where in the literature has lower cable impedance ever been correlated with any other performance metric like speaker performance and interaction, Amplifier damping or transformer interaction? Where is the data the author refers to but does not make available and why isn't there a real engineering journal referenced in the article? what measurents were performed and with what instruments? where is the E&M model or even real listening comparison testing data in blind A/B form. Were the measurements repeatable and statistical valid. This is loosely applied Electromagnetic Theory that has never been experimentally verified. All fluff and nonsense presented in cute cartoon fashion. As you can see from many comments you have lost the respect of your audience members . Perhaps you need more objective consultants than those trying to sell wire for a living?
PS (!) I have already had two dedicated mains supplies installed to the breaker box for each of music room. Using hospital grade outlets too. Mains power filter/AVR, check. Shielded power cables are the next logical step :-)
I’ve heard that none of them are UL listed. Shielding raises the temperature in the wire. My bro is an electrician. 15 amp circuit is 14 AWG. What difference is the last three feet going to make?!
My favorite one was when they blindfolded a room full of "golden ear audiophiles" and switched back and forth between RIDICULOUSLY expensive speaker wires vs coat hangers! non of them could tell any difference. There's a writeup about it out there somewhere if you search for it. There's a sucker born every minute.
Batt Man There is difference in cables, but not enough to make difference on power cables, after all there is usually smps supply or transformer with filtering caps that gets rid of noise
Just think about it, oscopes are really accurate, if you would take 2 identical amplifiers and try to match gain so you would have same voltage output on both of them and then hook up to different channels and compare them both on screen you would most likely get same result (if there was any difference test would show and everybody would use them), i read it multiple times on forums its simple and easy way to test cable and if i had equipment i would do it just to prove there is no difference Just think about world without scientific proofs, you wouldnt even have amplifiers and we would be in stone age, so enjoy your pudding and have a nice day.
I have not commented on these videos yet, but got to say, love the great and honest advice. Everything seems to be explained in simple terms, that I can understand.
everything that produces sound is beyond the power supply section. The power supply of an amp just needs to be able to supply power transistors and input sections and other circuits in the amp with the current they need to do their work. A section of ordinary power cable that can deliver 10-15A AC is not a weak link. Replacing it with a higher gauge (lets assume it is) and putting that in line between the amp and the wall, will not increase the amount of current the amp will be able to draw - because there is still the cable in the wall that is the issue. Even if the cable in the wall was upgraded and the fuse panel was upgraded and EVERYTHING was upgraded, you'd need to run the amp hard enough where its exceeding the current limitations of an ordinary cable and thats just not going to happen with ordinary efficiency speakers attached to a class AB amplifier unless you're driving at near ear splitting volume.
How can an a.c power cord make any difference on audio equipment when the a.c power is converted to d.c by the power supply to operate the circuitry. The exception may be using a heavier gauge cord on a higher power amp.to avoid voltage drop on peak demands on output.
Cables might measure differently on the test bench but this doesn't matter in real life because as long as the resistance of the cables is low enough you will audibly not hear any difference.
Wow. He works for PS audio that sell's power cords. There is miles and miles of old copper wire that connect's your wall socket to the power plant and that last feet will make a huge difference? Come on people wake up. If you can't measure it, it does not exist.
Power cables DO make a difference. I suspect people get so angry because they feel it's an affront to them that they cannot hear it themselves. Could just be their hearing isn't as good as they thought.
I suggest someone measures the voltage drops on each of the two power wires between the wall and the amp while in use; and show how much voltage drop is involved. Well, reality is that you have much longer power cables going through your house. The NEC (NFPA 70) recommends no more than 3% voltage drop on branch circuits within your home. My guess is that the actual drop on the last couple of meters between the wall to your amplifier using any reasonable quality cable is below 100 mV. Do not think that the last couple of meters of power cable are more important than the many meters inside your walls. Rather, if you are very passionate about this and want to be sure, simply measure the AC RMS voltage at your amplifier's power plug and see how it drops when playing loud. If there is a drop, then measure the voltage at the wall outlet and if the drop is significantly less, you have a theoretical reason for buying expensive power cables. Otherwise the reason is pure psychological. Now, if the drop is significant also at the wall outlet, your house wiring is an issue. I doubt you can hear a 3V drop of the AC voltage however. In fact, any quality amplifier should have sufficient electrolytic capacitors on its power rails to avoid having any dynamic power issues due to small drop in AC voltage.
Just put an oscilloscope at the amp output and measure the signal with an dollar store power cable and an ultra-high quality audiophile grade cable and show the results! If a PC microprocessor with more than a billion transistors in less than a sq inch switching on and off billion times a second at very low voltages (being very susceptible to electrical noise) runs perfectly fine with a shoddy power cable how can 3 ft of cable make a difference in an analog system barely dealing with 20 kHz frequencies?? I understand designing nice connectors, making an nice PCB design, optimizing circuits, selecting good transistors, etc., but if you have an steady voltage on mains and good grounding, changing anything before the power supply would make no difference at all.
Please explain " high-performance audio system ". Do you have active components in said "high-performance audio system" that have junctions comprised of unobtanium ? If not, thats just more marketing bullshit.
open minded here but explain how this would go. the average house uses 14ga solid copper wire on a 15a breaker for 120v power. 20a would be 12ga solid. if we took the plug in out of the wall and ran that wire straight to the amplifier you would be as direct as possible. that's 14ga. how would an 8ga power cable or the like make any difference when our homes are limited by what's in the wall? if certain cable designs reduce noise i would get that but is that the argument ?
Good point Kyle, but I think that most people who get high-end power cables are using them after a power conditioner or regenerator. The power conditioning is going to eliminate the deleterious effects of all those feet of wire in the walls and on the poles. You wouldn’t want to make your power pristine, and then plug in cheap 18 Ga. unshielded power cables for that last three feet and mess it back up.
Julia Set that was what I suspected to be honest with you. If there is an increase in noise suppression or a power conditioner as you would call it that would make sense
I have a neighbor down the street who is a wood worker. I used to be able to tell when he was running his saw because I could hear it in my stereo. After I installed my power conditioner, all is deep silence.
in car audio the power cord does a lot but in home audio you have switching power of 220v or 110v so for it to be a difference you must have some sort of an enhancment like 3cable power,,forgot what they call it..i think in switching mode all the enhancments occurs in the amp..in110v or 220v ac i think it can make a miniskyle diff if your power cord is like 2mm thick vs a cord that is pure silver linings and 20mm thick each and an amp above 500w rms 8 ohm per channel and even so it would be miniscule diff..either way he has to make a living and there are rich ppl that can afford these cables so why not..make a power and audio cable fild with water and see if the sound differs
I prefer to have higher quality cabling in my system to compliment the grade of my gear but I’ve yet to hear a discernible difference between a $100 vs $1000 Powercord or IC.
Is there a really a difference from the included power cables and $100 one? I had cheap rca’s sounded weak and thin i change them to a different set and made a big difference. I make a set of mogami 2497 and i heard a difference but it wasnt as big as the difference between the included cables and a $20 cable.
Good answer Paul. Again couldn’t agree with you more power cables make a huge difference “but” it depends on how good and how resolving the system is how much difference you will hear in upgrades you make. Like you said that $300 might be better spend on something else in the system. I would however at some point highly recommend he upgrade his power cords, maybe not $300 in a power cable but maybe he will find there is a modest price power cable that might make a nice enough improvement that he can justify that investment.
5:17 EXCELLENT ADVICE Paul. David should *take his time* to identify the weak link, then *take time* identifying the next product to improve that component in the system, and *take time* getting to know it, running it in well, all the while enjoying the music. Rinse and Repeat. Rash, impulsive decisions rarely turn out well and can be expensive. The gradual incremental upgrade path this is also the best value for money on the quest for a high-level system. Congratulations, Paul on a great video format for us audiophiles. All the best, Rob
Id love to see more data. Why don't more people analyze cables with lab measurent gear. Measuring on cable itself, or/and analyze sounds produced by the speaker same time. It would be even greater than listening with ears for difference. People can so easily convince themselves that it is better, and defend their action/purchase in all sorts of ways. Sometimes its a good idea not to ask for advice from people who invested in whatever your interested in. Personally I just believe there is a reasoable limit with cable price/quality, ofcourse tho, you can be guy who just MUST have cables cost match amplifier cost, and you have the money, or/and that guy who just needs that 0.000000001% difference. And with digital cables there is NO! difference what so ever, unless you have super long runs, MASSIVE interference, or the material falls apart. I saw 500$ 2meter "Ethernet cable for streaming", as if you couldn't stream with a normal ethernet cable, the description had all sorts of fancy wordings, but no actual mention of what material was used, .. it might also had said "Vortex noise cancellation technology" ?? you mean cables inside are twisted? as all other ethernet cables.
I had the opportunity to hear the Sprout, I think 3 years ago, when you participated at the Newport Audio Show. It was hooked up to a headphone (Grado, if I remember correctly). Loved the sound of the Sprout, very 3-dimensional and tonally balanced. I would get one if I'm in the market for an integrated, but would highly recommend it to anyone looking. Keep up the good work with these videos Paul and more power to PS Audio. Btw, my condolences to you for having lost a great friend recently.
Let us consider the question from a different perspective. The Elac B5 speakers sell on Amazon for $180/pr the time of this post. I'd consider them a bit better than average sounding, budget bookshelf speakers. Not, OMG bookshelf speakers. That said, why would anyone consider spending more money on their power cable than their speakers?!!??!?? Then we have the issue of the Audioquest speaker cables. A 6ft pair costs around $200. Again, more than the cost of the speakers. And then the final point, the mere suggestion that this fella pick up a Stellar for around $1700 for a better source...come on man. The weakest link w/o a doubt are his Fry's Electronics box item speakers.
Hi Paul, We enjoy your videos. It would be very convincing if you could mention the scientific reasons as well for the improvements you could hear when using good power cables.
The reason is the placebo effect. It's the simplest, most elegant way to explain an observation that an expensive power cable sounds better than an inexpensive one.
I can't see how a few feet long power cable would make a difference. There's tens of meters of some random power cable running inside the walls, maybe a few hundred meters more running from the transformer to the house and adding this 300$ few feet long power cable between the amp and the wall socket changes somehow the musical properties of the whole setup... Doubt.
I was enjoying your videos, you know a lot of interesting history of the field. Unfortunately, I just now saw you sell $799 power cables. I've seen a few of the comments below discussing how engineering proves any claims of superiority of such cables to be nonsense. The simplest way to understand how laughable these claims are is to consider all the wiring up to the outlet. There's tens of feet of really basic Romex 14 or 12 gauge solid copper house wiring, maybe 10 ga, but about as basic as wiring gets. Then there's the wires from your service entrance to the pole, often triplex aluminum, and then the miles of bare aluminum wiring to the power generation stations. What can those last 6 feet of cable do to the electrons flowing through them that could POSSIBLY make ANY difference? You hear about all of these esoteric mechanisms that make big improvements in sound quality, often 'huge' or 'vast' improvements, what happens when you subtract all of them to arrive at the quality of simple, straightforward gear that is well engineered to high, but measurable, technically justifiable standards? You'd think with all of these huge improvements taken away, it should be surprising if a recording of someone simply talking would yield understandable speech! You should go find Peter Aczel's writings in the later Audio Critics, or engineers that get published in peer reviewed journals. I'll still watch your videos from time to time, but claiming big improvements with power cords means I can't take your opinions about audio quality very seriously. It really is that bad, a claim so laughable you wonder ANYONE could take it seriously, for a professional in the field, it's a real reputation killer.
