I'd always filed audiophile power cables under the 'snake oil' category but I was blown away by the audible difference between them in this demo. I've just ordered some new speaker cable after watching one of your other DIY 'how-to' videos so a new power cable might be next! Thanks for the quality content.
@Trev C exactly, and it's the same with a digital stream of zeros and ones, no silver cable can change this. If it's not an analogue audio cable, it's placebo and delusion.
I have a friend that works at the CERN. He was able to put some of my old cheap power cables in the most powerful particle accelerator in the world on an off shift. You would not be able to believe the difference it made to the sound! It now funnels muons, pions and quarks and changed the actual subatomic structure of the wire itself. Anyone want to buy them for $10k?
Really hard to tell because the difference in sound when you switch speakers is so stark that it makes anything else pale in comparison. An awesome video as always. Thank-you
Sounds like BS to me. You might have a 100 meters of line cable running to your house from a sub station, then maybe 15 or 20 meters of twin and earth running through your walls from your meter to the outlet socket, Then maybe 1.5 meters of special power cable to your amp , Then God knows how many meters of standard copper wire in the Toroidal power transformer followed by more standard copper wire in he secondary winding of the power transformer then into the rectifier followed by the smoothing power capacitors , then maybe 2 meters of small diameter of copper wire in the voice coil, and the 1.5 Meters of special power cable makes all the different. Sounds like snake oil to me.
@@Tharbamar this is really interesting; can you do a video on this? While I couldn't do this, I have friends and clients that would definitely invest in this!
Yup power cables can't pick up any noise after the power conditioner. Heck power conditioners do even work because they have miles of cable before them LOL😄
Forget the listening, I'm astounded that the waveforms are clearly different. I'm on the fence about the topic but they clearly show a difference. How come no one else has done this, seen this or commented on it? Unless I missed it. This seems to directly refute what EE experts like Amir have found and what the doubters, like me, say about this. I presume the waveform is just DBs? Why didn't Amir find this? I would think that using a program like audacity would make this an easy thing and I'm going to try it with my new unused - so far - cords.
As always most people are not intelligent enough to notice (unless black and white) or willing to accept the fact because they can’t hear the difference between them, measuring signal doesn’t do much for actual sound output of components.
@@Tharbamar Yeah agreed for sure sound quality often cannot be measured, but the arguments from the objectivists is "show me the measurements" Here it seems that you clearly do. I don't recall ever seeing something like this before. That I find surprising.
I spend a lot of money on this hobby and have no doubt that cables make small differences in the music that we hear, but spending big bucks on a power cable is where I draw the line😊 thanks for the great video!
youre right you dont have to spend alot of money .CABLES like duelund tinned copper in cotton sleeving gives you high end sound without high end prices...
I own over a dozen newer amps and yes I can tell a difference but we have trained ears that are super sensitive to change you know its almost like muscle memory with our ears , i mean i barley watch T.V. anymore , but here it is , some amps are more evident , like my Pioneer Elite SX-N30 799.00 US when new and with the Audioquest Y3 Power cable the sound changed like i never thought possible ! P.S. Audioquest coaxial digital CABLE cinnamon is the warmist sounding cable i have ever heard ! And actually paired up very good with my Emotiva SYSTEM ! But my other amps that are already warm well it took away from the clarity/details ita not as lively as before !
@@SpikeoutBattleStreet That is very true , and this is why it takes me atleast a month with audiogear before I can review it properly !! You have Break in time and pairing with multiple audio gear , I see some reviewers reviewing audio gear almost everyday and i say to myself HOW ? It may need break in time , and i wanna use MULTIPLE amps also espically with speakers, So i use cool/netural/warm sounding amps new age and Vintage, And with Amp reviews I use MULTIPLE speakers ! Why ok say a reviewer has 1 amp they use for all their speaker reviews, and that 1 amp is on the warm side of netural and he reviews a cool/netural/warm sounding speaker will his review is only based on how the speaker sounds with his 1 warm amp only! So if your a viewer that has a cool sounding amp then you will have a completely different overall sound character than what a warm amp has you know what i'm saying Spike 😆 And this is why i have a dozen amps and 8 sets of speakers ! That way I can see an overall better perspective of the actual sound character ! I am getting a video ready to talk about this subject ! Where i talk about SYNERGY with Speakers and Amps !! Now if you have the same warm amp as the reviewer then yeah I could see their review being more valuable 😆 Like KEF speakers like a Warm to netural sounding amp with pairing, but put a cool or bright sounding amp with KEF speakers and you in for a real mess lol on the Average !
