[bibbs]

yes yes i know..

what i cant get my head around with fancy power cables making a sonic difference is the fact that household wiring to the plug socket/outlet is plain old commercial household wiring and more than likely loose/ish terminals in the back. or is there some fairy dust inside the fancy cables, or is it just bragging rites and eye candy.

please explain...

 

[msing539]

In my case, I purchase well made power cables so that they're better shielded and at least the same gauge as the wiring in my house.

 

[bibbs]

shielded against what?

 

[msing539]

EMI

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I light off one nuc down the street from @msing539 and he'll never buy those cables again

Anyway, you have people who believe cables have sound. And those people believe power cables and fuses have sound.

You have other people who like something well-made with good materials. I'm in that camp and it sounded to me like @msing539 is also. I won't pay big money for cables and I make most of my own. I'm not opposed to spending money on cables I don't make (headphone, power) but I pick those not expecting any change in sound quality.

Then there are people who don't care about cables at all.

It seems unlikely many of these people will change their minds.

 

[castleofargh]

In my case, I purchase well made power cables so that they're better shielded and at least the same gauge as the wiring in my house.

And the shield goes where? Nowhere? The ground?
The shielded power cables I know are stuff used for pretty specific purposes, like say industrial machines having to handle high voltages. And AFAIK the shield should get its own ground.

 

[msing539]

And the shield goes where? Nowhere? The ground?
The shielded power cables I know are stuff used for pretty specific purposes, like say industrial machines having to handle high voltages. And AFAIK the shield should get its own ground.

The shields are grounded to the ground prong.

 

[bigshot]

I think most power cables in the USA are made of decent materials. If you have EMI, you'll know it and just swapping one cable for another isn't likely to be a thorough enough fix for it.

 

[msing539]

I don't think there's one answer to this for everyone.

My setup is in my home office, surrounded by a good deal of computer and networking equipment and a lot of it generates EMI.

Some cables I've tried actually seem to amplify that noise. So by well made, what I actually mean is the best cable for a particular setup.

If someone gains no improvement from a $10 cable to a $100 or $1000 cable, my suggestion is to stick with the $10 one unless, of course, the $1000 brings you happiness and peace of mind.

 

[bigshot]

For the vast majority of people out there, a fancy power cable won’t make a lick of difference in their system. There really is no reason to buy one unless you are having problems, and if you are having problems, you have to look at your entire system to find the cause, not just the power cable. If you are getting RF interference or EMI, just swapping in a fancy power cord isn’t likely to solve your problem.

 

[castleofargh]

so far, anytime I've had interference that I could notice, it was either my computer(internal stuff or the wifi playing the song of its people into output plugs or devices nearby), or the amp picking stuff up(like my cellphone), and boosting the signal I really didn't want boosted. The result could become much worse into some ultra sensitive IEM(affecting how loud the tiniest electrical signal would be), but I don't remember a properly working cable having an impact on noise other than mechanical vibrations from headphone and IEM cables. As I don't tend to move my power cable around and rub them on myself, I never had to care about them outside of complaining when one was too short.

 

[bigshot]

Whenever I had interference involving the power line, finding a better ground usually solved the problem without using a different cord.

 

[chesebert]

yes yes i know..

what i cant get my head around with fancy power cables making a sonic difference is the fact that household wiring to the plug socket/outlet is plain old commercial household wiring and more than likely loose/ish terminals in the back. or is there some fairy dust inside the fancy cables, or is it just bragging rites and eye candy.

please explain...

Nothing proven in any kind of lab test at this point. The effect is real and easily audible (more noticeable than analog interconnects).

forgot to add: more expensive does not mean better. But they sound different.

 

[msing539]

I only have two outlets for 16 electronic devices so they have to share. That's what I meant by specific to each setup. In my case, I'm opting for a better made power cable.

 

[bigshot]

The difference is more audible when you don't apply controls to your comparison to eliminate bias and perceptual error.

I only have two outlets for 16 electronic devices so they have to share. That's what I meant by specific to each setup. In my case, I'm opting for a better made power cable.

On all 16 devices? Because if interference is causing you problems, it could be introduced by any power cable plugged into the same circuit. One fancy cable won't help. If you are getting interference, you'd do better to hire an electrician and do a dedicated drop for your audio system. Then your audio equipment is all on the same circuit and won't pick up noise from thermostats or other things that generate noise through the power line.