[MatsudaMan]

As I sat listening to music and staring at my hi-fi rig and the unorganized and tangled mess of chords underneath, I decided to do some tweaking and messing around. Underneath my integrated amplifier between my amplifier and the power outlet lay two Signal Cable Magic Power cords connected by a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet. I thought to myself, "What will it sound like when I switch one of the Magic Power cords (the one connected to the amplifier) with a run-of-the-mill-radioshack power cords?" Well, I made the swap and was amazed at how the boominess in the bass that had previously been present had virtually disappeared. Let me back track a bit...

Earlier in the day, I was thinking about plugging the port holes of my Wharfedales because of the hump in the lower mid-bass that was overwhelming the music and making everything sound muddled. I even considering room treatments because of this pesky issue. Back to the decrease in boominess that occured when swapping out the Magic Power cord....

Could this be some kind of placebo? I decided to reconnect the Magic Power cord and was amazed at how much more bass was reintroduced, to the point of congesting the overall musical picture. I could see why bass-heads would love this power cord. But, still I was not convinced that what I was hearing was reality, it seemed just too big a change. So, I explained to my wife this revelation and she simply said, "Honey, are you sure it's not placebo?" All of a sudden I had an epiphany. Why don't I use her as a test subject and find out for certain? She agreed and we moved into the listening room.

I did not tell her what power cord I was going to use, only that she should tell me the differences in the two. I plugged in the radioshack, 10 dollar power cord and played a musical exerpt. She listened intently. I replaced the 10 dollar cord with the Magic Power cord and replayed the exact exerpt. After listening she then said, "The second time the bass was entirely exaggerated and unrealistic. The first was more natural and less bass heavy." She totally heard the same thing that I did- unbelievable! She did not even hesitate.

I'm going to sell the Magic Power cords. Anyone love bass?

 

[Happy Camper]

They come from leftfield sometimes and nail it perfectly.

I got a hospital grade power cord that is one foot long. I replaced my VD 1 with it and was very impressed. It actually gave the RS-1s some soundstage. I am going to do some comparisons on a snowy weekend.

 

[MatsudaMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif They come from leftfield sometimes and nail it perfectly. I got a hospital grade plug that is one foot long. I replaced my VD 1 with it and was very impressed. It actually gave the RS-1s some soundstage. I am going to do some comparisons on a snowy weekend.

I still have no idea how they do it. Markl said and I'll paraphrase, that power cords have a greater impact on sound than interconnects because they influence they way a component produces sound rather than just change how the sound passes from one component to the other.

Thanks for the reply, but I don't know what a VD-1 is. Are you talking about making your own power cord? If so, please elaborate.

 

[pompon]

VD = Virtual Dynamics

They change the price of their cable pretty too often for me.
VD Genesic was 16000$ ... after regular price was 8000$ ... at Christmas was 2800$ ...

Peaple who payed 16000$ for one should cry when they see them at 2800$ now ...

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pompon /img/forum/go_quote.gif VD = Virtual Dynamics They change the price of their cable pretty too often for me. VD Genesic was 16000$ ... after regular price was 8000$ ... at Christmas was 2800$ ... Peaple who payed 16000$ for one should cry when they see them at 2800$ now ...

Or you could roll your own for about $25.

 

[MatsudaMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Or you could roll your own for about $25.

How does one roll his own?

 

[dmashta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pompon /img/forum/go_quote.gif VD = Virtual Dynamics Peaple who payed 16000$ for one should cry when they see them at 2800$ now ...

and people who paid $2800 for them should cry when they realize...ah never mind.

 

[Spasticteapot]

I think the OP is making this all up after realizing that he wasted a huge amount of cash on a useless power cord. All amps run the electricity through a dozen yards of very cheap and ordinary copper wire on the primary of the power transformer anyway, so there's no benefit beyond aesthetics and shielding. Good luck selling it to one of the "believers".

Also....plugging the holes with socks? Say good-bye to any bass extension, and I wouldn't be too surprised if the frequency response went a bit off. Speaker design requires a lot more than simply putting a few drivers in a box: a clever cabinet and crossover can make cheap drivers sound wonderful.