@Tee-Jay, I spent my time more than a month and half, some case more than two months for speakers. If I don't have enough sleep I won't do any serious listening. Sometimes it takes a lot of patient and effort to know the actual sound of the speakers. Critical sound perception is weather dependent as well, raining or the sunny different weather condition makes it different as well, when is snowing I do not listen to my music, I listen to quietness of surrounding that only snow can bring. Mode is important for me, thanks
@@Tharbamar I know you put the time in ! You do a great job , really enjoy the channel ! And the reccomendation on the Audio Stand and studio 530s RP-160 ! I was talking about how i see some reviewers review products everyday how can they do that ?And i know you have multiple amps speakers i sure hope you didn't think that comment was towards you !!
I personally soak my power cables in chicken fat and then freeze them cryogenically followed by 1000 hours of serious burn-in. After that, the SOUND JUST OPENS UP. My wife can even hear the difference from the kitchen!
This guy can notice a difference between every interconnect cable , power cable , speaker cable and connecter ever made .... he must have a sixth sense like no other
I invested in Shunyata Power Management/Cords. There has been a outright noticeable improvement to the sound of my system. I upgraded to a dedicated 20 amp circuit combined with their wall outlet. Their power cords are used with my AVR, my subs, and my BRD player. The audio is wonderful, more balanced detail to my system especially with low volume listening. Glad I invested into this system.
Brave man! Surprised how well this has went down in the comments.. Been in this hobby a long time and tried many many cables. Artisan silver cables on the Isle of Wight UK the best I have encountered👍
I'm one of the guys you made this video for. I appreciate the time and effort you have made to share your experiences with me. I'm listening on a good pair of IEM's and to be honest I much prefer your cable to the PS Audio.
While you can hear certain things over RU-vid, you will not easily hear soundstage width, height or depth differences. With that said, the cable differences were precisely as described by the presenter after the sound bytes.
The TBR cable is substantially better across the whole spectrum. Much more natural harmonically and thus infinitely more musical. Well done. I am tempted to build. I think you provide details.
AC power cables have nothing to do with music or harmonics. That's all about your source/DAC/pre-amp/amp/speakers and acoustic room treatments. Enjoy the placebo effect!
Sir, I completely admire you.. I have been a audiophile or a lover of exotic audio equipment since I was 14yrs of age..over the years people have always impressed me with their audio set up from back in the 1970's back when reel to reel tapes were in style, pioneer, sansui, technique,Akai and many more were among the best to have.. Thanks to the people who shared their love for audio systems gave me that rich taste that I so enjoy today, I have a home theater set up in my living room that would challenge some walk in theaters. I have a studio (Photography) set up in my basement that have two Edifier bookshelf speakers with a subwoofer this set up is attached to my PC that I built two years ago that has amazing sound.. One last thing I have an upstairs office that I has a HP computer that I bought about 11 years ago (bad choice) since upgraded but this pc came with boston acoustics 4.1 surround system that is extremely I mean extremely great sound. I would like to build a system like you have to replace my two 12 inch bozaks and my Nikko alpha 130 amp and pre amp.. I think the Wharfedale Evo is where I would start.. Thanks again great presentation
I never gave any thought to the power supply cord all these years of being an audiophile. Figured my high end DENON must have adequate power, why would I need to mess with it when it probably wouldn't make any difference. Well, I was wrong. I swapped out what I thought was a 14 AWG power cord (it was actually heavily insulated 18 AWG) with 12 AWG and switched from 2 prong plug to 3 prong plug (properly grounded to earth rather than the chassis) So far this modification has made the most noticeable difference. Great vids and D.I.Y. cables!
There is really no room for debate as to whether cables of any variety produce an audible difference, so long as reliable contact is being made. Setting aside the low level explanation, this question can be answered definitively by conducting a null test. In said test, the outputs of two signal chains are taken, with one of them inverted and then summed to the other. This results in all commonalities between the two signals being cancelled out, leaving only the differences. The same principle can be applied in order to definitively compare many other components such as DACs and amplifiers, with SWDT being the procedure utilized for the latter. Null tests have been employed in this manner for decades and no matter the cable tested, the result is always silence, which means that no differences exist to be heard. The power of marketing, confirmation bias and placebo, coupled with knowledge of the amount of money spent should not be underestimated.