Well said mechtheist. The guys just found a way to strip away more cash from those who can afford to waste it. Unfortunately the more gullible who cannot afford it also fall for this voodoo bs.
Well, there are people who actually build dedicated listening rooms with isolated, clean, pure power supplies and wiring. I can understand them investing in good power cables. However, I have yet to see any electronic test equipment showing a demonstrable change in audio signal, so I still believe it's pointless, despite understanding.
Hey, that was my "Ask Paul" letter! Thanks for responding - I appreciate the your honesty and suggestions. Keep up the great videos. Excellent public outreach!
My two cents re relative importance: (1) Speakers (2) Room - speaker and sitting arrangement, acoustic treatments (3) amplification (4) source. And a distant (5) cables. I have spent money on power cables, but without audible benefit - and this is in a system with latest Pass Labs and Ayon amplification.
David parks. His honesty includes "yes expensive cables make a difference because...reasons I'm not going to mention here... So that's settled" that is about as dishonest as you can get. Cables are b.s. a good cable is as good as any expensive cable. There is a ceiling of performance and cables reached and breached that decades ago. 10 pounds for interconnects is fine. Same for same per/meter for speaker cables. Spend your money on speakers. No cables. Can't believe this is even a little controversial.
So, riddle me this Batman..... How does a 4 foot $300.00 power inter-connect cable, nullify 4 miles of .02 cents a foot Home Depot THHN wire that feeds that wall socket you are plugged into??????
You are talking about something completely different. A 3-foot power cord is just a brass extension of that pipe that won't rust, but the same dirty water still flows thru to its destination. What you are referring to is a power conditioner. Such a device samples the original waveform and re-draws it. It will also have other features such as voltage regulation, over current and spike protection. These are very common in computer mainframe and server installations. I believe PS audio makes these although they are hideously expensive. Buy one from a company that needs to protect millions of dollars in cloud servers and save a ton of $$$$$. Companies like GOOGLE are completely anal about the safety of there intellectual property. Their tech staff is all over that stuff with the highest tech test gear on the planet. They don't pay a hundred dollars a foot for AC cable either.
Sure they do, call them. They are a huge company and do business all over the world. That unit I mentioned is just a popular one used for offices and homes in the U.S. where normal service is 120v. You may need to get a hardwired unit for single phase and make a "creative" plug for it. Or... just hardwire it to your panel. Call GALCO Industrial Electronics, they are a SOLA distributer and will walk you thru everything. PEACE!
Wouldn't it be the easy to make a recording with each cable to see if there are any differences in the waveform? I have never seen something like this. Why is that??
Because facts don't sell overpriced stuff to audiophiles. There's one guy who did a comparison between a cheap 14AWG speaker cable and a very expensive 10(?)AWG cable and whilst you could see some difference in the measurements, it was only 0.6dB and didn't affect the waveform at all. Imagine that, spending hundreds or even thousands for a 0.6dB difference. Obviously you're going to tell yourself that it makes a difference.
Okay Paul you say your power cable costing 100s of dollars can make a significant enough difference to very high end audio equipment. Well that doesn't say a lot about high end audio equipment. If I was spending 1000s of dollars on an amplifier I'd want perfection. The fact the sound could be changed simply by changing a power chord is insulting to the company making the amp.
We can get a standoff for our speakers, 100% resonance free, absorbing earthquakes etc.etc., for just 499,- dollars a piece ;) Couple that with a premium , 1000 dollar silver cable, a special , 100% resonance absorbing cabinet for your precisious equipment at 5000 dollars, you have the ultimate base for just 7000 dollar.
Depends entirely on the value of the gear, i feel that good quality 1.5mm+ heavy duty power cable is a good upgrade from the .75mm to 1.00mm cables bundled with gear. You can buy the fittings you need crimp or solder them in, and you have the benefit of doing them to the ideal length for your setup. I don't personally feel that a power cable is worth $100+, and i'm no cheapskate with cable. I use qed kimber neotech and wireworld cables throughout my systems and yes they make a difference towards the tonal balance but as far as power cable goes i dunno. my reason is that power is very high level and it has already traveled hundreds of miles whats a meter or two at the end going to do?
So I built (for my own ease and convenance) 16 plug power strip on the back of my entertainment center with two input cords that connect a dedicated outlets… But not for the reasons that everyone else likes to suggest. I did it because it’s not proper to run more than a certain amount of outlets off of one feeder. Especially when you don’t know what might be plugged into them. What did it cost me to build this entire contraption with all nice commercial grade outlets in steel boxes which create a completely shielded enclosure (I didn’t do it for the shielding I did it so I could paint it black) with 10 gauge extension cord...(because I had a piece left over from something else) I would say the total project cost was under 60 bucks… Well under. So that’s why it’s hard for me to swallow something like $300 for one power cable.
If your house or appartment has a substandard power supply with "dirty" AC from the sockets, I'd think about improving that first before dropping money on a short power cable.
I agree, you can hear the difference, but only because you think you can. Psychoacoustics, unbelievably interesting how the mechanics of sound and our auditory sensory perception works within the brain. You are sitting back and hearing that sublime sound coming from your very expensive equipment playing your favorite track, and lo and behold you hear that extra nuance, that clarity, that horn or piano sounds right there! Bam $200.00 cable ... justified! If a 6 foot piece of stranded unobtainium wrapped by nude virgins from utopia land then blessed by Mr. long grey beard (Dave Jones) can alter or affect what 200 plus feet of 12/3 solid copper in your walls is guilty of fouling up, then lets have some techno babble about how that works exactly. Keep thinking it makes a difference and you know what it will to you.
Please don't waste your money and make manufacturers of these cables wealthier. I got a bag of these in a spare room. They do nothing at all. They are just stiffer with nice colours. Complete waste of money. Even interconnects are a waste of money. How does a 3000 British Pound interconnect compare with a 80 British pound interconnect? I can tell you as I have compared them. I won't mention which ones as that would be unfair to the manufacturer when many others make similar cables. There was absolutely no difference in sound. What makes the difference is the components. A 15k amp will perform! A 10k dac will perform. 15k speakers will perform. A bit of wire makes no difference.
i read about 100 posts regarding the veracity of power cords. some for, many against. but, to me, the real question here is whether Paul really believes the cords he sells improves the sound quality of the buyers system. if he does, fine. if he really doesn't know or care if his cables in fact make a positive addition to your system then 'houston we have a problem.'
C'mon, you are telling me that having a 5 feet $250 cable is going to make the difference? what about the other 100's of feet inside the wall that is nothing spacial but some Romex......Snake Oil!
@@phantomplastics6582 beauty is on the eye of the beholder. From the engineering side, you can build a bridge to stand millions of pounds, however, they don't move cars from one shore to the other any better than a relative good bridge. The extra expense is not justified. same with the cables, one is the regular power cable than cam from the factory and the other is them supper extra copper thick fancy cable. The truth is that electrons, at that current level, the electrons travel the same on both cables. Cables only needs to carry about 20 % more than the maximum you will use it for. more is expense without return.
Assuming that the less expensive power cable is of sufficient build quality regarding wire gauge, similar length, OFC, decent connection to decent plug, etc. ($25 or so), could you pick out the esoteric cable >90% of the time in a blind A/B test? If so, then there is a case for such cables. However, to me, the law of diminishing returns always applies (I do not have unlimited funds!)
Power cables are not required to carry or preserve audio information like interconnects and speaker cable. Power supplies should sufficiently decouple equipment from the mains fluctuations and interference. Is the cable performing special signal conditioning? I understand that the cable needs to be of sufficient guage and reasonably sturdy. Hopefully no switch on mains outlet that can corrode. Having a true balanced (differential) source and amplifier topology should take care if mains direct and radiated interference. I can however see the benefit of power regenerators if one wants to guarantee no DC mains component and maintain optimal headroom for voltage regulators.
I never say expensive vs inexpensive cables. But rather, silver vs copper vs silver-plated copper. Silver can be found rather inexpensive. You just have to know where to look. I’ve tried all 3 and will never look back at any copper degrading my sound in my system.
Nordost cables extract detail and are better than standard cables. I spent 20k on power cables and speakers cables, yep huge details and definitely clearer more fuller sound. Some will never hear it as funds don't allow. Cables, cheap act as antennas and create issues. Silver cables help and ptfe cables along with tesla all work.
Did you laid those fancy cable in all of your house? I can imagine those default electrical cables will hurt your 1000 dollar silver cables alot; what comes in, does not come out any better, because you have a few meters of superiour cable.....
It is not a question of whether or not cables make a difference. The question is which cable is more accurate in one's audio system. The other question is how much more accurate is the better cable. The final question is if the better cable is worth the money being asked in payment for the better cable. There is no way that anyone is going to justify some of the outrageous prices being charged for audiophile cables. This is especially true when one's music is being recorded and mastered on equipment connected with cables (usually balanced) from one of a handful of suppliers who charge a couple of dollars per foot plus a few dollars more for termination. In the end, the most effective way to discover which components including cables are more accurate is by a minimum of single and preferably double blind listening tests with large groups of listeners. It is way too easy to fool one's self into believing that the better looking, more expensive component sounds more accurate. In addition, many if not most musicians and recording industry professionals prefer balanced interconnects and speaker cables from one of the aforementioned professional cable suppliers and not from overpriced boutique audiophile companies. RCA single ended cables are also more prone to distortions in long runs than proper balanced cables. So, while a power cable which can filter out noise from the AC mains or a high quality interconnect or speaker cable makes sense, there is no reason for it to cost hundreds of dollars per foot plus thousands for termination. The expensive snake oil comes from the willingness of many audio fools to spend thousands on a perceived one percent or less improvement in their audio systems achieved by some way overpriced tweak. It is exactly these kinds of way overpriced tweaks which turn the public away from high performance audio.
Can we please do this...... Let's take everyone's ears out of the equation because everyone hears everything differently. Sound and music are subjective and to be interpreted by the listener. Can you please do a test where you do a full frequency sweep on a very high resolving system and a low resolving system using the stock power cables for said systems and one of the fancy high-dollar power cables for said systems. I want to see this on a graph using an RTA of some sort and please show us the "sonic" differences between the audio systems. If there is even the slightest measurable difference, I will say no more..... However I guarantee you that the engineers for either the high end system or the low end system more than likely have the properly sized power cables already present when you bought the systems. In fact, the power cables should exceed the power demands of the equipment if the engineer did his/her job properly. I dare you to do this, as I highly doubt you would even listen to someone like me.... And yes, I do have an EE degree.
I know this is an old video, but your mind can move mountains.. and i will try to explain why i feel power cables are BS.. in order for you to hear a sound, you need a chain of things.. lets pick a few to make a sound.. cd player, amp, speakers and cables for all.. lets try think a bit and make a list in order of how important they are for the sound.. and already here i would add something many forgets, the room.. The room is by far the most important thing for hifi.. Second i would list Speakers, and the rest are kinda close i would say, but power cables are by far last on the list.. I would say you need all the rest in the chain near perfect before buying power cables, and lets just say, 99.9% of us will never get that far.. so power cables in my mind are BS.. Also, just as an example more of the BS when speaking power cables, why would the last meter from the wall to the amp matter anything, when the cable in the wall is super poor quality, and also, before the power is used in the amp, there is a fuse it need to pass, i doubt a fuse is that high-end ? :P but ok, lets just say the last meter from the wall to the amp can change anything, it could only be a filter of some sort to make the ac more clean.. but if you like clean power, just buy an UPS of the type that draw power from an inverter all the time.. Have a nice day :) And i forgot 2 important things: 1) Every few year, have your ears cleaned, its almost free, and could help alot.. but dont do it too much as your brain need to adjust a bit everytime, and also, if you clean the ears too often, you end up making things worse as you will start to produce ear wax alot more then normal.. 2) When people get into hifi, your brain will always analyse the sound.. is there too much bass, too little mids and so on.. you end up NEVER liking what you hear, as you constant "see" things you can improve.. music is ment to mess with feelings, like happy, sad and all that.. you dont need the perfect setup for music to mess with feelings, ofc up to a point in quality is nice and fine to aim for, but power cables adds so little that if you can hear it, you should take a break from hifi imo.. you dont enjoy music at that point.. - Michael from Denmark.
