I am an electronics engineer since 1976 and old-school hands-on kinda guy. Thank you for your down-to-earth approach of this topic. Let me briefly explain why you could not hear the difference between power cords. It is because you have such good equipment! Let me explain with a power amp or DAC as examples. One third (if not more) of the components cost of this equipment is spent on the power supply. Top quality transformers, ample oversized top-grade smoothing capacitors, RF-filter at the mains input, high-quality DC-power supply regulators for the entry stages or the DAC section or amplifier driving stages and so on. These power components cost a LOT of money. The purpose of this is to go from your mains AC voltage to a VERY stable, filtered, noise-free DC power for the active circuitry in your audio equipment. Designing a good power supply is an art in itself. Now, the power cord takes mains AC voltage including all RF interference that it picked up into your equipment like light bulb dimmer noise, electric motors causing spikes (vacuum cleaner lights-out effect), air conditioner, WiFi RF pickup, radiostation FM signals, not to forget CellPhone interference. You DON'T WANT that interference and spikes and noise to enter your amplifier or DAC because its power supply needs to filter it out again. That is its main purpose! So what do you do with a gold-plated power cord? You make it EASIER for RF to get into your equipment and cause noise and spikes in the power supply. You are PAYING to WORSEN the situation! That is so illogical that it is funny. Why would you buy a 3K $ gold-plated power cord to ENHANCE the noise and RF-interference entering your VERY expensive equipment? The ONLY thing that really works is an RF-ferrite choke of good quality on the AC-power cord to REMOVE as much as possible that unwanted interference so it does not even get into the power supply to begin with. And the gold plating on a 220V AC power connection is completely unnecessary. What applies for the very sensitive leads of a phone cartridge (where we are talking about 5 mV (= 0,005 Volts) has completely NO measurable nor auditive impact when talking about mains (110 or 220 V). So buy a good normal power-cord with sufficiently thick copper wire size for minimal current-peaks-induced voltage drop over the cable and if it does not have a ferrite RF-filter, add a clamp-on one of good quality reputable name, no 2-cent one please, and enjoy the music. If someone tells you that the power cord is changing the sound of your 10k$ amplifier, then you have a serious problem but it is not electronic. Do not hear what others tell you that you should hear. I understand that people want to justify purchasing a 3k $ power cord as the latest and greatest invention. But it is make-believe from a company ripping you off with fairy-tale stories of how good their product is telling you that you they can hear the difference. Yeah right... I would also tell you that if I made 2990$ profit on a 3000$ cable. As a final remark please note that I am talking POWER cables only. Loudspeaker cables (as you correctly said in SOME cases) MAY make a difference. I can hear that too, but not always (like you correctly also mention.) And I DO agree that gold plating is good for low voltage connections like phono- and audio-signal carrying cables (RCA plugs and the like.) Thanks for your clear video and explanation. Much appreciated.
Well written with statements justified. Some of the stuff I’ve read here from others has left me gobsmacked and I didn’t know wether to laugh or cringe with amazement at what some people have bought into regarding power cables, audiophile fuses, and the like. Sellers of this stuff must have a great laugh when they make a product for a few dollars and sell it for a few thousand.
Your reply, along with some of my own 'research' (meaning internet) makes complete sense and validates one's use of common sense! Yes, improved cables for audio signal but, not for power - that investment was made by the manufacturer of my amp (and me, when I purchased it). In fact, I have a locally made amp - Rogue Audio. Corresponding with their very consumer-friendly staff, I inquired about a power cord upgrade. He suggested not making the upgrade and putting those funds towards additional albums/CD's and also explained how/why it wasn't needed.
If I paid 3k for a power cord, I most definitely will chant myself to think there's a 3k improvement. With that said, I DIY my own power cord with quality parts. It's jewelry and I know I'm getting what I paid for. This way, I sleep better at night. Thank you for another honest and positive video.
@@johnbravo7542 The stupid HI FI buffs, some not all is amazing if snake oil was sold they would by it. The problem is those that are not technical don't understand electrical theory are easily sucked in by makers claims and hype.