I'm an old pro sound engineer who went to college and took electrical engineering, in part because of the power problems that I couldn't solve just being self-taught. That education gave me the tools to solve those problems, but gave me the ability to get even better work. In my expert opinion, if a fancy power cable does make a difference in how your audio gear performs, the only reason possible is because the gear is junk. You should buy better gear, not throw good money after bad on junk. If you think you're hearing all these things, you should save your money, because a vivid imagination costs nothing.
didnt you hear any difference in the sound of this video??? if not something is wrong with you. but if you hear any differnce, thqn explaine why there is the difference? i was the same as you and thaught alwasy...power cable make no difference...nut i tried many cables...only nordost realy made a big difference. so for my part, yes öower cable can make big improovements. its just life like sound...it began to live. the music gets a soul to it. my gear is accuphase E350, Bowers & Wilkins 804D2 and a Oppo Sonica DAC. so its not cheap or crapy gear. the same sound improovements happend at my brother stereo system. My uncles, my cousins and my Fathers system. So it is repeatable and it behaves always the same with different systems. thats no coincedence.
@@heinzbecker691 define "difference". You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means. In my world, the real world, "difference" implies some comparison of two dissimilar things. But "this video" is only one thing. Saying there can be a difference among the same thing is fundamentally flawed logic. And you have the gall to say there's something wrong with _me?_ Shame on you!
@@StringerNews1 didnt you realy dont hear the difference between ac12 and the self made cable in the first loudspeaker setup??? the ac 12 was way much more revealing and sounds much clearer even trough youtube crap audio! and the same effekt was at the b&w 706 but not that much cause of the more revealing speaker itself.
@@heinzbecker691 I have no idea what you're talking about. I have no "ac12" and my first loudspeakers are long gone. I'm not interested in playing flat earther games. If you have a claim to make, figure out what it is, and lay it out clearly and concisely. Then take measurements and write them down. How hard is that?
To me the power cable and conditioner are like water filter. The kilometres of water pipes that run to you house had probably not been changed for more than 10 years. So based on some theory that the power cable from power plant is not audio grade anyway power conditioning products are useless, no point installing water filter. Power is still power, it's there in the cable, just got contaminated along the way. So the "last mile delivery" is pretty important, that's my belief.
So, who is fooling who if we agree that the last mtr to your stereo acts like a filter. Iow, we end up buying the "filter" we like most. Which, ofcourse, could be must cheaper achieved by adjusting the bass or treble. Those knobs are free...lol
So just off of the first note you can hear a difference. It sounds more centered with the ac-122 and more holographic and wider with the TBR. Right off the bat.
Simple. Recording studios (such as Capitol) use out of the box power cables. Why? Because of the quality of the power supplies in the studio equipment.
It's called placebo, Fancy power cables deliver EXACTLY the same voltage and cycles per second as a factory cord. If your equipment is getting 120v @ 60 cycles that's it period. The only concern with a power cable is that it's not damaged and is large enough gauge to deliver proper current flow, (which is very small for audio devices, just use ohm's law and do the math.) Cables IN THE SIGNAL PATH do have some effect on sound, the lower the voltage of the signal the more it's affected by external sources.
@@florinbizu7583 I've been involved with audio 50 yrs. I've alway's known audio cables can affect the sound but because of my extensive background in audio n electricity know that the power cord is a big NO. It's audio jewlery which generates PLACEBO, yes very real as the person really hears a difference, but it is generated by their brain.
Also a good friend of mine owned a hi end audio store, I've heard many hi end systems.The denial is people denying that they are susceptible to placebo.
@@Pete.across.the.street, Well it does matter. That's why actual signal cables are affected more. They carry milivolts up to spkr cables which carry low voltages. Your 120v 60 hz power is pure noise, filtered out by the power supply in the equip. It's extremely hard to introduce noise on 120v. The wire in your wall and from your house to the pole and pole to pole is a bigger prob. than the 6 foot cord from the wall to gear. Your neighbors washing machine puts more noise on the line than what a power cord could. There's usually 5-10 houses on 1 pwr company transformer. I could get more technical but that's the idea.