Why didn't you just spend the money on speakers instead?

 

[883dave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatsudaMan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Earlier in the day, I was thinking about plugging the port holes of my Wharfedales because of the hump in the lower mid-bass that was overwhelming the music and making everything sound muddled. I even considering room treatments because of this pesky issue. Back to the decrease in boominess that occured when swapping out the Magic Power cord....

Long before you tweak your system, buy power cords or interconnects, up-grade components....

TREAT THE ROOM

This is not something to "consider" it is a must to a good listening room

Rooms can, and usually do, have nulls and humps. Increasing or decreasing certain frequencies. You might want to pick up a SPL meter and a test disc and see at what frequency you have a problem. Sometimes the solution is moving the speakers a little, or even changing your listening position.
Think about a couple of bass traps as a minimum.

 

[MatsudaMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 883dave /img/forum/go_quote.gif Long before you tweak your system, buy power cords or interconnects, up-grade components.... TREAT THE ROOM This is not something to "consider" it is a must to a good listening room Rooms can, and usually do, have nulls and humps. Increasing or decreasing certain frequencies. You might want to pick up a SPL meter and a test disc and see at what frequency you have a problem. Sometimes the solution is moving the speakers a little, or even changing your listening position. Think about a couple of bass traps as a minimum.

You're right, it's very important to acoustically treat a listening room, and in the future when I have a bigger place, I'll have a dedicated listening room. Unfortunately for me, the my current listening room is also a music studio and practice room - kind of hard to get everything right, even just pulling the speakers further from the back walls is not really much of an option because of size of the room.

Still, doesn't really take away from my original point that power cords make a really big difference.

 

[compuryan]

I just stick to the above-average hospital grade cord for my audio stuff. The nicer power cords can make a good difference, but other things are worth upgrading before you upgrade your power cables in my opinion.

Oh and I think "cords" is spelled without an h. That'd be the kind of chords you play on a piano or guitar. Sorry to be annoying.

 

[Tridacnid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spasticteapot /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think the OP is making this all up after realizing that he wasted a huge amount of cash on a useless power cord. All amps run the electricity through a dozen yards of very cheap and ordinary copper wire on the primary of the power transformer anyway, so there's no benefit beyond aesthetics and shielding. Good luck selling it to one of the "believers".

Maybe, but why would he be pointing out how he doesn't like them and thinks a super cheap cable is better before he sells them? I'd do it after I sold the cables.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatsudaMan /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does one roll his own?

About a year ago, a thread here established that Virtual Dynamics made their power cords with Home Depot wiring inside a garden hose filled with sandblasting medium. They put some Techflex on the outside of the hose, too. Total cost was under $20.

If you want to put fancy ring clamps on the cord, McMaster-Carr should have them at reasonable prices.

You can have it cryoed at a commercial facility for $3-$5 if you wanted.

Virtual Dynamics maintained that it was impossible to detect differences with test equipment, so, ipso facto, no test equipment was needed to design the cords. There could not have been any cost for R&D because testing is not possible. According to them, of course. I asked them repeatedly to tell us about their R&D, test equipment, etc. and was ignored.

So, a few hours of labor, $20 in parts and a $16,000 price tag.

 

[MatsudaMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by compuryan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Oh and I think "cords" is spelled without an h. That'd be the kind of chords you play on a piano or guitar. Sorry to be annoying.

You think?

 

[MatsudaMan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif About a year ago, a thread here established that Virtual Dynamics made their power cords with Home Depot wiring inside a garden hose filled with sandblasting medium. They put some Techflex on the outside of the hose, too. Total cost was under $20. If you want to put fancy ring clamps on the cord, McMaster-Carr should have them at reasonable prices. You can have it cryoed at a commercial facility for $3-$5 if you wanted. Virtual Dynamics maintained that it was impossible to detect differences with test equipment, so, ipso facto, no test equipment was needed to design the cords. There could not have been any cost for R&D because testing is not possible. According to them, of course. I asked them repeatedly to tell us about their R&D, test equipment, etc. and was ignored. So, a few hours of labor, $20 in parts and a $16,000 price tag.

Anywhere I can find step by step instructions?