"If I spent $3K, I want to be able hear the obvious improvement" -- I agree 100%, I'd better hear something clear right away. $3K is a lot of money and not worth it if I have to listen carefully to hear the difference. It is a great video! When I bought my amplifier, I did the same. The dealer did a comparison between the amplifier that I was planning to buy and the better one (same brand) which cost 2 times than the one that I was going to buy. I could not even hear any difference. I was pretty good in constraining myself from spending money on unnecessary thing.
@@taylorhickman84 "Burn in" That is another excuse that has no truth in it. If anything, whether it is an amp or speakers (especially speakers) it is more likely that what is happening is your ears are getting used to the new sound. Most quality amplifiers will sound very similar on a specific set of speakers.
@@swinde Re: "Burn in". Well, electrons do have mass & DC is a flow. That flow creates friction & thus heat (eg; a light filament). Does friction cause wear in a conductor?
To me it's always about making sensible "matching" decisions. I've tried power cable upgrades with my modest $2k amp and heard no difference. The thing is, if I'm going to spend $3k on a power cable, maybe I'd be better off with a $5k amp instead. If you have the motivation and resources to spend say $30k on an amp, then it might make sense to splurge on a significant power cable upgrade. Similarly when a salesperson tried to sell me on the idea of spend over a grand on speaker cable instead of the modestly priced Kimbers I was already using, I mentioned that maybe I'd be better off spending that money on the next step up in the Vandersteen line-up. I was pretty sure I'd hear a difference making that move, not sure sure about the speaker cables.
I'm with you! I'm of the belief - yes, I wrote belief (not a scientific term although has a lot to do with one's perspective) - of the belief that "fancy" (costly) power cords are just a way of adding a static sort of equalizer to one's system.
I use both standard and aftermarket power cables; some I purchased and others I have built myself. Personally I don't really hear a difference but appreciate how they enhance the appearance of my gear... LOL. Possibly those who are fortunate enough to hear a difference have much more acute hearing than my ancient ears, and I believe another segment may be enjoying audio enhancement from power cables via the placebo effect. The placebo effect has been well documented in influencing people as it is ingrained in many as being a part of human behavior. I truly enjoy your videos and love your sincere approach to sharing your love for audio.
Great video, really honest and down to earth, I find the same thing, others say wow what a difference this makes and I can't hear it. They say I'm at fault. Hmmmm.
I just upgraded my standard cables with chord signature and nordost valhallad.... The difference for me was very obvious. The sound was way more punchy, soundstage felt bigger and definitely the details feel more sharp. So for me spending a good amount of money cable makes a difference. But also it does depend on your system my system definitely shows the subtle differences when changing cable.
@johnholmes I assure you, it is not placebo. I was a cynic at first. But a good quality power cable can make a massive difference, try a chord Sarum or signature in your system and then tell me you can't hear a massive difference. It's either you have tried lesser cables, your system may not be mature enough to benefit from those upgrades or you just never tried it to test it seriously. One of the first standard upgrades for any hifi is component is power, so why is it so surprising that an upgrade or manipulation of, the mains, which is the very first entry point of electricity into the system would be a placebo?! My friend I promise you, power above all interconnects can have a big difference. In my experience the benefits decline as you move up the chain but mains power, definitely a game changer
I'm a bit late to this one Thomas but thought I'd make a comment since my brother actually bought a 2nd hand $3k power cable, so you could double that for the new price. It was used with his amplifier replacing a $500 cable. As soon as the music started we both looked at each other, the biggest cable difference we have ever heard, and bearing in mind we are both 60yrs plus. We have struggled hearing differences with interconnects and to a lesser extent speaker cables and really up until that point power cables as well. Thanks for telling everyone your honest opinion, and posting this video
lol, okay maybe not the $5 then but one of the better cables you use. I could not hear a difference from power cords in my system for quite a while. As my system improved over time the difference became more noticable. It's not a problem to pass a blind test 100% now. But again, as some people commented here, I use tube amps...