One question, where does the electricity come from? From the electric socket on the wall? Have you changed all the electric cables in the wall? How can there possibly make a difference when the electric wire has not change in the wall?
Because the wiring in the rest of the house and on down the street doesn't matter, what matters is that last few feet before it goes into your electronics. Think of it like water pipes......that city water that goes to your house, the last parts of the water's path goes through filters, more filters, a water treatment system perhaps.........then it finally goes in you or on you. So because the wiring in the rest of the house or down the street might have noise or issues with it, that last few feet can get cleaned up and made more pure with a thicker quality cable. Plus, another reason is the wiring in the rest of the house and down the street isn't encountering interference from lots of electronics. That last few feet though goes next to all kinds of other cabling/power cords/interferences so it can get affected by this.
@@picklesandufos7860 nothing like water pipes this is all snake oil , your power supply in your 10 000 dollar amp cleans your power and if you are worried about it get a power conditioner
Amigo mio, soy Ingeniero eléctrico y especialista en acústica, y le voy a expresar mi opinion personal libre de subjetivismo y comprometida con la física de los conductores. Detrás de todo esto hay un enorme márquetin, con un jugozo crecimiento del bolsillo de muchos fabricantes sin escrúpulos, y que se apoyan en la sujestión y en la pésima memoria auditiva que poseemos los humanos. No quiero ser muy extenso y menos caer en un debate, pero a la audiofilia de hoy la han llevado a terminos iguales a la joyeria de lujo para personas pudientes.
It is strange that if the component manufacturers design their products with standard cables then they are or should be tuning them to work well with those normal cables. And although I know cables can change the sound, it is a Merry go round of trial and error and expense for such small incremental sonic differences. So my question is... why are graphic equalisers so heavily scorned yet some spend thousands on cable to change the sound just a little? Wouldn't a good studio quality eq be better and more practical and versatile option for tweaking frequencies?
@@AmazonasBiotop whilst I appreciate your point of view and the purist perspective... the strange thing is studios often use a vast array of equipment when recording music, filters, compressors, eq's and mixers...and such like. Therefore like all technical advances there is no one right or wrong answer as such...as the aim is and should be to get to good sonic music reproduction and performance - that matches and suits the listeners ears and their budget - or equipment that can be tuned to match the listeners tastes. While I also appreciate it has become a quest and hobby for some..I love high quality sound reproduction I don't personally like the supposed long time curve and ongoing mix and match process, just to get a system sound I would like to have had at the beginning...which could perhaps be equally achieved going the other route.. But no offence intended as this was meant only as a discussion and question. It's strange that manufacturers could also help customers by also putting in cable recommendations for the cables they used when designing their products.. I know some do at the higher end but would be interesting to know what each company chose to use as a guide.
@@AmazonasBiotop which is my point ... with all those variables involved and differences and changes you mentioned, is a graphic equaliser or the development of chip Amos and programmed filters not an equally valid and convenient way and route for someone to fine tune their system to suite their changing ears and preference. For a lateral example.. I play guitar and with electric I went the route of valve amps for a long time adding a whole host of peddles in the process. However I then tried some new chip combo amps and they sounded equally great also . So should it matter, is there a right or wrong way.?..As it is the sound we want to produce, find and hear that is important factor. Now I equally admit quality components are great as are high end cables but the real truth is most folks can't always afford to go down that upgrade route - to try get close to what they might ultimately want. Which I include myself, and therefore I would love it if there was an audiophile grade equaliser that could be controlled from a phone app and that also looks relatively pleasing on the the shelf 😊 but there seems such a big taboo in doing this...so there aren't such options available.
The worst part of this argument is the guy who claims to be an expert ( he has a degree in electrical engineering a point he continually makes ) telling me I am suffering from placebo effects if I think good quality cables make a difference to the sound) If this was recorded honestly which I have no reason to doubt there is definitely differences , which is exactly the experience I have had . I have an an $8000 valve amp. I work on the 10 percent rule for speaker cables & interconnects , a little less for power cables. Cables definitely make a difference particularly speaker cables. Excellent presentation even with the limits of RU-vid.
Sorry to "chime in" twice Tharbamar, but I wanted to express again how excellent your presentation is, in my opinion, this is a very high end content video, great work - - thank you.