Regarding power cables there is some differences but again it would be relatet to if you live near or at industry places where they might send a lot of harmonic distortion out on the powergrid, I personally can hear a difference between when i plug my amplifier in a apc ups and when It's not connected to the ups. When i dont use the ups, sometimes the volume goes linearly up an down with the AC-sinewave, or suddenly there is a lack of punch in the lower tones, or some of the sound picture is missing. or if your washer or dryer uses the same power lines in the brakerbox as your outlet to the amplifier you can get what's called harmonic distorsion and it does alot of weird things especially with electronics like amplifiers, smps, computer harddrives, tv's and the list goes on...
But i think surge protection that is dedicated to the amplifier and equipment connected to the amplifier would be a better investment than a expensive 400$ cable thats just for the amplifier, beacause then you eliminate grounding loops as well. Every little thing helps
As long as the power cable can handle the current demand that's all you need. It is a highway to carry the Ac voltage from say conditioner to component. The cable is a piece of wire, no circuitry, no influence. Use a screen 3 core by all means. Spending huge amounts on a 1 metre power cable really is just not worth it. However, feel free to spend your cash anyway you like. Good quality, current spec 3 core screened all the way is all you need.
As a professional touring bass player of over 35 years, I have a question. When connecting speaker cables from my amp to the cabinets, would you recommend using heavier gauge cable like 12-20 gauge? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
The best advice for any hifi enthusiast. The use of absorption and diffusion panels carefully placed around the room makes a huge difference. Even soft furnishings makes a positive difference.
the folks who spend large sums on expensive cables don't even understand room acoustics because their cables and power cords and power generators render acoustics moot
I think the reason it generally doesn't make a difference is that no one can scientifically demonstrate that any human can tell the difference. Any time anyone does blind AB comparison, they can't pick out the expensive cables. Show me anyone who has proven it makes a difference to human ears. I don't believe this exists.
I thought cables didn’t matter until I swapped out the $95 Transparent cables for a pair of Cards Twinlinks ($200 on craigslist, about $1000 new). The difference was immediately noticeable and the improvement in clarity, resolution and imaging was vast.
Exactly! It's one thing to say don't spend big money on cables, but to say "cables don't matter" Is all together different. The trick is getting good stuff at an affordable price. You scored my friend.
I cant stand the nonsense that the high end audiophile hobby generates. All the "Its hard to explain why it works but you can hear the difference" is just nonsense with no scientific explanation that stands up to scrutiny. Power cables are either properly rated for the task in hand and deliver the power to the equipment adequately or they are not, its not magic.
@G Guest Look, I would love if everything was explainable and measurable, but we live in a world where our understanding is continually evolving- it's an imperfect world. What the OP stated was "Power cables are either properly rated for the task in hand and deliver the power to the equipment adequately or they are not. It's not magic." And what I said was "Then don't buy an expensive power cable." I understood his point quite clearly- he implied with his statement that any electrically approved power cable should be able to do the job-- and he's right. It will do the job. It will power the equipment. However, many cables I have tried ARE worth what I paid for them- and they were significantly more expensive than basic lamp cord. I didn't argue that my opinion is scientific, or that his was not- I don't care to win. If you don't believe cables can or SHOULD make a difference, then use the cheapest one you can find. But don't tell me not to experiment, or use something else. What power cables have you tried that make you such an authority? Why does the $3 cable that came with my amplifier not sound as good as the cable I'm using now? Sadly, there is art and science to this at the moment, and if you choose not to believe that, it's no problem- you can use the least expensive cable available. But honestly, even hospitals won't use the $1 generic receptacles that we plug cables into. In fact if you want to do an interesting experiment, plug your kettle into a generic receptacle, time how long it takes to boil, and then replace it with a Hubbell hospital grade one, and repeat the test. It would be nice if everything was as simple as you state it should be, but alas, life is a lot more complex than that. But nobody is forcing you to buy an expensive power cable, so it's nothing to worry about.
Purposes are a little bit mixed up. I would not say that expensive luxury powercables are snake oil, but powercables are transporting power, not audiosignal. If there is something bad in the sound, perhaps the speakers are not right placed, not a good match with an amp. For example powersockets in a wall are mostly two double metal strips who clamps a powerplug. They are from simple metal origin. Replace them, and change innercable by high end powercable. Than hopely you get power from a strong powerstation what used silver cable. Customers can be serious audiolovers, so your vacum cleaner get top power, and your Tesla loves it also. but with all the humor sideways, use good cable without broken veins. Loudspeaker cable is a different story, because that has something to do with audiosignal. And that is important to use good to high quality loudspeaker cable.
Just buy secondhand ww stratus, and you will spend just 60usd or so, and will hear positive diference. I would recomend wireworld electra power cable fod D class amps, it makes wonders with D class.
It's not that I've never heard a difference, it's that there is no scientifically detectable difference. Why do you think they include frequency response data to high end drivers?
Am not saying such high share of mony (power cord vs amp) is justified but I used several different powercords on an arcam budget integrated (alpha 5 plus) and the differences were not at all subtle. Luckily there are also 150 to 200 euro solutions out there, bad thing is you got to have a distributor and another pc to the wall, and also a good pc to your source. But you might take the steps one at a time with plenty of time in between.
But, I am not attempting to prove anything. If you are happy with the stock cable then that is great. My power cable( $180.00 from Morrow audio) do help a bit in my headphones system) could it be in my head, yep, sure could. Just saying that it is not finically a risk to try a couple out.
I had the opportunity to test expensive Vovox power cables with Focal SM9 monitors in a studio environment a few years ago. There was a clear difference in sound compared to the standard power cables. Tighter transients and clarity. My unbiased opinion.
Can u explain why Mundorf Silver in oil Cap sound much better Copper Cap/ Aluminium Cap or last Tin Foil Cap...!! & why Silver cable always better Sounding than Copper cable/ Brass/ Tin cable..!
Simple demo is in order, with a shown reliable connection using these pricey cables and a cheaper set, run the output into a spectrum analyzer using the 'capture' function. With this type of analysiswe can get to an answer right away. Your explanation for choosing the expensive cables showed no technical background or defining terms. This experiment by the way was run by Bob Pease, topanalog engineer/scientist at National Semiconductor years ago and he proved there was no difference.
Paul says it well here, cables do make a big difference but the question is, is it better to upgrade components rather than putting more money into cables. For the most part i would agree, BUT it can be a issue if your cables are masking detail in your system and not allowing you to hear more of what your system can resolve. For those doubters on cables I’m sorry your simply not well informed in high end audio to make that claim. Most true audiophiles know that cables make a difference because they have systems that can resolve the subtle details in the music so you can hear any changes being made in the system. You have to get past the idea well if you cant measure it it doesn’t exist and there is no difference. Not everything is measurable or maybe we have not figured out what and how to measure it. And measurements dont tell you everything. If you brought up measurements on any piece of audio gear, speakers, amplifiers, cartridges etc can you tell which is going to be better sounding ? Maybe on some, but most higher quality gear specifications are basically meaningless. They have no bearing on sound quality. You simply have to use your ears to determine if its a sound you like and prefer. Cables are no difference. There is no way to measure sound quality. Some measurements might give you some idea how it might sound but ultimately you still have to listen to it. For those who have to have a scientific explanation, understand that all cables have resistance, capacitance and inductance, just like capacitors. Which essentially cables are just like capacitors, varying anyone one of those parameters will alter the sound. Not to mention the impedance between connections is also a factor. Why power cords make a difference. So ultimately you simply have to try cables. The cables sold in chain stores are junk, you have to go to the smaller independent high end audio stores to see and hear the better brands of cables. High end audio manufactures only sell to these specialty stores because they have better equipment snd the knowledge and expertise to help you purchase the right cables for your system. Kevin 40 years high end audio video specialist
I see people mistake current with water, it's 1000 of meters with cables etc... Current is not water, and other then big cities or industrial places the current don't keep the "pollution" on long distance, it's likely your neighborhood or your own house that gets the local "pollution", each connection done local matters in Alternating Current.
I can accept, that mid price components are equipped with mid price power cords. I do not understand, why high end audio components do need better power cords than those that were developed for them and with which they are sold.
Of course you say that a expensive cable makes a difference when you sell them yourself. But I'm quite sure you don't use them yourself at home since I'm sure you do know that they DON'T make a difference. Since yeah, it doesn't make sense that that meter of expensive cable will make a difference when the rest of the cables inside the walls are just regular stuff. And also, IF it would make a difference it would probably just be a difference in noise, but since the noise is probably already very low you wouldn't hear that difference anyway. Sooo no, it's all bullsheit.
Paul McGowan That doesn't make any sense Paul as we're not talking about after the power brick conversion or past a linear power supply. Many of these high end power cables are just a straight 3 prong AC cable that's an extension from your wall into your device which will have some toroidal transformer inside. Adding some pure silver quintiple shielded cable will do nothing in that situation as it literally is an extension of your house wiring. Being that you didn't mention any conditioner, UPS or transformer at the socket we can only assume you're saying it's always universally better and there just isn't any way 3ft of "quality audiophile cable" plugged into the end of your hundreds of feet of building wiring will make any difference as the noise and ripple caused by any emf or other sources is already there and that extra length of wire doesn't remove any of it. You might have an argument after some kind of power conditioner but as presented it's marketing snake oil. And that's before you go into these $1000+ DACS and amplifiers and see that they just use common copper wire (I have not seen the internals of yours but many) to connect the AC power plug to the transformer and then to the main board. So arguments like this are somewhat dubious when the internals don't match what is being preached.
Paul McGowan. If you believe a mains cable can affect performance you are an idiot, if you are saying it does in order to enrich yourself you are a crook.Sorry
I've interacted with enough of them to know that they are convinced themselves. They tout their science and engineering backgrounds until testing is requested. Then, they CAN'T show it on a scope, and WON'T do double blind testing.
I would really like to know why everyone in the US says the Elac B5/B6 sound great ? I love Elac. My first speakers where Elac 2.5 way loudspeakers. But this B5/B6 speakers sound so muddy and everyone who heard them here said the same. Then I thought maybe they make a different sounding for Europe. So I had the Elac B6 at my home for 5 days and they lost in the same system against a pair of smaller PSB and then against over 25 years old JBL. I really don't understand the hype
Do yourself a favor and get on amazon, look for BIC bookshelf speakers that cost $99 that will blow the elacs out of the water. report back with you new found knowledge and savings.
From reading the reviews of the elac b5 and b6 and then the bic speakers it seems that elac have a layed back tame top end and the bic have a bright top end. I think a lot of people like bright speakers so elacs sound "muddy" to them. Id take the "muddy" speakers over bright speakers any day.
gentlemen, would you agree that there can be technical differences in powercables, such as conductor compound, shielding-technology, array of conductors, dielectric materials and connections? then you would have to accept that if you play with these features you can indeed change the behaviour of a powercable to some degree. some stuff can even be measured (but not all). and power supplies can indeed be sensitive to incoming distortions. it´s about cable-induced fields and electrical properties that can suit a device/system. of course three feet from the wall socket to the amplifier can make a difference. because they can fuck up on that small stretch, i.e. create more contortions, contact resistance, eddy current and what not. many, many aspects. an audiosystem with good resolution and an experienced listener will profit from optimized cabling. that´s old news, many professional studios recourse to quality cables. so worry about your component quality first. then give it a try. best regards from germany
Technical differences yes. Relevant differences: no. It's like saying there is a difference in a 3000 ft mountain height and 3000 ft and 1 inch.... It's a free world, anyone can spend their earning on what they want. Trying to convince others of their folly is't the troublesome evil thing. PS Audio does evil in that regard with these videos.... And they do it just for the money... As do all the other 'high end' bullshit sellers....
