Exactly. It DOES modulate with the amplification stages and no longer remains the same "noise". It does NOT appear without signal.
Theorize however you will. I present empirical observations.
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Power cable upgrades- worth it or not? if Y, then how $ is 'worth it'?
- Thread starter Monad
- Start date
Theorize however you will. I present empirical observations.
Exactly. It DOES modulate with the amplification stages and no longer remains the same "noise". It does NOT appear without signal.
Theorize however you will. I present empirical observations.
Another possibility is a studied, documented and proven phenomenon known as confirmation bias.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer-expectancy_effect
Yep, you are right, on both counts. In the audiophile world, it's one of the populations where confirmation bias is the most predominant.
loopstick
Lunatic Member
So if I don't have a best socket, and all my sockets are tied, I build one?
Will S.
Super Member
I do not doubt your empirical observations. I am trying to understand the theory you present to explain those observations. I am attempting to reconcile those observations with my own. And I am attempting to devise a way in which your theory might be tested.Exactly. It DOES modulate with the amplification stages and no longer remains the same "noise". It does NOT appear without signal.
Theorize however you will. I present empirical observations.
Will S.
Super Member
True enough. But Dunning-Kruger makes it clear that most of the people who think they're in the second group are lying to themselves.
loopstick
Lunatic Member
They all put out juice. Now what?
Spend twenty years experimenting with dozens of power cable examples - AC and DC alike - attached to a wide range of devices!
My most recent validation was with a Raspberry PI player in the garage system. I use a battery supply with it and after someone mentioned they use an Apple iPad 5V block, I decided to revisit using a SMPS instead. Didn't sound bad or *noisy*, just a noticeable loss of transparency and lack of focus at the top.
Cost for battery? About $30. I do, however, use a low inductance star quad DC cable with it.
Monad
Super Member
I've been swapping gear around, connects, tubes... pulled my fancy DH Labs Red power cables off my QS V4 amps, ran stock computer power cables to them for a spell and put one of the power cables into the DAC, have a decent Shunyata in the preamp.. I also changed to WingedC EL34 in the amps at the same time, down from KT88s and.. IDK but my Jolida Glass DSD DAC never sounded this good before.
I did pull the DAC tubes (raytheon 12ax7) and give the pins a good swab but as stated, the DAC has never sounded better or clearer. I've been noticing it daily but today I think I put 2n2 together.
I'm playing some low end FLAC Trojan Dub bits that are awesome but just meh for sq and they sound clearer.. I did just go from KT-88 down to EL34 so this could also be part of it.. swapping back to some 6550 options tomorrow, just to make sure I'm not having a stroke of some kind.. I also think I have my speakers (UREI 813) a little better dialed in that a few weeks back but.. anyway, just some thoughts.
I'll pull the DAC power cable tomorrow before touching anything, pick out the thinnest monitor power cable I have and see if it still sounds as goodly.
Either way, really enjoying my sound right now..hearing more of the room the music is coming from, as the speakers dissolve.
I did pull the DAC tubes (raytheon 12ax7) and give the pins a good swab but as stated, the DAC has never sounded better or clearer. I've been noticing it daily but today I think I put 2n2 together.
I'm playing some low end FLAC Trojan Dub bits that are awesome but just meh for sq and they sound clearer.. I did just go from KT-88 down to EL34 so this could also be part of it.. swapping back to some 6550 options tomorrow, just to make sure I'm not having a stroke of some kind.. I also think I have my speakers (UREI 813) a little better dialed in that a few weeks back but.. anyway, just some thoughts.
I'll pull the DAC power cable tomorrow before touching anything, pick out the thinnest monitor power cable I have and see if it still sounds as goodly.
Either way, really enjoying my sound right now..hearing more of the room the music is coming from, as the speakers dissolve.
I'm not following your logic here. If 1000 audiophiles say that expensive power cables make an audible difference, either they're all right or they're all wrong. How could just one of them be right?
Monad
Super Member
turned out to be burned out.. could have picked up internals from PSAudio to replace.. maaassive alloy case with fins.. but ended up with a FURMAN unit.
Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
My A/V rack`s 14yr. old and built like a brick "Sh*t house" 20 amp rated Furman surge/spike/power up/down sequencer is still plugging away doing what it was designed to do, through countless power blipping intense thunderstorms while in use.
Well worth the purchased price investment, IMO/E, since it protects 10`s of thousands of dollars worth of valuable A/V electronics.
Some people hear a difference, some don't. In most cases, for gear with IEC connectors, I use heavy-duty computer cords. Just personal preference. But, in some cases, it did make an audible difference for the better. It wasn't a 'night-and-day' difference, tho.
I don't think a CD player, for instance, would be as noticeable, especially if using an outboard DAC. But, power amps, integrated amps, line stages, and phono preamps, can all benefit from increased conductivity, in my opinion....
I don't think a CD player, for instance, would be as noticeable, especially if using an outboard DAC. But, power amps, integrated amps, line stages, and phono preamps, can all benefit from increased conductivity, in my opinion....
You will laugh, but I use heavy duty Tripp-lite computer power cables. I have been happy with those. In addition, I have a very expensive cable that was gifted to me, which I use on my preamp. I can say that I have heard a difference, but only when comparing them to OEM cables.
Bill Ferris
Lunatic Member
I wouldn`t laugh, Miss Natasha, I even use, and like very much Tripp-Lite brand`s well shielded, and inexpensive USB cables from my A/V rack`s music playing laptop to the Peachtree brand USB to S/PDIF converter which are all very close to the Mc. C-37 preamp in the rack mounted inches away, and I haven`t heard any digital hash noise while listening to the preamp with headphones to check.
I bought about 30 of Tripp-Lite brand 14 gage IEC power cords in the mid 2000s for general purpose upgrades for the OEM commonly supplied 18 gage ones for when I thought a powerful audio power amp might benefit from less voltage drop than the thinner gage supplied one.
That is exactly what I use, the 14 gauge power cord.
DeadRock
Ideas Guy
Says the person who's convinced that an analytical category of psychological experience which applies to everybody somehow does not apply to him...
Danathepill
Well-Known Member
I’m more impressed this thread has made it this far without being **** down by a moderator than I am with any minuscule difference one might hear in a power cord. When you get to the point you are listening to power cords you have crossed into the same region as that douche bag Ken and his million dollar stereo.
DeadRock
Ideas Guy
You can't hear power cords...you might hear their effects through your speakers though...
Sgt Shultz
Addicted Member
Not going to read the whole thread, but as a master electrician for four decades I can tell you using a #10awg cord on a circuit most likely fed by #14awg romex makes about as much sense as a screen door on a submarine.