@@MrsZambezi no offence - whatever you're doing personally with your system as far as cables go is most certainly fine by me, I'd bet I'd very much enjoy listening your system - as for me, I have found though personal experience that cables do make differences which is exactly what Tharbamar is citing - again, at least for me, power and speaker cables even more so than decent interconnect which specifically is not something I would have expected or accepted even up to 5 years ago, that is, one would figure interconnect to really shape sound more so than other cables, but I agree with Tharbamar on that point - however, what they do provide or don't provide is certainly system dependent - that is - just because one shells out 10 grand for speaker cables doesn't necessarily mean one will get their money's worth - so yeah, to that I wouldn't argue at all. To pass off cables or in regards to this video, power cables in particular, as "hooey" is a mistake, they are but another component in a given system which again, is Tharbamar's point, the two cables "sound" different to him even though he carefully points out that he's describing his own experience that others my disagree with - personally MrsZambezi, I'll never get what all the hoopla is about - my friends and I figured out Monster Cable killed lamp wire back in the early 80's, like no contest, which put us onto this "cable" thing way back then - but does one have to spend 80K on MIT's? I wouldn't know, I could never afford them but if I had a chance to mess with them I wouldn't turn that chance down, I could never afford a 150K sports car either but regardless of whether or not I'd want to own one, I wouldn't pass up a chance to test drive one - - hey, we're all just having fun, it's nothing but a hobby so I would only urge you to keep an open mind (and ears!). Thanks for replying to my comment, I appreciated hearing from you. From that skinny wire that Radio Shack used to sell as speaker cable way back in the 60's to my current reference that yes, cost well over 10 grand not to mention the investment in interconnect and power cables, so yes again, I have been very lucky to have experienced quite a variety of cables as well as other components - I'd never give up any of those very interesting experiences, after all, we only go though life one time (far as I know!) btw, is my system worth the investment, I definitely don't have the answer, probably not , after all , how much more will a 1/2 million dollar system give over a 1/4 million? We all know one probably isn't worth 250K over the other in pure dollars - - but I will say this - even though I'm not at those levels, what I do have I could never give up or go back from and I sincerely mean that. Happy Listening MrsZambezi, Later, Skip ( :
TBR has abit more "oomph" in the bass. As such, it sounds better when pair with b&w but when used with evo, it makes the bass muddier. As such evo is better off with ac12. Based on the 2nd track.
I other words is Call Snake 🐍 oil Cable 😂! I made my own cable with MOGAMI cable for the low resistance and for the look of it . I have 2 Panamax M4320-Pro and those cables just for keeping my system safe and Clean . Cables for me are not a tone control like some people believe , i am a Electrician and understand really well the principles in my trade ( resistance, amperage, inductance ,voltage...) . I respect everyone opinion . Hope everyone is well !
I now finally able to hear them and hear the difference.. even from just youtube. i hear the higher frequency and openness of the ps Audio. So would agree.and mix and match (wharfe + ps and.. BW and mugami diy). Thank you
I am not an electrical engineer but common sense tells me that wires in the wall will act as a bottleneck unless you will use a cable that is less conductive. Maybe a power conditioner might have some benefits.
You are right! Putting a 9 guage cable at the end of a100ft of Romex does nothing. Bring more power to your room and add a power conditioner. I use Tripp-Lite.
Well, I am an EE. I ran a separate large size cable from my electrical box to my audio isolation transformer with the standard Split Phase 250 volt supplied to my home. I also run my large monoblock amps and preamp with the 250. Everything else I use the 120 volt leg off the isolation transformer. In my thinking, you are CORRECT as far as the bottleneck.
The weave of the cable throws of efi to clean up the power slightly, and the quality of the material copper, silver or mixture of both makes a difference. Then there's quality of the dielectric and sheilding. As for the solid core cable running through the walls its thought that this does cause deterioration in sound quality but any improvement on any percentage of the length of that cable is a little less deterioration. Its not about raw voltage and amps its about clean power.....
I definitely heard a difference. Not sure which one I like better though. Your cable is smoother, more spread out but a bit more diffuse. The PS Audio is more focused, brighter, maybe more detailed but not quite as musical (natural).
I noticed a bigger difference upgrading my wall outlet. Regardless to what cable you use, you're still plugging it into a $1.50 wall outlet. I use PS Audio outlets and many of their power cords. But I do believe any well made cable will do. The difference was like removing a blanket from my speakers. The difference was surprisingly audible.