You can't tell the difference because there is no difference :-) Not only are there cheap wires in your wall... but if you open your device (dac, amp, preamp, whatever) you will see that your expensive power cable connects directly to the internal circuitry by a thin cheap wires or a PCB board :-) Keep up the videos and good work!
"High-end audio" is called that for a reason it isn't a big tent umbrella where most of us can fit. If you are of the mindset that people are simply wasting their money buying things that don't matter (to you) and are hearing things that aren't there, ask yourself what concern is it of yours how another man spends his money and why are you acting like the internet version of a "nagging-wife?"
@@SayUptown Dude, if you buy a *power cable* for more than $50 you should be ridiculed. I don't want it to become more commonplace that people believe in stupid shit.
Unless I ask you to help me pay for it you shouldn't give a rat's ass what I spend on whatever I want to spend it on. Stop acting like a eff'n nagging wife!
Power Cord 'upgrader's seem to forget that many amplifiers have an internal Main AC Line fuse rated no higher than 15 A (Slo-Blo Type). Many are only 5-7A depending on the amp. So the cord need not and CAN NOT pass more current than the limit set by that internal fuse. A 14-gauge cord is rated to handle 15A just like the 14 gauge wire from your fuse box to the outlet. And most amps already have a 14-12 gauge Power Cord. Changing the last few feet of wire from the outlet to your amp will not make a difference. Save your money. And the claim of lowering the 'noise floor'? If your amp has ANY noise, its not from the cord. Its usually poor/improper internal signal grounding techniques, poor chassis wiring, poor design, leaky caps, or noisy transistors somewhere in the audio path. It could even be a sign of a bad/damaged or poor RCA interconnects, but even with common variety RCA's, there should be no added noise. I have been refurbishing/upgrading Hafler amplifiers for several years and even in their stock form, with the stock 14-gauge Cords, they are absolutely 'dead silent' with no signal present and even when connected to my Parasound P5 Preamp with volume at full, with no signal, you might hear a 'hint' of audible noise, but only if you put your ear right up against the tweeter.
I am with you on this. I think you should have spoken about the gauge of the cable. I think that makes so much difference. Japanese brands like Yamaha and Marantz include 16 gauge cables with their amps. If we upgrade to 12 or 14 gauge cables, it makes a world of difference. You don't have to pay thousands of dollars on a power cable. For 100 or 200 bucks, you will be able to get the best out of your amp.
Hi Thomas & Stereo I think it may be worth while suggestion for a groups of Audiophiles to have their hearing tested to see what frequency ranges they can actually hear ! i know some Audiophiles test their hearing intermittently to see if hearing capabilities deteriorates with age. In an audio test if one cannot hear subtle changes from one tone to another then that will be saying a lot. The auditor of the hearing test can confirm if you have heard a tone or not. The one in the soundproof booth with headphones does not know when the auditor is sending a sound frequency. The sound frequencies can be extremely subtle. This might be a step closer to have a controlled study on this issue.
Actually quite easy to resolve all audio questions. Stop reading and start listening! Like it? Buy it!!! Regardless if it is amps, speakers, cables or others.
It's well established that any type of cables over $100 really are directional. That money only travels from your pocket into theirs, not the other way.
Hey Thomas huge fan of your channel and Sean's and zeaos and of course Steve G , I just bought the audioquest NRG-Y3 3 pole power cable(130.00 bucks) for my Pioneer elite Hi-res class A/B receiver 85watts rms it's a 799.00 U.S. amp now you can get for 600.00 so no super high end but I'm about to do my review on the audioquest power cable I call myself the stereo bargin file, I've been a stereo-phile since 1989 I'm also a electrian and maintenance man at a local factory , My only problem is the fuse inside your amp is very small and unless you change that also I don't see how it's better power unless the damping of the the material on power cord shields less interference , about to give my honest opion on my system and on my ears all audioquest inner connects and speaker wire , which they all made a huge difference so far we will see -soon
Pretty convinced most improvements people may notice in a blind test is just from the manufacturer just doing a better soldering job, could be interesting to compare the same cheap cable but one has the ends stripped and redone/replaced by somebody who knows how to do a proper job and get a solid connection.