How can a power cable that cost hundreds of dollars make a system sound any better when you're still plugging it into cheap standard 14/2 or 12/2 home wire at the outlet?
to me and you; it cannot. But you have believers and none believers. Paul says; if you use common sence, you know what i say is true. Say what Paul? If i use common sence, it cannot be true at all. How do you generate "superiour signals" from cheap standard home wire into this magical cable? Tell me Paul, i am curious!
Who needs measurements and science, when your wife can hear the difference from the kitchen?..... Unless you can get your own dedicated line from power plant all the way to your home, power cable will make no difference as long it is not specifically designed to be bad. This "there's no way to measure, but i can hear a difference" is a typical "exotic" audio cable vendor mumbo-jumbo....
Perception is reality, especially in audio gear. If you hear a worthwhile difference in any component, who cares whether it's measurable or not? I can hear a difference in power cables and that's good enough for me. But I do have a theory that the cause of the effect is not too dissimilar to how water will flow differently out of a garden hose if the nozzle is change from one type to another. It can come out in a smooth stream or a rough splatter depending on the configuration of the last tiny section that the water passes through. The way the water is being delivered through the hose (like your house wiring) is the same until the very last last section (the power cord) and that last section can have an effect on the way the CURRENT is being shaped and delivered into a piece of equipment. But that's just a theory and in the end it really doesn't matter HOW it does it or even if it's purely a placebo effect. If you perceive it to be better, it is.
Iv tried a 1500$ power cable on my 20.000$ system just for fun. No difference at all as I expected, and returned it back with a "just as I tought" comment to the dealer. Only difference was that the cable looks ticker and nicer, and I would have been 1500$ broker... i watch paul's videos daily and learning alot from him, but he is also a salesman, and as we all know, them are not always to be trusted;)
I once fell for all of this stuff. It is a good way to waste a lot of money! Get a system that is good enough and forget about it!
Don’t forget ... Paul DOES sell $21,000 speaker cables. Sooooooooo if you’re hooking it to the right equipment, then you’re “going to hear a ‘big’ difference”. I love Paul’s videos, but it is really laughable. Anyone that falls for that ought to be embarrassed, unless of course you have that kind of money to burn and it makes you feel better spending that much for an audio cable. I always say, if you make a product and market it the right way, you can slap any price you want on it .... and some people will pay it.
Also ... I’ll note that adding 4 feet of cable adds $12,000 to the cost.
you got it, man
@@bcardamone unbalanced interconnects! Doesn’t matter how much your RCA cable is.
Ac power still has to go through your house wiring so, what difference would an expensive power cable make?
It's like putting one steel link in a chain where all the other links are just weaker iron , it's a total waste.
You just need a power cable that is at least as good as your house wiring .
The main reasoning for hifi cables and conditioners/regenerators is to fix the problems and manage tweaks according to preferences or as far as psychically possible. So it's never a optimal delivery solution since the root problems cannot be solved completely like you succinctly point out. But then again, when you can use regenerators that basically recreate the sinus wave completely, and various cables that optimize the pre and post delivery of signal and power, then the results will be based on the quality of all the small parts and things that play a role in both the digital and analogue domain. Unless you're Scott free of any digital involvement. But many prefer the top DACs and streamers to replace vinyl. That's for another discussion.
@@hoof2k The subject at hand is just power cables not AC conditioners etc .etc.
@@Barb5001 Sure, but you can't really disconnect the relationship between the one and the other's purpose. Everything is connected and it's down to the small details where cables make the differences in the highest end. But more drastically when comparing 5 dollar stuff vs, say, 100USD stuff and the more 'normal' ranges of hifi. But I've never experienced super high end in person, so I won't have too strong opinions about it.
Sorry Paul. You lost me on "yes there is a difference but this is not the place to explain why". Yes it is, this is exactly the place unless you can't. Unless you have magic active components in the cable that will make the building power connection quality better, its just BS. You are feeding the input of a power supply. The only thing you need to worry about is can the cable handle the current and is the build quality good enough to remain sound over time.
Ssssh.... all this is like a Religion and thus it is offensive to post any critical comments.
You're right. I should throw out my EE degree and 30+ years of experience in aerospace and go off into the sunset whimpering because the audio world is too complicated and magical for me.
"Yes it makes no sense..." The only thing you've said that does. Don't want to hear from me? Please stop responding to this post. I already stopped following this channel.
So, I guess being retarded is a nationality that's something new
From what I can tell he's the one that made the nationality comment - "Piss of yank troll.."
So, it's not BS to put a 400$ cable on the last 1-2 meters of an otherwise total crap 50 meter power wiring in the house??? OK...
Obviously power cables don't affect performance.
Direct mains spur is required when spending this kinda cash on cables.
Nothing on the mains can affect performance, including dedicated spurs.
Dont forget the 10's of meters of wound wire in the primary winding of the transformer as well, or the thin high resistance wire of the input fuses inside the amps and cd players. Its like building a minor road for 100miles and then putting a motorway on the last 100 meters and saying you have increased the speed of the road. It makes NO sense at all.
Next they will tell us not to turn your equipment upside down so the electrons dont fall out.
Let's see, we have 5 comments, all from people arguing from first principles, using bad analogies, and none of them have actually tried power cables. Typical skeptic nonsense. Skeptics are so arrogant and think that they are so knowledgeable that they go around policing other people's claims, but their own comments show that they're just assuming stuff, making lazy a priori arguments, and generally talking nonsense and arguing from ignorance.
Interesting and a sensible conclusion for the system in question. I built my own power amp back in 1989 and upgraded the capacitors and internal cables last year. Huge difference. It is 200W per channel but the dc supply is capable of 500W per channel. That huge reserve means that the sound is not affected by anything before it. Even at full volume the audio continues for s few seconds after switching the power off. If all good systems were built with a reasonable amount of reserve power then the dynamics would be optimised and mains cables wouldn’t matter at all. Running a power conditioner is ok but the amp power supply should be better designed. After all, the rest of the amp is just controlling how much of the power supply DC is let through to the speakers.
Paul is absolutely correct, power cables DO make a difference. I used to run NO power cables, and boy did my system sound BAD! I tried moving my speakers around, changing gear, etc... and it still sounded dreadful. Then I purchased "ROMEX" brand power cables, and boy did my system come alive! All my equipment would power on with force and authority! I mean, you could literally see light emanating from within the components. But get this, even other components plugged into the same circuit would turn on, such as my television, phone chargers, and even my Nintendo Entertainment System. I was so surprised that I contacted ROMEX for additional power wire and ran outlets ALL throughout my house. My wife was really stoked because now she didnt need to wash and dry our laundry outside, she could do it inside with a "washer and dryer."
Last month, I wired a sub-panel in my garage! And not with just 120V, but also with 240V!!! Now I am able to power my welding machine. Guys, let me tell you... my welding machine sounds INCREDIBLE. You can clearly hear the high-frequencies generated by the TIG welder. Welding aluminum has never sounded this good!
I dont know about this year's budget, but for 2018 I am going to contact Paul about re-wiring my ENTIRE villa with their power cables. And to take it even further, I am going to contact our city officials and see if they are willing to re-wire the entire city PCOCC wire. This will ensure that everyone has a fair shake. After all, everyone should enjoy HIGH FIDELITY AUDIO.
LMAO!
Damn, I need to get myself a set of power cables.
LMAO!
This comment makes a mockery of an excellent and well reasoned video!
No reasoning detected whatsoever, just usual audiophile marketing racket. Here is THE reasoning though: you have dozens of feet of the cheapest possible wire running into and through your house. Add a couple of feet of the $600 cable running from the wall to your amp, what difference does it make? Would it instantly upgrade all the wiring in your home? I highly doubt. Ok, let's assume you got an industrial grade AC conditioner, which gives you a perfect voltage, can run enough Amperes through it, and produce a perfect "audiophile grade" sine. I dare you to compare a 10$ cable to that $600 one. There's only 3 parameters to measure: resistance, inductance and capacitance. Resistance is pretty much the only thing that matters here and can easily be matched to the requirement just by going a gauge or two thicker. But then again, what's the point if the wire in your walls is twice (or more) as thin? The inductance and capacitance can be fully neglected here because they only affect frequency response, and no cable is capable of 'tainting" that perfect sine of yours, not at 60Hz anyway. To summarize: given low enough resistivity, power cables don't and can't differ significantly enough to be able to affect any operational parameters of electronic equipment. Just laws of physics, nothing else to it. Oh no, actually there is: marketing! Marketing makes everything sound so much better, even a piece of copper wire!
It's Snake Oil.
At best it can be compared to putting tires rated for 200mph on a base model 90's Civic and claim it will have a higher top speed.
You'll need a more power engine and rebuilt suspension to make that purchase worth it.
PS Audio is firmly aiming to put themselves out of business or at best aiming to cater to people who fall for anything. The actual audio products seems to be of good quality. Just drop the BS and move on.
10 years ago I had a $150? Shunyata Venom IEC power cable that I had purchased for a used phono pre amp that didn’t include a power cable. I didn’t think much of it and took it out to sell it since it didn’t lose its value. I put in a regular IEC power cable; it was fine. A few years went by before I finally decided to put the Shunyata up for sale. Well, before I packed it up, just for fun I a/b tested my power amp’s stock power cable (Parasound a23, $995) with the Shunyata. I went back and forth 5 times and every time the Shunyata power cable made the vocals sound a little more realistic. I couldn’t believe it. I WANTED to sell that cable but the improvement in sound quality was undeniable. It was noticeable enough that I kept the Shunyata. I was really surprised since it wasn’t even an audio cable. You never know unless you try I guess.
Hang on...the audio doesn't flow along the power cable, so why? Its the power supply's problem to filter out noise from the power source so if it doesn't do its job, just improve the power supply design - a much cheaper solution. It doesn't matter what the incoming AC is like if the power supply can clean it up.
a $300 power cable on a $500 amp...hell no. lol When you are in the $50,000 range...knock yourself out.
I spent $100 on a power cord vs the free one. The difference was worth the $100 I spent. I heard it on a very resolving system. I also have a cheap system that I didn’t hear the difference. Everything matters in your chain.
A company here in the UK that only makes mains conditioners and cables were taken to court for selling cables because they couldn't prove they worked . they did get away with it because who ever took them to court couldn't prove they didn't work . strange but true .
Greetings,
In the early 1980's, high-end speaker cables were beginning to appear on the market. Some of the product claims were totally unbelievable and had prices to match. And, the nonsense is still being foisted on us today.
Audio cable must be burned or run-in for a 100 hours. The best cable is cryogenically treated. Audio cables are directional. They must be supported off the floor via insulators. They have damping factors. They must be 'conditioned' to keep the wire molecularly aligned. Ad nauseam. It is all snake-oil designed to part the naive buyer from his money. It is all a crock!
The ONLY factor that affects performance of audio cables is the wire gauge for a particular maximum distance between amplifier and speakers at a particular Ohm rating. If you have the proper gauge, all audio cable will sound exactly the same!