It's interesting that PS Audio makes power cables, but according to Paul McGowan, they use the expensive AudioQuest Dragon's in their music rooms and according to him, they plan on becoming an AudioQuest dealer : )
The contacts makes more difference than the wire. Cleaning your terminals with MG Chemicals 801B Super Contact Cleaner with PPE will result in less noise and increased clarity. I go through my system once a month to clean all the terminals. It’s quite affordable at Amazon. Dirty, oxidized connections will raise noise levels and distort the sound.
Let me tell all people who like music and how it’s played back,AC current is the most important thing in great sound,how clean it’s coming out of the wall and how it’s sent to your equipment ,(cords) get it Wright and everything else will sound great 👍
Of course it's placebo effect. That's exactly what I told my friend when he let me drive his Bentley. The deluded fool thought he had a good car, but I've put him straight now.
Mogami W3104 cable is speaker cable, not power cable. Power cable has insulation rated for a specific voltage. Mogami Pureline V3 Power Cable is rated for 250 volts but I would not use speaker cable for power cable and it is probably dangerous to do this.
Isn’t it more important to have a good power supply/conditioner? That being said it does sound like the PS audio cable gives the highs an airyness, less compressed and smoother roll off?
Come on guys, the cables from the energy power plant to your home are certainly not "professional audio grade"! They might even be good cables up to the power transformers near your area, but unless you know for sure that the cables IN your walls, behind the wall sockets are "professional audio grade", you are just lacking common sense by thinking that a 1000$ last meter of power cord from the socket to your amp will improve the sound in a humanly perceptible way. It's a different story if you use a power processor, something to clean and stabilize the current and THEN you use such expensive cables after that point. But otherwise this is seriously the peak of snake oil commerce.
@@Ryu288288 yeah you are implying that the cable is doing what the current processor/stabilizer/purifier is doing. They're 2 different things though. I'm not sure the cable would do what such device can. In my comment I specified that (for me) if you use a filter, then the cable makes sense.
Hi! Good video but I think you could have the best and most expencive power cable but if the power source is poor between the power net and your house/apartment. That 1 or 1,5 metres will not change the world on the whole high voltage electric network.For hobby or spend money is perfect. But I think speaker and interconnect cables are more important, but limited: so needed a good interconnect above the basic line, and needed a good pure copper ofc 2x2,5 or 2x4 for speakers thats all. (I note that in the past at vintage hi-fi there were simply cables and not best din connections etc and the sound was amazing 🤔😉😉😉)
Assuming the power supply in the equipment is built properly how does a cable between the wall outlet and Equipment make any difference when the wiring in the wall is unchanged?
@@Tharbamar So the only thing that matters is the shielding, as long as the conductors are sized properly. How much inductance is released, and is the drywall a good shield against the inductance in the wall wiring?
@@dr.emilschaffhausen4683 Why would YOU think drywall would be considered a "shield"? Shielding is from ground, without it there is no shield. You can have a million drywall walls doesn't matter.
@@BumpNrun69 I don't think it is, which was my point. The wiring inside the wall, basic Romex, isn't shielded, so how does the last foot or two being shielded while the rest is not shielded make a difference?
For me, there is much more room in the higher frequencies with the PS Audio cables. If I had the Wharfedale pair I would use the PS Audio cable. And inversely, if I had the B&Ws, I would use the DIY cable....those B&W's sound pretty great at first, i just can't imagine listening to that much top range of frequency energy all day (really heard it in the cymbals and with guitar high notes). For my ears, the DIY cable tones that down a lot. Not to hijack the topic, but I'm considering a couple of Cardas power cables. If anyone is familiar with any their cables, how do they compare to these two? thanks
I just can't believe the difference, im using some good headphones be it not the most expensive (sennheiser hd25) and even from youtube I could hear a difference, I never really thought it would make a difference, thanks for the video.
Bottom line is when you building a system, check the outlet AND/OR UPGRADE THE WALL FIXTURE,THEN MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A QUALITY POWER IN THE FIRST PLACE. Anxiety solved. If you still have a problem after that, .....well then you got yourself a problem.
Seems like a hear a little bit better low end on the TBR AC cord, but there's something on the vocals. Not sure, as I'm just listening to this on a $3 piece of crap USB headset, but seems the vocals on the PS Audio sound more echo'ing and a little less real, hard to tell except the low end seemed a little better on the TBR
I don't hear any difference with power cable changed at my headphone, but it does change alot when swapped speakers. BTW, the waveform mean nothing if you aren't tested in anechoic chamber.
I'll believe it when I see the measurements. I mostly hear reflections in your room. Acoustic panels will make a bigger difference than any power cord...
Send a few power cords into AudioScienceReview. So they can be tested by a actual engineer like Amir with proper equipment. I know he has a few already just a matter of time until they get tested... and debunked. Human hearing in these situations is very unreliable and you haven't done anything to prove what your hearing is the cable or psyco acoustics. You can listen to the same system over and over and hear different things. Your also aware of the test which voids it all.
PS Audio's cable is way more emotional and everyone play in good mood and good day, in the other hand mogami sound lazy and everyone play just to get paid. this is just my perspective.
I think you're right on Tharbamar, excellent vid, and although I'm being a bit picky here, I wouldn't go so far as to say that power cables make a bigger difference than speaker cables, in my own experience, I'd put them both on even ground - the problem with speaker cables is to get what they can really give a reference system one has to spend ridiculous money - in my case, as I've moved up in speaker cables and reached a so called "reference" level, no exaggeration here, the entire frequency spectrum is affected, it's like moving into a better pre-amp - as opposed to power cords which seem to make their differences in sound in selected areas, mostly in the lower and upper frequencies which also affects the "soundstage". Nonetheless, cables ARE a component and do affect musical presentation no matter the reason - are they simply a tone control? Maybe, but I know from personal experience that the stupid high end stuff, which yes I'm using, seem to get out of the way, that is, they don't seem to "impose" much, if any, of their own signature.
You simply cannot do any proper AB testing with power cables. For a true AB test, you need to be able to rapidly switch back and forth in quick succession. There are zero double blind tests out there proving any audible differences with exotic power cables, and this is for good reason. Just use the OEM cable, don't fiddle around with the electrics or you could introduce a potential fire hazard. I also noticed you didn't compare to a standard OEM power cable.
@ Tharbamar, great job as always with your presentation, subject matter, and music selection! I agree that power cords can be the difference maker in a system but of course not all systems respond the same way to changes in power cords and other accessories. A true story that I will try to keep short. I got a couple of audio buddies with lots of $high$ gear and $high$ accessories. Neither one could get a very expensive tube A.R. DAC to sound as it should even though they were swapping out wires, power cords, etc. So, I get the call to take the DAC home and see what I can do with it. I too could not get the DAC to sound as it should (nearly $10K DAC) and on my last swap, I put my modestly priced $140 Wire World Aurora 5 power cord into the dang thing and then that's when the DAC was unleashed. Who knew that particular DAC would be so darn picky(sensitive) to power cord?! Now this event took place about 8 years ago and I got my WW A5 back about a month ago...lol On the topic of SonarQuest connectors, I discovered the SonorQuest connector when I purchased a couple of power cords from Cullen Cable. Even within the SonorQuest connectors there can be audible differences between them. I no longer have them but as best as I can recall, I bought the Platinum for the amp and the Red Copper for the sub. I was more impressed with SonorQuest than with the wire Cullen was using. So, had my DIY buddy order some SonorQuest Silver connectors and put them on another manufacturer of wire and been using these for a numerous years now with great results.
Lots of douche comments here. What if someone wants to learn how to build high quality cables? This man answers the question. Thanks for the tutorials!
Thank you for the compariso. I have bought the parts and will do my own test. I can hear a difference, just not sure which is better. I like the wharedale over the B&W. I am currently looking to buy ATC SCM19. Have you listened to this speaker?
A few reviews on it mostly positive. Consensus was it lacks low end bass below 55hz but it can be made up with a good sub by a REL T/i series. Very revealing but still natural and non fatiguing is what I gathered from the reviews. I'm considering a purchase as well. Plan to get T7/i subs one each L/R
In my experience (since year 2004) power cables make the biggest difference in the audio system. I have owned many reference sources costing tens of thousands of dollars. I switched from a dCS Elgar Plus DAC + dCS Verdi Encore SACD transport ($31,000) into a $200 EMU 0404 USB DAC + a $50,000 Virtual Dynamics Judge power cable, and I got better sound! After that I started building my own power cables and got even better sound. I shared my cables year 2013 with everyone in my country and even the biggest skeptics could hear a difference!