I buy 15yo used Kimber reference power cables at 1/5th of their original cost. I consider them pre burnt-in. I always notice when I add one. They tend to increase separation and the sense of depth. Even £25 used Kimber Yello cables will improve your sound. Just Deox-it all the contacts to get back to better than new.
That's exactly what I hear, the mains doesn't change the tone it does change the dimensional characteristics of the system it's not like an equipment change. The trick to these things in my opinion is to "forget" the upgrade and then at some point you think "I've not heard that sound like that before" etc etc not to flog yourself into hearing an immediate difference whatever it is you are changing.
I totally agree with you. It amazes me when people stick a $3000 dollar cable into a wall socket where on the other side, runs a 57cent/metre bulk power cord. For the same price, you can get something like an Isotek Aquarius and eliminate the noise out of the grid supply which is the real culprit to hifi. Maybe then a difference might be heard. Nether the less, I would still be buying the cheapest, quality cables because that's all you need, plugged into a decent Isotek unit or the like. It would be interesting to see you trial a Sigmas or an Aquarius and see your take on the subject, as I see you as yet, have not explored the matter.
Don't forget that the cable in the wall is a normal 2x 14awg for most of us in Canada... And sometime that wire is very long. The big diff would be to have a short cable going to the panel or to have a bigger cable like a 10awg with dedicated breaker for your audio system. So before buying a 3k$ power cable, make those in the wall changed and getting a dedicated breaker for your system. (maybe more then one depending of what you have)
I would agree some people can become obsessive and some get carried away looking for the holy grail and the cost of power cable is a rip of its only 1 meter long and the socket from your house to the power station is many miles long.
Must say ive been into hifi for years and never fancied exotic power cables until recently . Ive bought 2 at 100 pounds each icluding new digital and analogue interconnects and some very cheap diy isolation devices for a new amplifier and dac. Hoping all these small tweaks add up to something . I do feel the upgraded analogue interconnects gave the bass a boost but i also added 1 power chord at the same time. I think the equipment isolaters add more focus and control to the sound.
I respect the attitude of simply using your own senses and reject the science if necessary. Today there are so many very highly motivated people, chiefly interested in the appearance of being right on the internet, that there is little point in engaging in discussion with them. They have no qualms about acting in very bad faith and I suspect they will lie and misrepresent things if it serves their ideology.
I replaced all my power cables with 10 gauge cable I found on Ebay. Instantaneously I noticed my nose hairs were thicker and my eyebrows grew bushier!!!
The best comment about power cables I've seen. Kudos! Same as you I use entry leverl cables (Oehlbach 1.5mm2, cca. 25€). I use them not because of imaginary sound improvement, but becaue they are very flexible, they provide firm connection with gear (plug design) and stable/constant current flow. And that's it.
I was confident my own soldered xlr signal cables were good, but I did not find a correct product to clean the contacts, so I decided to try and change them all for benchmark media xlr signal cables, and I was not ready for the difference. I am still processing what those changed, i think it shortened all the sounds, so that i hear more before and after the big hits. It makes me push louder because there is no discomfort in playing it louder.It's difficult to explain, maybe it's better, but I am not used to it yet. It's like I don't know my music anymore, lets re-discover it.
The way I see it is if your coming from the wall, then what difference does it make in the last few feet to have anything better in wire than what is in your house? As long as your power cable is of good awg 14 or large with good insulation. If your coming from a powerplant or conditioner then a well made cable should help. Myself I use silver plated copper braided wire with a shield at 12 awg. There is plenty of military grade wire out there on the used market for a few bucks a foot. Buy yourself good to high quality ends and you will have one great cable!
Thank you for a very honest video! I can't find any difference between cheapo and costly ones. Component cables: this is another story! But this is more of a give and take situation. If I get more bass definition, I might lose a bit of midrange transparency, that kind of thing.
I really like the way you go with feeling difference… no matter the cost - you hear the difference or not! I thing that the more expensive audio the harder to get that significant differecne! Thanks!
