Inventor of McIntosh Speakers Talks About Cable - Page 2

I think that was exactly Hugz's point. The inventor of McIntosh specifically states that power cables make no difference at all, and yet mlhm5 the guys who says all cable purchasers are uninformed, is still recommending "Hospital grade" to everyone. I guess that puts him on the list of uninformed as well. If any cable with conductors for the signal and connectors on the end can perform as well as any $1000+ cable on the market, it should also be able to perform as well as any hospital grade cord on the market.

Don't forget that the text inform people about marketing and exotic cable first. Proposing cheap hospital grade cable is not excluded since it's still cheap but might be sturdier or more resistant. There is not only the sound difference that might influence someone preference, IMO anyway. I think that these cable look strong and well built and probably cheaper than cracking open an old lamp and buying connector to build "free" power cable

Another thread about the same topic???

Guys the hospital grade cords, are very strong and very well done, and have to pass a lot of stress and mechanical tests for that purpose, and have all the qualifications, database, and evaluations needed for that purpose in all parts of the planet. Do that make them sound better? IMO of course not, but I have not seen anybody claiming that they sound better neither, they will do exactly the same job as any other, expensive or cheap, just that they are better manufactured under better conditions, and under better QC, than the stock ones. IMO if you can get them for $4.00 it is a good investment, just to get a better done cable...That is what he is claiming, nothing else...

Same as you preffer filtered water, or bottled water, to tap water, or a woody stand for your heapdhones to any banana hanger.... but you can drink any, just that you feel more secure (sometimes) drinking the processed/filtered water, this is just an analogy OK?

Even more, some of those aftermarket fancy cables, are not even UL aproved, the have not passed any test of reliability other than the audiophile voodooish ones. And even though they claim to do a better job. Some of them are so heavy that you need to reinforce all the back of your amps/gear in question, or support them by other means, as they tend to unhook otherwise, given the weight... .....

Of course not all aftermarket's are alike, there are serious companies that believe in what they sell (wrong or right) and they do it properly, and even while they are not able to prove a ****, about benefits, at least they do put effort in offering a well done product, and do all the needed tests and get the proper ratings for safety at least...

No, to act like an arrogant *ss and insult others.

I'll defend your right.

See ya
Steve

To people saying that hospital grade power chords' value is in their sturdiness: that's fine with me, because I'm sure they are more sturdy.

However, has anyone ever had a non hospital grade power chord fail on them? I abuse chords heaps, and have yet to have any cheap power chord break on me. Sometimes i accidentally stand on the plug and bend the pins so that they wont fit in the socket anymore... but time after time i just bend them back into shape with no worries.

Buying a study version of an already suitably sturdy product seems like a waste of money. I'm just curious if these hospital grade chords have any real purpose, or if people are just buying them for the sake of "upgrading"

That's a fair enough assessment. However, I suspect all free power cables are "suitable". Unlike in speaker cables I dont think the resistance comes in to play (because of all that stuff between the power outlet and the power company transformer..), so the only factor is whether the power cable is capable of transferring the electricity required by the gear without melting up. I've yet to have a freebie cable melt up on me

edit: but some free speaker cables may be of insufficient thickness for their length

i think this sums up exactly how i feel on the whole expensive powercable/speaker cable etc

i think the amount of money involved also stirrs a lot of emotion... i mean you just spent $100 it MUST sound better no? so your mind makes you think it does...

i say if you have the money to blow, whatever, more power to you...

I am quite satisfied with my $3 IEC cords... i design my powersupplies properly so powercords shouldent make any difference at all... hell most of the stuff i build has non-removable powercords so i never have to hunt for an IEC cord

closing quote was great too

Ive had many iec power cords left over from computers and monitors. About half of mine stopped working within a few years. Granted most of my computers are on all the time, they are still low draw headless machines. The cables included are more than adequate for signal transfer, but are of very low quality build. I would rather spend 10 dollars on a "hospital" grade whatever than have some cable die on me with my computer on, or worse, some very un-forgiving audio equipment.

Maybe people would debate about sonic and or sentimental value, but I'm pretty sure we are all straight on one issue: Is it built well? That is a fundamental, not an accessory issue.

im curious as to what exactly you do to your power cords that makes them fail... i work in a place where i deal with hundreds of computers that are on 24/7 including lots of servers that can draw a lot of current (800w easily) and everything uses regular black IEC cords... and i think in all my years of working with this stuff i have only seen 2, maybe 3 power cords be the source of a failure... and usually that was from abuse (computer pushed up against a wall etc)

Not much.. I have eight black ones, and one grey volex one (came with my mac). Four of the black ones are not working. The first failure was a doa one..the other three died randomly. These were stationary the whole time. Strange thing is that I have many ethernet cables too (also stationary)... and two of them also failed... Must be something to do with either my bad luck, bad home electricity, or something I'm doing wrong.

hrmm, ya that is weird... network cables too?

sounds like someone put a voodoo curse on you or something

but ya no that is pretty odd...