@@teddyruxspin8480 I did a double blind test in the beginning, that's why I continued and bought more power cables. I recommend that people do blind tests of amplifiers and sources, then they will save a lot of money. This is because equipment make a smaller difference than power cables do.
very good comparrison. you can clearly hear the difference. the ac 12 is much more open and revealing than the second cable. people who still think that there is no difference must be realy deaf. I had my aha experience with nordost cables. first was the heimdall 1 xlr cable. crazy revealing and realy natural sound colors, but the biggest improovement came with heimdall 2 power cord...just awesome how lifelike the sound was. later on i tried the frey 2...yeah...the bass was on another level. i will stay for a while with the frey 2 power cables😅. i tried shiva, vishnu, red dawn 2 power cord and brahma. it realy starts with the vishnu/heimdall 2 power cables, but brahma was on another level...thats why i upgradet later on to the frey 2.
Sure it does friend. U can even burn ur amp transformer with certain cables combination (home made). The same amp can go from very spacial with no harmonic (like grey sound) to very centered stage and lots of rich harmonics just by cutting a given lenght of cable power by two !! But be carefull u can really burn the thing to death. :/
I'm looking forward to buy a power cable for my amplifier audiolab8000A, either pure copper or silver plated. I am looking forward to hearing from you. My system: Denon DCD1560AZ, B&W DM4. Many thanks.
New iFi Nova cable is very good cable, iFi Nova & Supernova AC Power Cable Comparison Review with Frequency Analysis ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8vv-uCXochc.html
Not a good demo, swapping speakers with cables. Better to use same kit all the time so the difference can be atributed to the cable not the speaker. Its like swapping CD players or amps over each time, they will Al add or remove something.
I didn't believe this. Till I started trying cables myself. Firt I replaced my QED XT40i speaker wire by the Dutch handmade Art Speak silvercore. My setup sounded like a class better! Much more details and control. Then I fabricated a powercable myself for €30,00by Belden cable and good connectors. Again an improvement(slightly). More control. Now ordered the Art speak powercable. A hardend not believer in speakerwire and powercable is sure they can make a difference. But......you need a high quality setup for noticing this difference. A standard setup with better cables won't make a big difference. My setup : NAD M32, B&W 804s, Art Speak silvercore speakerwire. Belden powercable(soon replaced by Art Speak). You should try Art Speak! Site sucks,while he's a technician. Just call him.
Windham Hill "96 sampler is best for cello that can tune all speaker builders to test speakers. Gretchen Yanover - Bow & cello, is as good. Deep bass would be piano Holly Cole-Dont smoke in bed. Nils lofren-Acoustic live, on acoustic guita for highs. Michael Hedges-oracle to test any speaker. The best 2 cds that I"ve ever heardto test mids & highs is the air off a flute on these next 2 albums of Jeremy Steig, Howling for Judy, Wayfaring stranger. Drums & mids on sax is John Coletrane A LOve Subpreme. Most of these are on youtube. Michael Hedges_ Oracle on youtube isnt put on good. Van Morrison-Astral weeks, is great on acoustic bass. Michael Hedges-oracle is best cd to test low mids to build the correct size cabinet for a bookshelf speaker & woofer size
If something can be asserted without evidence it can also be dismissed without evidence. If we compare a long cable with lots of volt drop i would agree in an impact. Sadly its not possible to hear differences on a phone or laptop unless the difference is dramatic.
Tharbamar, good afternoon! Could you please advice on how much and what material I need to assemble a pair of speaker cables? I have 16 -18 feet of Magami W3104 and 8 Parts Express banana plugs you recommended in one of your DIY videos. Thank you very much
The best bananas are from www.GLSAudio.com. Use silver solder from Parts Express. GLS Audio sells 12 guage speaker wire. So does PE. Don't waste your money. Mixing studios where your records and CDs come from use common Belden commercial wire.
Stanny1 I had GLS Audio and very similar Blue Jeans Cable locking banana plugs, they are okay, but made in Taiwan Parts Express are way way better quality! I also believe that Mogami W3104 is the best cable for speakers or power money can buy. Thank you very much for your input