Thank you for an honest opinion. I can hear the difference between speaker cables but am not so certain about power cables. Even if power cables make a difference I don't believe the high price of the more expensive ones can be justified. I was once told by someone within the industry that some cable/interconnect manufacturers make up to 90% profit. The Hi-Fi press don't like to discuss this aspect of audio for some reason!
10 years ago i brought a pretty nice system, around $80k. I had standard powercords on everything. It sounded great but not mind-blowing which was disappointing for the money I had spent, so I rang the store and said what what can we do to improve the sound? They said powercords. So we made up from bulk cable and put in hospital grade Swedish Supra powercords all round, this was before quality powercords became a big thing, readily available off the shelf. The sound improved HUGELY. I was very happy. In the last few years I have been hearing a lot more on the benefits of high quality powercords from Nordost, Audioquest, Gigawatt and others. So I got a whole lot of them sent to me to audition on my system. No salesman, just me listening on my own system which I knew very well. Wow oh wow -- the difference is massive, transparency, imaging, vocals, sound stage, bass. Its like night and day. It will give you a bigger sound improvement than new interconnects, speaker cable, cones will ever do, etc. The key to it is grouping all your audio powercords and earth grounding them on a single distribution board like a Nordost QB8. Nordost is 100% correct in saying the most important cable in your system is the one from the wall mains to your distribution board. This is the cable you should replace first, spend the most money on. Anyone who says powercords dont make a huge difference to sound quality is stupid. It does. Its massive. I am upgrading all my powercords to better ones as money allows. Yes its a very expensive exercise but hugely beneficial in terms of sound quality. If you dont believe me -- go and listen to any audio system at your local audio store first with standard powercords, then change all the powercords to any quality brand plugged into a earth grounded distribution board. If you don't notice a massive difference, fall off your chair from the huge sound improvement you are tone deaf and need to have your ears checked!
I totally agree with you. 6 years ago a friend convinced me to feed my system through one plug in the wall with a Nordost Blue Heaven to a quality powerstrip. Sound went remarkably more dynamic with better soundstage. Then I added more Blue Heavens and the whole system litteraly grew 50% in size. One very important point to understand is,that you're not fighting external noise. You're fighting internal resonnances between your boxes and you're establishing a fixet ground for the system. Today I regard my power setup as the most important part of the system. I now has a complete Ansuz loom with A and C level cables connected by a X-tc power strip. Dead silent background, micro details, 3D soundstage etc. etc. Try it🤓
There is one way thick power chords can improve sound which I don’t think many realise. I have done a lot of experiments with vibration damping and found it can make a big difference. A heavy cable attached to a piece of hifi will likely reduce resonances by anchoring it and maybe even absorbing to some degree.
I agree that good cables can make a difference but why are there no scientic reviews. Just listeners who make blind test reviews which have no comparable informations. I dont get it. Also the companies give very rare objective informations.
Good point. But it is hard or impossible to measure very fine improvements in sound quality. Also, everything is whole system dependent. How do you give an objective assessment of one piece in a chain when it’s ‘quality’ depends upon the quality of all the other components in the chain?
Thomas thanks for this video on power cables. I needed to get a power cable to replace the basic one i have. I was told that a more expensive cable was better. I bought a 10 gauge cable that was so thick that one end scratched a Dac i bought for about 1800 US dollars. I was so angry that i replaced the expensive cable with the original basic cable that i had first. I wished i had saw your video first. I have to say like you, i cannot hear any difference. Thanks for your honesty. I am returning that thick cable.
Nice listening to you Thomas. I know what the journey is like. I bought power cables said to eliminate higher frequencies entering the amp's power supply. I feel there's a bit more dynamic range and the sound is less grainy. But it's marginal. And they were expensive enough. So I'm stopping there. But the speaker cables from the same supplier made a huge difference to imaging and bass weight. And signal cables make an audible difference too. Returning to power: I try to de-parasite sources of disturbances by using ferrite cores on cables to lights and other consumers as my power hygiene. Nice channel. All the best, Rob
Thanks Rob, I hear a lot of difference with interconnects and speaker cable too. Usually I suggest people to look into that only at the end after everything is done.
What about your own solar panel farm in the garden, balkony or rooftop? Best own pur power from the sun! Hope i did not trigger some audiophile that now has crazy thoughts :-)
Hi Thomas, the first thing I do before I make a significant purchase of say a high end amplifier/preamp is to directly call the manufacturer and have a lengthy discussion and listen to THEIR opinion and advice. Unless one is in a known area of unreliable electricity or located in or near a powerplant or high tension wires they suggest to plug your AC power cord supplied into the wall and leave it alone. Why? Because all that money you spend on that equipment the engineering is integrated and supplied internally. No external conditioners or expensive cords. The only requirements in hifi excellence for electronics are to SHIELD from RF and hum protection from nearby components or a high static to your system so it plays QUIET. Perhaps the best thing for us to do is if you are in an area that has strong electrical storms is to use AC protection to simply preserve our equipment. Have faith in what you have already paid for, the cable industry are all "high fiving" each other behind our backs.
Good and honest video Thomas... I don't know, and I have nothing against power cords of beefy quality, I have two on my amps, forget what they cost, but they were not that much, around $30 each, and they look cool. Anyhow... What I did, was to isolate my system to two 20 amp circuits. One for the amplifiers, and one for everything else. I do have line conditioners on the amps and one for the rest of the gear. The system is dead silent, other than the Schiit Audio Freya tube amp, she glows a little, but that is to be expected. I think most issues are behind the walls, and how and where you are hooked up, no issues here. But I do like good quality cables, $5 a foot is about my limit.
So pleased with your honest opinion on power cords cables.i have a friend of mine who has spent many thousands of £ on his equipment example Bryston amps and top of range pmc speakers.which sounds superb but regarding his cable setup i and another friend were present when we were demonstrated different power cords that cost many hundreds of £ that he had accumulated over time and in all honesty we both could not notice any difference compared to the equipments original power cords but my friend who owend the equipment were convinced that he could clearly tell the difference.i suppose it must be hard when you have very expensive stereo or A/V equipment that after a while it is easy to fall into a trap as to make something sound better than it already is or could be.now im not saying that there isn't a differance but for me i just couldn't hear it .BY the way great vlog really enjoying the information.big thumbs up👍😀and I have just subbed your channel
I feel like the black sheep in my audiophile friends. All of them can hear a difference except me. I believe sincerely your friend can hear a difference and I believe you too that you cannot. I am in the same boat. I think that is why there is so many debate on cables. Thanks for the comment.
Totally agree with you! I do the have an entry Level cable on my tube amp. It’s well shielded, big gage cooper wire and looks nice. That’s all I need from a power cable. It is enough to now that it’s not the weakest point in your system.
I don’t know about $3,000.00 power cables and I’m not an electrician however as a plumber I can understand it somewhat. If I have a 1/2 inch water supply into the house and 1/2 inch mains through out the house and run multiple faucets at once I will probably see the the amount of water decrease out of the faucets. Now if I keep the original 1/2 inch water supply however I increase the mains to 3/4 or even 1 inch and open the same faucets the water coming out of the faucets will not decrease as much because by increasing the pipe size allows more water to be stored. Same pressure but more water available at the point of exit.
I've never personally listened a stereo system with Nordost cables but I've consistently heard they're over-priced and tend to impart an overly bright, analytical, and sterile sound. I think there are better options available if you already own high-end components and have good power conditioning (i.e. HiDiamond P4, Mojo Audio Enigma SE with Furutech FI-50 NCF connectors, Furutech NanoFlux NCF Power Cord). Also, if you have a high-end digital front-end, the Furutech Flux-50 NCF is amazing. It makes digital sound almost analog!
I remember the good old days, when I started to upgrade my audio set, over 65 years ago. When snake oil did not exist. Even Luxman, had standard power cables fixed. I often wonder, why the bottle neck of my beer, still is the same?
Hi Thomas. I think that Power cables do make a difference but more so on higher current draw components. I believe you use Bel Canto 500s as power amps and as these are class D the effect is less pronounced. I have a Canary Audio Valve Amp and definitely more definition using my Merlin Cables Funnel Web. Also remember that unsheilded mains cables pump out EMI which other pieces of the system can pick up. The less of this interference the better. I also have silver wire HiFi Tuning Extreme fuses throughout my system (internal in equipment) and in my UK mains plugs. This made an 'audible' difference too (more detail and seperation). Keep up the good work. Please get some ProAc's for review especially as you love soft domes, though offer Ribbon options on some. To help you as know you, like me, buy used...... (Older recommendations: Standmount D2 or Tablette 50 Signature (owned both), flootstanders: d28 (my previous speakers), D30 (my current speakers) or D30R (Ribbon). New Recommendations: D30DS or D30RS (Ribbon), D48 or D48R and the big boys, the K6 and K8 (their flagship). Hope this helps you Thomas in getting some in. They are just so natural sounding. I am sure you would love them.
FOr this specific test, I was using a Mcintosh MC352 and I heard mix report on where to use the power cable. I do 'feel' the difference but I cannot put my hand on the difference. Tuning fuse, not many videos on it and the only ones I have seen are in Chinese so I am very curious about those too. ProAc? I had a chance to pick up the Proac Response 2 the other day and missed it because I hesitated. My friend told me the Proac D18 is better than the D28 for a mid size room because of bass control.
I'll tell you what a $3000 power cable does - it puts added weight on the connector on the back of your amp possibly making it loose over time. Thanks for your honest opinion on it. And you are so right about making a negative comment vs. positive. As a reviewer, I could see how making negative comments can hurt you more than help. I like your approach.
Very Interesting topic. I like to talk about why I buy expensive cables too. Sometimes I found it hard to explain in sheer description. How about Instead of "audio", I put it in a "visual" way to share my experience? When the picture of a fish is taken. The better camera is able to show the detail of each scale. while the cheaper one seeing less or blurry. For professional advice..."ask Thomas :)" , if I wanted to pursue the effect of realism, like the luster on the scale, the embossing contour... Is it important to pay attention to luminosity? So it makes me thinking of the cables are playing their rode in tuning, just like lighting in photograph. Do I want see a picture of a lively fish but seeing less scale or do I want to see every single scale but still a "dead fish" ? I enjoy cables that enhance the holographic image and make the singer alive in my room. This image is invaluable to me.
No,it just showed he’s an amateur. The act of swapping cables every ten minutes or so, is so stupid. Cables need to settle for days,left alone. If you then don’t like them, or think they are not worth the money, so be it.
Hi-Fi industy people say your cable needs "aging", so that you listen to the cable not for a few minutes but for 1-2 years. If you are getting familiar with the real effect or placebo, it is hard to plug out the cable and replace it into 5 bucks cheap one. Thank you for your nice video! Warm greetings from Korea, as a hi-fi freak, but luckily not that much crazy.^^
It will make a difference under specific circumstances. For example if your wall outlet is 20 amps vs the typical 15 amps. Larger guage power cable can take advantage of that. Your cheap $5 power cable is most like 14 awg or 16 awg. Can't pull 20amps with that. Then It has to do with the power amp. If you have a heavy duty power amp that can pull a full 20 amp from the wall with bass heavy music, then the power cable will make a difference. Listening to acoustic or classical music will not pull that kind of power from the wall even if the amp can at peak.
Yeah the money is better spend on a Tesla power wall with a pure sign wave inverter. Other wise low cost quality cables are better. Your system is only as good as your weakest link.
I totally agree with your philosophy: if my ears can't tell the difference after solidly testing it, then why spend the money? Even if there is a difference, if it doesn't appear to my ears, then for me it is meaningless. Now, I can accept that it may be because my hearing is not good enough, but even so, the end result for me is the same: it doesn't show up for my ears, so why spend money on it?
The most difference I've ever noticed with power in terms of cables was with something i could physically feel. The lawnmower. I put on a thicker power cable and the lawnmower was much more powerful and I could feel it. Thinner cable not so much. So, more power effected it, no doubt, but other than feeling it I wouldn't have seen a difference. With audio better cables probably allow for a cleaner transfer, however, probably not noticeable to our ears. if that's true, then yes, it made a difference, but no not a difference worth overspending on.
Having said that, I will always change out thin, cheap power cables. So im good with spending under 200 or power cables and I think after that you start to hit that wall of diminishing return.
Every set up is different. If you have other cables that run close to your power cables, you may hear more noise. You may have a set up where power and signal cables are already well separated. It seems expensive power cables focus on shielding.
I don't know if I understand 100 percent because of my poor English, I think it's a sensible idea. If someone could invest in a cable, wouldn't it be better to invest in a speaker, amplifier, stand, or acoustic board instead? Of course, some people say that the ultra high-end sound has been changed by a cable, but I don't think such an expensive speaker or amplifier has much to do with me or the regular audio people.
I think they belong to two different markets. The market for these fancy cables are the ones who already ‘done’ with their speakers and other major components..
I didn't believe much in power cables until I tried a WyreWizard Magus and after that I think that the power cables are among the most important things in your stereo, at least the most important cable.
Power cables are really part of the "Law of diminishing returns." They do work and can work wonders, but there is a synergy required, IMO. That cable looks like something you plug a lawn mower into. Lo.
Between my breaker panel and the receptacles my stuff is plugged into there's roughly 40 feet of "non high-end" power cable. A chain is *always* as strong as its weakest link.
Thomas compared the $3k cable to cheaper Ebay cables. Maybe the test should have been vs $5 IEC cord that comes with the computer. I don't think you need to spend a lot, but better connectors, twisted wire and heavy gauge wire will get you most of the audible benefit of boutique cables.
Just purchased a $250 power cable have it hooked up to my amp, I have my $40 cables next to it for my preamp and my cdp they all look the same and I had ordered the wrong end for my $250 cable so I removed one from one of my cheaper cables and guess what the copper wires in both cables look the same! Are they different quality copper who knows.So I have my cheap cables and my expensive(for me) cable so far I cannot tell if it makes any difference.at all.I will wait another week then swap in one of the cheap cables to my amp and that will tell me if there is any difference and if there is does the difference justify the cost? I will find out but I am sceptical because a power cord does not carry a signal only power.
Thank you Thomas. You do make a lot of sense and I have enjoyed your videos on hifi testing. I have not tried out power cables in my system myself, even though I have been tempted to try one or two out, as there are days when my system sounds not as 'nice' to listen to, as at other times, and I was hoping that there is a simple reason for it. BTW, to me , speaker cables do definitely make a difference. Anyway, thanks again, and keep those videos coming.
Your welcome, although I can't really hear a difference like speaker cables, my friends really believe in it. I wonder if it is placebo effect. Meaning, I am not hearing a difference because I don't want to hear a difference. If I did, I would end up buying a lot of power cables....things like this goes thru my head tooas I ponder on this subject.... Regardless, its not a big difference , even if there is a difference, like swapping speakers.
Hi, as someone that has just started this hobby a few years ago a $3000 cable is more than my current system!!! I like your wise words and respect for a brand/product you care nothing for. There is a youtube video of extreme Japanese audiophiles and one guy hooked up a circuit directly to the grid... maybe that when something like this comes into play?!? I think 3 grand would be better spent on a few bits of acoustic foam or a comfy chair imo. Keep up the good work!! Subscribed :)
The deal here is that the power cable is the first interface between your equipment and the grid, not the last. The power coming from your nearest transformer is not flowing until you switch the power of your device on. It's like water in that the line is not flowing until you turn on the faucet. And if you put a filter system at the faucet, it does nothing to the water in the reservoir. All of these tweaks, beyond the measurable science, comes down to art or accident. Like making wine or cooking, the chemistry will only get you so far. Someone has to taste it And hopefully their palette will guide the process. Just like an audiophile's ears are the ultimate taste test. Otherwise, could just build a component totally based on specs and succeed to win listening awards ever time. We know this is not possible. Someone invariably listens and then adds salt. But if you spend $8000 on a meter of power cable, you're just an idiot.
What kind of bullshit false equivalence is this. A power cable does not have the necessary filtration required to get rid of the noise that power from the wall is often polluted with. Want to prove it for yourself? