Being away from Hi-Fi for a couple decades, I am amazed at some of the things I am seeing now. Quality of a digital cable such as USB or HSMI clearly cannot make a difference since the cheapest disposable cables virtually do not drop or change any bits. These cables operate at a macro level. Analog speaker cables are another matter because the timing and intensity of electron flow can be easily influenced. Can an 8 foot speaker cable be worth $17,000/pr? Of course not, that would be stupid. Before your cables are broken in, there would be an $18,000 cable that is just so much better. Nevertheless, a wealthy person with a finely developed ear may justify the wire without giving a thought to the millions of starving children in this country that have no speaker wire whatsoever. ( or old people that only have zip cord, oh God)
So, expensive digital cables, No. Expensive speaker cables and interconnects, yep, no conscience allowed.
But what about these pesky A/C cords where a molded version comes on just about every audio/video component and computer? Does the tainted water theory hold any water? Sort of because you can pour water out of your faucet into the finest crystal goblet and it will still be the same brackish swill that came out of your faucet. No filtration, same swill. Furthermore, it won't come out any faster, volume wise, if you invert a funnel and put a nozzle on it. So, if you decide to plug into an outlet that has 14 gauge aluminum wire strung through the push in connectors on the back of 8 other outlets before your chosen stereo outlet, you are basically going to get swill out of your outlet. An A.C cable is a passive device being neither a filter nor a conditioner. It will not stabilize voltage shifts or drop RF noise. Actually a good cord will transmit those things very accurately.
Yet when an audiofile the likes of Arthur Salvatore say they make a difference, you damn well better believe they do. If the cord cannot improve the nature of your service, then how can a fancy cord be better than taking a 5 foot piece of 12 gauge Romex and putting good connectors on the end? The assumption must be that the cables that come with equipment are so poorly constructed that 50 cents worth of Romex and 10 dollars worth of connectors, to maintain the "quality" of the in wall wiring, is dramatically better. It appears that most listeners with high end equipment have line conditioners that come before the high end power cord and following them are high dollar distribution centers (read that power strips). So you fix the swill as much as possible and then try to keep it pure. That makes some sense but that brings us to another question...
If a manufacturer of high end amplifiers and speakers, let's say Coincidence Speaker Technology for example, providing as they do. some of the best equipment in the world, just what do they give away with the A/C powered units? They don't give away speaker cable with their speakers. Can it be that they do not provide an A/C cable at all? There web site, which is truly excellent by the way, does not mention what their equipment comes with. They do sell a $450 A/C cord but when you read about people using there amplifiers, they usually have some other high end cord. Now, Coincident makes a statement (no pun intended) that some of their items are manufactured to the finest degree possible. "The build quality of the Statement Phono is the finest available. It was designed with no cost restraints and the highest priority placed on sonic performance". I would be very interested to know if they ship their equipment without power cords. I guess I'll find out when I order some. It seems like if they sent their $450 cord with each item that that would be denoted in their literature and it seems that if they shipped without a cord that that would also be denoted. After all, speakers do not ship with wires but the standard when you buy an A/C item is to get a damn cord with it. Now, if Coincidence puts a cheap cord on their equipment, they should post a warning tag on it that it must be replaced or all their no restraint work will be wasted.
I liked the mention by another poster that people re-wire their homes and provide dedicated circuits for their audio gear, many of us have been doing that for 50 years.
Another good idea is to order 10 different high end cords and demand a 90 day return policy before purchase. Then send 9 of them back after comparing them. Really, with USPO flat rate shipping, this would be cheap. Hopefully at least one of them will make a noticeable difference. Make someone else swap the cables blindly or you will just be placeboing yourself. Of course if you have been convinced that a 200 hour break in is necessary, then comparing cables is impractical. If your equipment needs a multi-hour run to re-break in itself every time your drop the power from it, you are kind of SOL as well.
The true fact is that you will never realize the true potential of your equipment. Everything affects everything else. It's entirely likely that when you have found your perfect A/C cord, you'll decide to change your turntable bedding or your cartridge or your speakers and guess what, that cord will no longer test the best. All is lost if you change your amplifiers or house wiring, things directly connected to your spendy A/C cord. Nope, you're stuck with your amplifiers and transports and DAC's forever once you buy that cord!
JAH