"Realizing that wire resistance was the critical factor in speaker wire, Gordon Gow, then President of McIntosh Laboratory, still a maker of world class, high fidelity amplifiers, used a speaker cable demonstration to show there was no listening difference between high-end audio cables and plain line cord (14 AWG lamp cord wire).
Fifty-foot lengths of wire were used in the blind comparison. The setup consisted of a master control relay box and two slave relay boxes. A three-position switch was used to select one of three different speaker cables of equal length. One was common line cord. The other two cables were from popular high-end manufacturers. 8-ohm speakers were selected for the test. The two other brand name cables were heavier than the line cord. The test proved his point. No one could hear ANY DIFFERENCES using several different 8-ohm speaker systems." -- from Speaker Wire, A History by Roger Russell.
Amplification stages run on DC. That DC is supposed to be stabilized by rock-steady voltage regulators, separate foe each channel. There almost always are fluctuations in the AC supply, be it 117 volts (America) or 220 volts Europe). Weak power cables will induce such fluctuations at the power input of the amp. Also consider that the house wiring and the kilometers of cable from the grid transfo to your house are also part of the "power cable". The DC regulator is supposed to smooth them out and a good DC regulator will make them completely disappear.
So I don't see what difference power cables can make IF (I insist: "IF") the DC regulator does its job adequately.
*_"I hear 'Oh that's bullshit!'... No it's not."_*
As an electrical engineer, yes. The idea that power cables make a difference is indeed bullshit. You're changing the last few feet of cabling on what is probably a 100+ foot run from your distribution box. And from that box, there may be another LONG run to the transformer. I'm sorry, but it's *_NOT_* going to make an audible difference.
It's so disappointing when I hear people buy in to this nonsense. :(
Why are you personally "disappointed" by other people's choices and beliefs? Try not to get so triggered by other people's business. If you don't believe cables can make a difference, all the more power to you. Why get upset that other people see the situation differently? Maybe they hear the improvement, but you can't. Or does that idea trigger you? It can't be possible that someone else has better hearing, or is better trained in listening than you.
I'm sure folks like you would prefer to abolish freedom of speech, but as of right now, if you put your beliefs on the internet for everyone to see, they're open to criticism.
If you're going to get triggered by that criticism, I suggest not coming down into the comment section.
*_"Maybe they can hear the improvement, but you can't."_*
Plenty of people can hear things I can't. However, nobody can hear the difference between a normal power cable and an expensive one.
If you disagree with that statement then you either don't understand human anatomy and the limits of our sensory capabilities OR you're ignorant about the electrical characteristics of the circuitry that powers your audio system.
But lets assume for a moment that I too was ignorant of these things. Prove it. Prove you can hear the difference. I want to see statistically significant data and methodology showing SOMEONE can hear such a difference. Otherwise it's all just a scam.
You've changed the subject on every post, Falcrist. Now you're talking about freedom of speech and accusing me of wanting to abolish it? I am a strong supporter of freedom of speech. What are you on about? Your ideas are full of magical thinking and you keep refusing to engage in good faith, but you accuse me of not being able to handle criticism? Have you even presented any criticism? Not as far as I can see. All I see is you making magical claims, like the idea that the physical properties of the conductor have no affect on signal transmission. When it comes to the cable debate, whether power cables or any other cables, it's the skeptic who suffers from magical thinking, not the believer.
"Prove it. Prove you can hear the difference." Prove it to whom? I've proven it to myself. It's impossible to prove it to somebody who refuses to acknowledge the possibility that there is a difference, and accuses everyone who does claim there is a difference of lying to themselves or suffering from placebo.
*_"I am a strong supporter of freedom of speech."_*
Could have fooled me, coming from someone who can't take even mild criticism directed at someone else.
*_"Your ideas are full of magical thinking"_*
Well isn't that something. Who would have thought an audiophile would accuse someone else of magical thinking.
No. I'm rejecting the faith-based thinking of much of the audiophile community, because my rather basic understanding of electronics and anatomy both reveal the abject ignorance required to believe in this nonsense.
I'm sorry, but I'm not part of the cult. You're really going to have to do better than that.
*_"Have you even presented any criticism?"_*
Indeed I have. I'll refer you to the root comment of this thread where I explain in no uncertain terms what is bullshit and why it's bullshit.
*_"Prove it to whom?"_*
The answer to your question should be quite obvious. Prove it to me.
Or if you don't like me. Prove it to someone else who is skeptical about your claims, record the trial, and present it as evidence to anyone else who doubts you.
I'd point you to James Randi, but he actually died while waiting for people like you to prove it to him.
*_"I've proven it to myself."_*
Exactly how many shits do you think I give about your faith?
If you shat in one hand and held your faith in the other, which do you think would be worth more to me?
I'm sure I could come up with a few more scatalogical analogies if you like.
You're a lost cause, dude. Grow up and learn to respect other people, instead of the typical engineering personality disorder bullshit you are displaying here. No one said anything about faith, you keep changing the subject, mind-reading, and projecting. You just pigeonhole thing immediately because you know everything. Have fun with that.
I have listened to this endless debate on audible improvements in cables for decades. As an engineer in the defense industry having worked on analog circuits from DC to over 100 GHz, I will simply say this. Show me the measurement of differences between your comparisons. This should be trivial at audio frequencies. Why is it that no one ever brings data to these debates? Ask yourself what the likelihood of someone having spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on cable products to enhance their system being objective in any listening test.
The only reason that NASA or the military use exotic materials in cables is for severe environment applications like space. I have never experienced anyone using litz wire in a phased antenna array with requirements for cable matching that would stand your hair on end.
Your power cable is plugged into the limiting factor of your system. Run a separate 30 Amp line to service system, isolate it with a transformer and filter it before wasting a nickel on expensive power cables to your system components. Should be stated that most testing reported is done by those that have this basic AC power upgrade. However as experimental setup drawings are never provided or described the consumer is left uninformed.
Engineers rely on test data for comparison. Psychoacoustic subjectivity has no place in usable comparison evaluations. Listen and back your blind A to B testing with measured data to confirm them.
"IF YOU CAN'T MEASURE IT, IT isn't REAL"
As you did not provide a proper reference to the issue of "Copper" I had to search and finally found it and then part 2 . Again, this is not engineering.
Where in the literature has lower cable impedance ever been correlated with any other performance metric like speaker performance and interaction, Amplifier damping or transformer interaction?
Where is the data the author refers to but does not make available and why isn't there a real engineering journal referenced in the article? what measurents were performed and with what instruments? where is the E&M model or even real listening comparison testing data in blind A/B form. Were the measurements repeatable and statistical valid.
This is loosely applied Electromagnetic Theory that has never been experimentally verified. All fluff and nonsense presented in cute cartoon fashion. As you can see from many comments you have lost the respect of your audience members . Perhaps you need more objective consultants than those trying to sell wire for a living?
Well said 👍
PS (!)
I have already had two dedicated mains supplies installed to the breaker box for each of music room. Using hospital grade outlets too. Mains power filter/AVR, check.
Shielded power cables are the next logical step :-)
I’ve heard that none of them are UL listed. Shielding raises the temperature in the wire. My bro is an electrician. 15 amp circuit is 14 AWG. What difference is the last three feet going to make?!
You all say you can hear difference, but did anybody actualy blind test to see if there is difference or its just placebo?
Cekpi7 Yes, such research has been tried many times. No single research ever found an audible difference large enough to measure.
My favorite one was when they blindfolded a room full of "golden ear audiophiles" and switched back and forth between RIDICULOUSLY expensive speaker wires vs coat hangers! non of them could tell any difference. There's a writeup about it out there somewhere if you search for it. There's a sucker born every minute.
Batt Man There is difference in cables, but not enough to make difference on power cables, after all there is usually smps supply or transformer with filtering caps that gets rid of noise
Batt Man Give me scientific proof not just "its better becouse i say so" and i will believe you
Just think about it, oscopes are really accurate, if you would take 2 identical amplifiers and try to match gain so you would have same voltage output on both of them and then hook up to different channels and compare them both on screen you would most likely get same result (if there was any difference test would show and everybody would use them), i read it multiple times on forums its simple and easy way to test cable and if i had equipment i would do it just to prove there is no difference
Just think about world without scientific proofs, you wouldnt even have amplifiers and we would be in stone age, so enjoy your pudding and have a nice day.
I have not commented on these videos yet, but got to say, love the great and honest advice.
Everything seems to be explained in simple terms, that I can understand.
everything that produces sound is beyond the power supply section. The power supply of an amp just needs to be able to supply power transistors and input sections and other circuits in the amp with the current they need to do their work.
A section of ordinary power cable that can deliver 10-15A AC is not a weak link. Replacing it with a higher gauge (lets assume it is) and putting that in line between the amp and the wall, will not increase the amount of current the amp will be able to draw - because there is still the cable in the wall that is the issue.
Even if the cable in the wall was upgraded and the fuse panel was upgraded and EVERYTHING was upgraded, you'd need to run the amp hard enough where its exceeding the current limitations of an ordinary cable and thats just not going to happen with ordinary efficiency speakers attached to a class AB amplifier unless you're driving at near ear splitting volume.
How can an a.c power cord make any difference on audio equipment when the a.c power is converted to d.c by the power supply to operate the circuitry. The exception may be using a heavier gauge cord on a higher power amp.to avoid voltage drop on peak demands on output.
Cables might measure differently on the test bench but this doesn't matter in real life because as long as the resistance of the cables is low enough you will audibly not hear any difference.
Wow. He works for PS audio that sell's power cords. There is miles and miles of old copper wire that connect's your wall socket to the power plant and that last feet will make a huge difference? Come on people wake up. If you can't measure it, it does not exist.
Power cables DO make a difference. I suspect people get so angry because they feel it's an affront to them that they cannot hear it themselves. Could just be their hearing isn't as good as they thought.
Power cables make a difference but you can max out the effect for
I suggest someone measures the voltage drops on each of the two power wires between the wall and the amp while in use; and show how much voltage drop is involved. Well, reality is that you have much longer power cables going through your house. The NEC (NFPA 70) recommends no more than 3% voltage drop on branch circuits within your home. My guess is that the actual drop on the last couple of meters between the wall to your amplifier using any reasonable quality cable is below 100 mV. Do not think that the last couple of meters of power cable are more important than the many meters inside your walls. Rather, if you are very passionate about this and want to be sure, simply measure the AC RMS voltage at your amplifier's power plug and see how it drops when playing loud. If there is a drop, then measure the voltage at the wall outlet and if the drop is significantly less, you have a theoretical reason for buying expensive power cables. Otherwise the reason is pure psychological. Now, if the drop is significant also at the wall outlet, your house wiring is an issue. I doubt you can hear a 3V drop of the AC voltage however. In fact, any quality amplifier should have sufficient electrolytic capacitors on its power rails to avoid having any dynamic power issues due to small drop in AC voltage.
Just put an oscilloscope at the amp output and measure the signal with an dollar store power cable and an ultra-high quality audiophile grade cable and show the results!
If a PC microprocessor with more than a billion transistors in less than a sq inch switching on and off billion times a second at very low voltages (being very susceptible to electrical noise) runs perfectly fine with a shoddy power cable how can 3 ft of cable make a difference in an analog system barely dealing with 20 kHz frequencies??
I understand designing nice connectors, making an nice PCB design, optimizing circuits, selecting good transistors, etc., but if you have an steady voltage on mains and good grounding, changing anything before the power supply would make no difference at all.
Please explain " high-performance audio system ". Do you have active components in said "high-performance audio system" that have junctions comprised of unobtanium ? If not, thats just more marketing bullshit.
open minded here but explain how this would go. the average house uses 14ga solid copper wire on a 15a breaker for 120v power. 20a would be 12ga solid. if we took the plug in out of the wall and ran that wire straight to the amplifier you would be as direct as possible. that's 14ga. how would an 8ga power cable or the like make any difference when our homes are limited by what's in the wall? if certain cable designs reduce noise i would get that but is that the argument ?
Good point Kyle, but I think that most people who get high-end power cables are using them after a power conditioner or regenerator. The power conditioning is going to eliminate the deleterious effects of all those feet of wire in the walls and on the poles. You wouldn’t want to make your power pristine, and then plug in cheap 18 Ga. unshielded power cables for that last three feet and mess it back up.
Julia Set that was what I suspected to be honest with you. If there is an increase in noise suppression or a power conditioner as you would call it that would make sense
I have a neighbor down the street who is a wood worker. I used to be able to tell when he was running his saw because I could hear it in my stereo. After I installed my power conditioner, all is deep silence.
we are going to need 100 dogs and 50 dolphins to do a quadruple blind and deaf reverse polarity study to get our actual definitive answer
i had a crappy 10ft extension to run my 660s and when i plugged em straight to the 3.5. wow what a difference
in car audio the power cord does a lot but in home audio you have switching power of 220v or 110v so for it to be a difference you must have some sort of an enhancment like 3cable power,,forgot what they call it..i think in switching mode all the enhancments occurs in the amp..in110v or 220v ac i think it can make a miniskyle diff if your power cord is like 2mm thick vs a cord that is pure silver linings and 20mm thick each and an amp above 500w rms 8 ohm per channel and even so it would be miniscule diff..either way he has to make a living and there are rich ppl that can afford these cables so why not..make a power and audio cable fild with water and see if the sound differs
I prefer to have higher quality cabling in my system to compliment the grade of my gear but I’ve yet to hear a discernible difference between a $100 vs $1000 Powercord or IC.
Is there a really a difference from the included power cables and $100 one? I had cheap rca’s sounded weak and thin i change them to a different set and made a big difference. I make a set of mogami 2497 and i heard a difference but it wasnt as big as the difference between the included cables and a $20 cable.
What used the best power cable if the contacts from wall plug are oxidized or the cable in the wall is just AL, not coper, or is just 1mm in diameter.
Good answer Paul. Again couldn’t agree with you more power cables make a huge difference “but” it depends on how good and how resolving the system is how much difference you will hear in upgrades you make. Like you said that $300 might be better spend on something else in the system. I would however at some point highly recommend he upgrade his power cords, maybe not $300 in a power cable but maybe he will find there is a modest price power cable that might make a nice enough improvement that he can justify that investment.
5:17 EXCELLENT ADVICE Paul. David should *take his time* to identify the weak link, then *take time* identifying the next product to improve that component in the system, and *take time* getting to know it, running it in well, all the while enjoying the music. Rinse and Repeat. Rash, impulsive decisions rarely turn out well and can be expensive.
The gradual incremental upgrade path this is also the best value for money on the quest for a high-level system. Congratulations, Paul on a great video format for us audiophiles. All the best, Rob
Id love to see more data. Why don't more people analyze cables with lab measurent gear. Measuring on cable itself, or/and analyze sounds produced by the speaker same time. It would be even greater than listening with ears for difference.
People can so easily convince themselves that it is better, and defend their action/purchase in all sorts of ways. Sometimes its a good idea not to ask for advice from people who invested in whatever your interested in.
Personally I just believe there is a reasoable limit with cable price/quality, ofcourse tho, you can be guy who just MUST have cables cost match amplifier cost, and you have the money, or/and that guy who just needs that 0.000000001% difference.
And with digital cables there is NO! difference what so ever, unless you have super long runs, MASSIVE interference, or the material falls apart. I saw 500$ 2meter "Ethernet cable for streaming", as if you couldn't stream with a normal ethernet cable, the description had all sorts of fancy wordings, but no actual mention of what material was used, .. it might also had said "Vortex noise cancellation technology" ?? you mean cables inside are twisted? as all other ethernet cables.
This would be exactly the place to explain why... guess you just weren't able to find any real reasons
I had the opportunity to hear the Sprout, I think 3 years ago, when you participated at the Newport Audio Show. It was hooked up to a headphone (Grado, if I remember correctly). Loved the sound of the Sprout, very 3-dimensional and tonally balanced. I would get one if I'm in the market for an integrated, but would highly recommend it to anyone looking. Keep up the good work with these videos Paul and more power to PS Audio. Btw, my condolences to you for having lost a great friend recently.
Let us consider the question from a different perspective. The Elac B5 speakers sell on Amazon for $180/pr the time of this post. I'd consider them a bit better than average sounding, budget bookshelf speakers. Not, OMG bookshelf speakers. That said, why would anyone consider spending more money on their power cable than their speakers?!!??!?? Then we have the issue of the Audioquest speaker cables. A 6ft pair costs around $200. Again, more than the cost of the speakers. And then the final point, the mere suggestion that this fella pick up a Stellar for around $1700 for a better source...come on man. The weakest link w/o a doubt are his Fry's Electronics box item speakers.
those little elacs need stands, and the stands will cost at least as much as the speakers but you can't do without them
Hi Paul, We enjoy your videos. It would be very convincing if you could mention the scientific reasons as well for the improvements you could hear when using good power cables.
The reason he doesn't is because he cant. Protip = science and physics
The reason is the placebo effect. It's the simplest, most elegant way to explain an observation that an expensive power cable sounds better than an inexpensive one.
I can't see how a few feet long power cable would make a difference. There's tens of meters of some random power cable running inside the walls, maybe a few hundred meters more running from the transformer to the house and adding this 300$ few feet long power cable between the amp and the wall socket changes somehow the musical properties of the whole setup... Doubt.
I was enjoying your videos, you know a lot of interesting history of the field. Unfortunately, I just now saw you sell $799 power cables. I've seen a few of the comments below discussing how engineering proves any claims of superiority of such cables to be nonsense. The simplest way to understand how laughable these claims are is to consider all the wiring up to the outlet. There's tens of feet of really basic Romex 14 or 12 gauge solid copper house wiring, maybe 10 ga, but about as basic as wiring gets. Then there's the wires from your service entrance to the pole, often triplex aluminum, and then the miles of bare aluminum wiring to the power generation stations. What can those last 6 feet of cable do to the electrons flowing through them that could POSSIBLY make ANY difference?
You hear about all of these esoteric mechanisms that make big improvements in sound quality, often 'huge' or 'vast' improvements, what happens when you subtract all of them to arrive at the quality of simple, straightforward gear that is well engineered to high, but measurable, technically justifiable standards? You'd think with all of these huge improvements taken away, it should be surprising if a recording of someone simply talking would yield understandable speech! You should go find Peter Aczel's writings in the later Audio Critics, or engineers that get published in peer reviewed journals.
I'll still watch your videos from time to time, but claiming big improvements with power cords means I can't take your opinions about audio quality very seriously. It really is that bad, a claim so laughable you wonder ANYONE could take it seriously, for a professional in the field, it's a real reputation killer.
Well said mechtheist. The guys just found a way to strip away more cash from those who can afford to waste it. Unfortunately the more gullible who cannot afford it also fall for this voodoo bs.
Well, there are people who actually build dedicated listening rooms with isolated, clean, pure power supplies and wiring. I can understand them investing in good power cables. However, I have yet to see any electronic test equipment showing a demonstrable change in audio signal, so I still believe it's pointless, despite understanding.
I agree, this particular video and argument is snake oil at its best imo.
Hey, that was my "Ask Paul" letter! Thanks for responding - I appreciate the your honesty and suggestions. Keep up the great videos. Excellent public outreach!
My two cents re relative importance: (1) Speakers (2) Room - speaker and sitting arrangement, acoustic treatments (3) amplification (4) source. And a distant (5) cables. I have spent money on power cables, but without audible benefit - and this is in a system with latest Pass Labs and Ayon amplification.
Honesty? Look at his face, he knows he is lying!
I hope you didn't spend Hundreds of dollars on their snake oil.
David parks. His honesty includes "yes expensive cables make a difference because...reasons I'm not going to mention here... So that's settled" that is about as dishonest as you can get. Cables are b.s. a good cable is as good as any expensive cable. There is a ceiling of performance and cables reached and breached that decades ago. 10 pounds for interconnects is fine.
Same for same per/meter for speaker cables. Spend your money on speakers. No cables. Can't believe this is even a little controversial.
So, riddle me this Batman..... How does a 4 foot $300.00 power inter-connect cable, nullify 4 miles of .02 cents a foot Home Depot THHN wire that feeds that wall socket you are plugged into??????
There is not going to be a good answer to this question.
(Because it doesn't do anything)
You are talking about something completely different. A 3-foot power cord is just a brass extension of that pipe that won't rust, but the same dirty water still flows thru to its destination. What you are referring to is a power conditioner. Such a device samples the original waveform and re-draws it. It will also have other features such as voltage regulation, over current and spike protection. These are very common in computer mainframe and server installations. I believe PS audio makes these although they are hideously expensive. Buy one from a company that needs to protect millions of dollars in cloud servers and save a ton of $$$$$. Companies like GOOGLE are completely anal about the safety of there intellectual property. Their tech staff is all over that stuff with the highest tech test gear on the planet. They don't pay a hundred dollars a foot for AC cable either.
Sure they do, call them. They are a huge company and do business all over the world. That unit I mentioned is just a popular one used for offices and homes in the U.S. where normal service is 120v. You may need to get a hardwired unit for single phase and make a "creative" plug for it. Or... just hardwire it to your panel. Call GALCO Industrial Electronics, they are a SOLA distributer and will walk you thru everything. PEACE!
A piece of copper wire doesn't "filter" anything. No matter the size or the price. Go to school, learn basic physics, there's no way around it.
Wouldn't it be the easy to make a recording with each cable to see if there are any differences in the waveform? I have never seen something like this. Why is that??
Because facts don't sell overpriced stuff to audiophiles. There's one guy who did a comparison between a cheap 14AWG speaker cable and a very expensive 10(?)AWG cable and whilst you could see some difference in the measurements, it was only 0.6dB and didn't affect the waveform at all. Imagine that, spending hundreds or even thousands for a 0.6dB difference. Obviously you're going to tell yourself that it makes a difference.
The line filter strip was a real gain in my headphone line. The power cord to the amplifier did not make itself felt.
Okay Paul you say your power cable costing 100s of dollars can make a significant enough difference to very high end audio equipment. Well that doesn't say a lot about high end audio equipment. If I was spending 1000s of dollars on an amplifier I'd want perfection. The fact the sound could be changed simply by changing a power chord is insulting to the company making the amp.
LOOOLL, wel said.
We can get a standoff for our speakers, 100% resonance free, absorbing earthquakes etc.etc., for just 499,- dollars a piece ;) Couple that with a premium , 1000 dollar silver cable, a special , 100% resonance absorbing cabinet for your precisious equipment at 5000 dollars, you have the ultimate base for just 7000 dollar.
Depends entirely on the value of the gear, i feel that good quality 1.5mm+ heavy duty power cable is a good upgrade from the .75mm to 1.00mm cables bundled with gear. You can buy the fittings you need crimp or solder them in, and you have the benefit of doing them to the ideal length for your setup. I don't personally feel that a power cable is worth $100+, and i'm no cheapskate with cable. I use qed kimber neotech and wireworld cables throughout my systems and yes they make a difference towards the tonal balance but as far as power cable goes i dunno. my reason is that power is very high level and it has already traveled hundreds of miles whats a meter or two at the end going to do?
So I built (for my own ease and convenance) 16 plug power strip on the back of my entertainment center with two input cords that connect a dedicated outlets… But not for the reasons that everyone else likes to suggest. I did it because it’s not proper to run more than a certain amount of outlets off of one feeder. Especially when you don’t know what might be plugged into them.
What did it cost me to build this entire contraption with all nice commercial grade outlets in steel boxes which create a completely shielded enclosure (I didn’t do it for the shielding I did it so I could paint it black) with 10 gauge extension cord...(because I had a piece left over from something else) I would say the total project cost was under 60 bucks… Well under. So that’s why it’s hard for me to swallow something like $300 for one power cable.
If your house or appartment has a substandard power supply with "dirty" AC from the sockets, I'd think about improving that first before dropping money on a short power cable.
I agree, you can hear the difference, but only because you think you can. Psychoacoustics, unbelievably interesting how the mechanics of sound and our auditory sensory perception works within the brain. You are sitting back and hearing that sublime sound coming from your very expensive equipment playing your favorite track, and lo and behold you hear that extra nuance, that clarity, that horn or piano sounds right there! Bam $200.00 cable ... justified! If a 6 foot piece of stranded unobtainium wrapped by nude virgins from utopia land then blessed by Mr. long grey beard (Dave Jones) can alter or affect what 200 plus feet of 12/3 solid copper in your walls is guilty of fouling up, then lets have some techno babble about how that works exactly. Keep thinking it makes a difference and you know what it will to you.
Please don't waste your money and make manufacturers of these cables wealthier. I got a bag of these in a spare room. They do nothing at all. They are just stiffer with nice colours. Complete waste of money. Even interconnects are a waste of money. How does a 3000 British Pound interconnect compare with a 80 British pound interconnect? I can tell you as I have compared them. I won't mention which ones as that would be unfair to the manufacturer when many others make similar cables. There was absolutely no difference in sound. What makes the difference is the components. A 15k amp will perform! A 10k dac will perform. 15k speakers will perform. A bit of wire makes no difference.
I love that..."Discovering the weak link and improving it"
Do you also love the fact that he ( or anyone else for that matter ) cant prove any actual " Improvement " ?
I see a Shure SM57 hanging out in the background, is it connected? Is it modified, and if so, what mod did you do?
i read about 100 posts regarding the veracity of power cords. some for, many against. but, to me, the real question here is whether Paul really believes the cords he sells improves the sound quality of the buyers system. if he does, fine. if he really doesn't know or care if his cables in fact make a positive addition to your system then 'houston we have a problem.'
C'mon, you are telling me that having a 5 feet $250 cable is going to make the difference? what about the other 100's of feet inside the wall that is nothing spacial but some Romex......Snake Oil!
Your argument makes perfect sense and yet people can hear a difference. Try it before dismissing it.
@@phantomplastics6582 beauty is on the eye of the beholder. From the engineering side, you can build a bridge to stand millions of pounds, however, they don't move cars from one shore to the other any better than a relative good bridge. The extra expense is not justified. same with the cables, one is the regular power cable than cam from the factory and the other is them supper extra copper thick fancy cable. The truth is that electrons, at that current level, the electrons travel the same on both cables. Cables only needs to carry about 20 % more than the maximum you will use it for. more is expense without return.
Assuming that the less expensive power cable is of sufficient build quality regarding wire gauge, similar length, OFC, decent connection to decent plug, etc. ($25 or so), could you pick out the esoteric cable >90% of the time in a blind A/B test? If so, then there is a case for such cables. However, to me, the law of diminishing returns always applies (I do not have unlimited funds!)
Power cables are not required to carry or preserve audio information like interconnects and speaker cable. Power supplies should sufficiently decouple equipment from the mains fluctuations and interference. Is the cable performing special signal conditioning? I understand that the cable needs to be of sufficient guage and reasonably sturdy. Hopefully no switch on mains outlet that can corrode. Having a true balanced (differential) source and amplifier topology should take care if mains direct and radiated interference. I can however see the benefit of power regenerators if one wants to guarantee no DC mains component and maintain optimal headroom for voltage regulators.
I never say expensive vs inexpensive cables. But rather, silver vs copper vs silver-plated copper.
Silver can be found rather inexpensive. You just have to know where to look.
I’ve tried all 3 and will never look back at any copper degrading my sound in my system.
Nordost cables extract detail and are better than standard cables. I spent 20k on power cables and speakers cables, yep huge details and definitely clearer more fuller sound. Some will never hear it as funds don't allow. Cables, cheap act as antennas and create issues. Silver cables help and ptfe cables along with tesla all work.
I have a nice beachfront property in Kansas you might be interested in...
Did you laid those fancy cable in all of your house? I can imagine those default electrical cables will hurt your 1000 dollar silver cables alot; what comes in, does not come out any better, because you have a few meters of superiour cable.....
You got screwed.
It is not a question of whether or not cables make a difference. The question is which cable is more accurate in one's audio system. The other question is how much more accurate is the better cable. The final question is if the better cable is worth the money being asked in payment for the better cable. There is no way that anyone is going to justify some of the outrageous prices being charged for audiophile cables. This is especially true when one's music is being recorded and mastered on equipment connected with cables (usually balanced) from one of a handful of suppliers who charge a couple of dollars per foot plus a few dollars more for termination.
In the end, the most effective way to discover which components including cables are more accurate is by a minimum of single and preferably double blind listening tests with large groups of listeners. It is way too easy to fool one's self into believing that the better looking, more expensive component sounds more accurate. In addition, many if not most musicians and recording industry professionals prefer balanced interconnects and speaker cables from one of the aforementioned professional cable suppliers and not from overpriced boutique audiophile companies. RCA single ended cables are also more prone to distortions in long runs than proper balanced cables.
So, while a power cable which can filter out noise from the AC mains or a high quality interconnect or speaker cable makes sense, there is no reason for it to cost hundreds of dollars per foot plus thousands for termination. The expensive snake oil comes from the willingness of many audio fools to spend thousands on a perceived one percent or less improvement in their audio systems achieved by some way overpriced tweak.
It is exactly these kinds of way overpriced tweaks which turn the public away from high performance audio.
Can we please do this...... Let's take everyone's ears out of the equation because everyone hears everything differently. Sound and music are subjective and to be interpreted by the listener. Can you please do a test where you do a full frequency sweep on a very high resolving system and a low resolving system using the stock power cables for said systems and one of the fancy high-dollar power cables for said systems. I want to see this on a graph using an RTA of some sort and please show us the "sonic" differences between the audio systems. If there is even the slightest measurable difference, I will say no more..... However I guarantee you that the engineers for either the high end system or the low end system more than likely have the properly sized power cables already present when you bought the systems. In fact, the power cables should exceed the power demands of the equipment if the engineer did his/her job properly. I dare you to do this, as I highly doubt you would even listen to someone like me.... And yes, I do have an EE degree.
I know this is an old video, but your mind can move mountains.. and i will try to explain why i feel power cables are BS.. in order for you to hear a sound, you need a chain of things.. lets pick a few to make a sound.. cd player, amp, speakers and cables for all.. lets try think a bit and make a list in order of how important they are for the sound.. and already here i would add something many forgets, the room.. The room is by far the most important thing for hifi.. Second i would list Speakers, and the rest are kinda close i would say, but power cables are by far last on the list.. I would say you need all the rest in the chain near perfect before buying power cables, and lets just say, 99.9% of us will never get that far.. so power cables in my mind are BS.. Also, just as an example more of the BS when speaking power cables, why would the last meter from the wall to the amp matter anything, when the cable in the wall is super poor quality, and also, before the power is used in the amp, there is a fuse it need to pass, i doubt a fuse is that high-end ? :P but ok, lets just say the last meter from the wall to the amp can change anything, it could only be a filter of some sort to make the ac more clean.. but if you like clean power, just buy an UPS of the type that draw power from an inverter all the time.. Have a nice day :)
And i forgot 2 important things: 1) Every few year, have your ears cleaned, its almost free, and could help alot.. but dont do it too much as your brain need to adjust a bit everytime, and also, if you clean the ears too often, you end up making things worse as you will start to produce ear wax alot more then normal.. 2) When people get into hifi, your brain will always analyse the sound.. is there too much bass, too little mids and so on.. you end up NEVER liking what you hear, as you constant "see" things you can improve.. music is ment to mess with feelings, like happy, sad and all that.. you dont need the perfect setup for music to mess with feelings, ofc up to a point in quality is nice and fine to aim for, but power cables adds so little that if you can hear it, you should take a break from hifi imo.. you dont enjoy music at that point..
- Michael from Denmark.
Regarding power cables there is some differences but again it would be relatet to if you live near or at industry places where they might send a lot of harmonic distortion out on the powergrid, I personally can hear a difference between when i plug my amplifier in a apc ups and when It's not connected to the ups.
When i dont use the ups, sometimes the volume goes linearly up an down with the AC-sinewave, or suddenly there is a lack of punch in the lower tones, or some of the sound picture is missing. or if your washer or dryer uses the same power lines in the brakerbox as your outlet to the amplifier you can get what's called harmonic distorsion and it does alot of weird things especially with electronics like amplifiers, smps, computer harddrives, tv's and the list goes on...
But i think surge protection that is dedicated to the amplifier and equipment connected to the amplifier would be a better investment than a expensive 400$ cable thats just for the amplifier, beacause then you eliminate grounding loops as well.
Every little thing helps
As long as the power cable can handle the current demand that's all you need. It is a highway to carry the Ac voltage from say conditioner to component. The cable is a piece of wire, no circuitry, no influence. Use a screen 3 core by all means. Spending huge amounts on a 1 metre power cable really is just not worth it. However, feel free to spend your cash anyway you like. Good quality, current spec 3 core screened all the way is all you need.
Is there a way way we can measure these differences? Power cables, speaker cables
As a professional touring bass player of over 35 years, I have a question. When connecting speaker cables from my amp to the cabinets, would you recommend using heavier gauge cable like 12-20 gauge? Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks!
lol……
The best cables to me are the ones that doesn't mess up with my signals.
Only the best don't interfere with my tin-foil hat
Any standard cable can achieve that. For speakers, low resistance cable is desirable for obvious reasons.
Active Line Filter, AC conditioner to filter all Noise on the line FIRST!!! and a regular AC Shielded cord will do the job as well.
Save the Money for good room acoustics. It makes a much much more difference then cables.
The best advice for any hifi enthusiast. The use of absorption and diffusion panels carefully placed around the room makes a huge difference. Even soft furnishings makes a positive difference.
Sure
the folks who spend large sums on expensive cables don't even understand room acoustics because their cables and power cords and power generators render acoustics moot
Requiring a good power cable indicates deficient power supply design
Unless you're not using zip cord a good audio cable will be good enough , with that said it should be equal the rest of the equipment
I think the reason it generally doesn't make a difference is that no one can scientifically demonstrate that any human can tell the difference. Any time anyone does blind AB comparison, they can't pick out the expensive cables. Show me anyone who has proven it makes a difference to human ears. I don't believe this exists.
I thought cables didn’t matter until I swapped out the $95 Transparent cables for a pair of Cards Twinlinks ($200 on craigslist, about $1000 new). The difference was immediately noticeable and the improvement in clarity, resolution and imaging was vast.
Exactly! It's one thing to say don't spend big money on cables, but to say "cables don't matter" Is all together different. The trick is getting good stuff at an affordable price.
You scored my friend.
I cant stand the nonsense that the high end audiophile hobby generates. All the "Its hard to explain why it works but you can hear the difference" is just nonsense with no scientific explanation that stands up to scrutiny. Power cables are either properly rated for the task in hand and deliver the power to the equipment adequately or they are not, its not magic.
Then don't buy an expensive power cable. Case closed.
@G Guest Look, I would love if everything was explainable and measurable, but we live in a world where our understanding is continually evolving- it's an imperfect world. What the OP stated was "Power cables are either properly rated for the task in hand and deliver the power to the equipment adequately or they are not. It's not magic." And what I said was "Then don't buy an expensive power cable." I understood his point quite clearly- he implied with his statement that any electrically approved power cable should be able to do the job-- and he's right. It will do the job. It will power the equipment. However, many cables I have tried ARE worth what I paid for them- and they were significantly more expensive than basic lamp cord. I didn't argue that my opinion is scientific, or that his was not- I don't care to win. If you don't believe cables can or SHOULD make a difference, then use the cheapest one you can find. But don't tell me not to experiment, or use something else. What power cables have you tried that make you such an authority? Why does the $3 cable that came with my amplifier not sound as good as the cable I'm using now? Sadly, there is art and science to this at the moment, and if you choose not to believe that, it's no problem- you can use the least expensive cable available. But honestly, even hospitals won't use the $1 generic receptacles that we plug cables into. In fact if you want to do an interesting experiment, plug your kettle into a generic receptacle, time how long it takes to boil, and then replace it with a Hubbell hospital grade one, and repeat the test. It would be nice if everything was as simple as you state it should be, but alas, life is a lot more complex than that. But nobody is forcing you to buy an expensive power cable, so it's nothing to worry about.
Purposes are a little bit mixed up. I would not say that expensive luxury powercables are snake oil, but powercables are transporting power, not audiosignal. If there is something bad in the sound, perhaps the speakers are not right placed, not a good match with an amp. For example powersockets in a wall are mostly two double metal strips who clamps a powerplug. They are from simple metal origin. Replace them, and change innercable by high end powercable. Than hopely you get power from a strong powerstation what used silver cable. Customers can be serious audiolovers, so your vacum cleaner get top power, and your Tesla loves it also. but with all the humor sideways, use good cable without broken veins. Loudspeaker cable is a different story, because that has something to do with audiosignal. And that is important to use good to high quality loudspeaker cable.
Just buy secondhand ww stratus, and you will spend just 60usd or so, and will hear positive diference. I would recomend wireworld electra power cable fod D class amps, it makes wonders with D class.
It's not that I've never heard a difference, it's that there is no scientifically detectable difference. Why do you think they include frequency response data to high end drivers?
Am not saying such high share of mony (power cord vs amp) is justified but I used several different powercords on an arcam budget integrated (alpha 5 plus) and the differences were not at all subtle. Luckily there are also 150 to 200 euro solutions out there, bad thing is you got to have a distributor and another pc to the wall, and also a good pc to your source. But you might take the steps one at a time with plenty of time in between.
But, I am not attempting to prove anything. If you are happy with the stock cable then that is great. My power cable( $180.00 from Morrow audio) do help a bit in my headphones system) could it be in my head, yep, sure could. Just saying that it is not finically a risk to try a couple out.
Shouldn't make any difference in headphone system. But probably can do something in speaker system.
I had the opportunity to test expensive Vovox power cables with Focal SM9 monitors in a studio environment a few years ago. There was a clear difference in sound compared to the standard power cables. Tighter transients and clarity. My unbiased opinion.
Very refreshing honesty.
Can u explain why Mundorf Silver in oil Cap sound much better Copper Cap/ Aluminium Cap or last Tin Foil Cap...!! & why Silver cable always better Sounding than Copper cable/ Brass/ Tin cable..!
I love people that talk about this,and say the truth…thanks Ps
Simple demo is in order, with a shown reliable connection using these pricey cables and a cheaper set, run the output into a spectrum analyzer using the 'capture' function. With this type of analysiswe can get to an answer right away. Your explanation for choosing the expensive cables showed no technical background or defining terms. This experiment by the way was run by Bob Pease, topanalog engineer/scientist at National Semiconductor years ago and he proved there was no difference.
Paul says it well here, cables do make a big difference but the question is, is it better to upgrade components rather than putting more money into cables. For the most part i would agree, BUT it can be a issue if your cables are masking detail in your system and not allowing you to hear more of what your system can resolve. For those doubters on cables I’m sorry your simply not well informed in high end audio to make that claim. Most true audiophiles know that cables make a difference because they have systems that can resolve the subtle details in the music so you can hear any changes being made in the system. You have to get past the idea well if you cant measure it it doesn’t exist and there is no difference. Not everything is measurable or maybe we have not figured out what and how to measure it. And measurements dont tell you everything. If you brought up measurements on any piece of audio gear, speakers, amplifiers, cartridges etc can you tell which is going to be better sounding ? Maybe on some, but most higher quality gear specifications are basically meaningless. They have no bearing on sound quality. You simply have to use your ears to determine if its a sound you like and prefer. Cables are no difference. There is no way to measure sound quality. Some measurements might give you some idea how it might sound but ultimately you still have to listen to it. For those who have to have a scientific explanation, understand that all cables have resistance, capacitance and inductance, just like capacitors. Which essentially cables are just like capacitors, varying anyone one of those parameters will alter the sound. Not to mention the impedance between connections is also a factor. Why power cords make a difference. So ultimately you simply have to try cables. The cables sold in chain stores are junk, you have to go to the smaller independent high end audio stores to see and hear the better brands of cables. High end audio manufactures only sell to these specialty stores because they have better equipment snd the knowledge and expertise to help you purchase the right cables for your system.
Kevin
40 years high end audio video specialist
They might matter if you really, really believe in magic. A lot of people do. Even adults.
I see people mistake current with water, it's 1000 of meters with cables etc... Current is not water, and other then big cities or industrial places the current don't keep the "pollution" on long distance, it's likely your neighborhood or your own house that gets the local "pollution", each connection done local matters in Alternating Current.
I can accept, that mid price components are equipped with mid price power cords. I do not understand, why high end audio components do need better power cords than those that were developed for them and with which they are sold.
Of course you say that a expensive cable makes a difference when you sell them yourself. But I'm quite sure you don't use them yourself at home since I'm sure you do know that they DON'T make a difference.
Since yeah, it doesn't make sense that that meter of expensive cable will make a difference when the rest of the cables inside the walls are just regular stuff.
And also, IF it would make a difference it would probably just be a difference in noise, but since the noise is probably already very low you wouldn't hear that difference anyway.
Sooo no, it's all bullsheit.
Paul McGowan That doesn't make any sense Paul as we're not talking about after the power brick conversion or past a linear power supply. Many of these high end power cables are just a straight 3 prong AC cable that's an extension from your wall into your device which will have some toroidal transformer inside. Adding some pure silver quintiple shielded cable will do nothing in that situation as it literally is an extension of your house wiring. Being that you didn't mention any conditioner, UPS or transformer at the socket we can only assume you're saying it's always universally better and there just isn't any way 3ft of "quality audiophile cable" plugged into the end of your hundreds of feet of building wiring will make any difference as the noise and ripple caused by any emf or other sources is already there and that extra length of wire doesn't remove any of it. You might have an argument after some kind of power conditioner but as presented it's marketing snake oil. And that's before you go into these $1000+ DACS and amplifiers and see that they just use common copper wire (I have not seen the internals of yours but many) to connect the AC power plug to the transformer and then to the main board. So arguments like this are somewhat dubious when the internals don't match what is being preached.
5000$ that you can't pass a blind test . Snake oil, simple as that.
Paul McGowan. If you believe a mains cable can affect performance you are an idiot, if you are saying it does in order to enrich yourself you are a crook.Sorry
I've interacted with enough of them to know that they are convinced themselves. They tout their science and engineering backgrounds until testing is requested. Then, they CAN'T show it on a scope, and WON'T do double blind testing.
Love you Paul, but this is horseshit. We're all still waiting for a true ABX test that proves a power cord has any noticeable difference.
This!
Then just don't buy one?
I would really like to know why everyone in the US says the Elac B5/B6 sound great ?
I love Elac. My first speakers where Elac 2.5 way loudspeakers.
But this B5/B6 speakers sound so muddy and everyone who heard them here said the same.
Then I thought maybe they make a different sounding for Europe.
So I had the Elac B6 at my home for 5 days and they lost in the same system against a pair of smaller PSB and then against over 25 years old JBL.
I really don't understand the hype
Do yourself a favor and get on amazon, look for BIC bookshelf speakers that cost $99 that will blow the elacs out of the water. report back with you new found knowledge and savings.
From reading the reviews of the elac b5 and b6 and then the bic speakers it seems that elac have a layed back tame top end and the bic have a bright top end. I think a lot of people like bright speakers so elacs sound "muddy" to them. Id take the "muddy" speakers over bright speakers any day.
gentlemen, would you agree that there can be technical differences in powercables, such as conductor compound, shielding-technology, array of conductors, dielectric materials and connections? then you would have to accept that if you play with these features you can indeed change the behaviour of a powercable to some degree. some stuff can even be measured (but not all). and power supplies can indeed be sensitive to incoming distortions. it´s about cable-induced fields and electrical properties that can suit a device/system. of course three feet from the wall socket to the amplifier can make a difference. because they can fuck up on that small stretch, i.e. create more contortions, contact resistance, eddy current and what not. many, many aspects. an audiosystem with good resolution and an experienced listener will profit from optimized cabling. that´s old news, many professional studios recourse to quality cables. so worry about your component quality first. then give it a try. best regards from germany
Technical differences yes. Relevant differences: no. It's like saying there is a difference in a 3000 ft mountain height and 3000 ft and 1 inch.... It's a free world, anyone can spend their earning on what they want. Trying to convince others of their folly is't the troublesome evil thing. PS Audio does evil in that regard with these videos.... And they do it just for the money... As do all the other 'high end' bullshit sellers....
How can a power cable that cost hundreds of dollars make a system sound any better when you're still plugging it into cheap standard 14/2 or 12/2 home wire at the outlet?
to me and you; it cannot. But you have believers and none believers. Paul says; if you use common sence, you know what i say is true. Say what Paul? If i use common sence, it cannot be true at all. How do you generate "superiour signals" from cheap standard home wire into this magical cable? Tell me Paul, i am curious!
Who needs measurements and science, when your wife can hear the difference from the kitchen?.....
Unless you can get your own dedicated line from power plant all the way to your home, power cable will make no difference as long it is not specifically designed to be bad. This "there's no way to measure, but i can hear a difference" is a typical "exotic" audio cable vendor mumbo-jumbo....
I am not an engineer but I sure admire engineering.
Just thinking... Did Sprout come from the abbreviation of 'Speaker Out'?
no brussel sprout
6 foot expensive power cord plugging into 100s of feet of regular 14/2 romex house wiring.
Perception is reality, especially in audio gear. If you hear a worthwhile difference in any component, who cares whether it's measurable or not? I can hear a difference in power cables and that's good enough for me. But I do have a theory that the cause of the effect is not too dissimilar to how water will flow differently out of a garden hose if the nozzle is change from one type to another. It can come out in a smooth stream or a rough splatter depending on the configuration of the last tiny section that the water passes through. The way the water is being delivered through the hose (like your house wiring) is the same until the very last last section (the power cord) and that last section can have an effect on the way the CURRENT is being shaped and delivered into a piece of equipment. But that's just a theory and in the end it really doesn't matter HOW it does it or even if it's purely a placebo effect. If you perceive it to be better, it is.
Cables = placebo
Today I switched one $30 cable get another $30 cable and one was much better then the order. I guess it depends who makes them too.
if you're looking for something like cosmetics, durability or mental values then yes, they matter. other than that? nope, i don't think so.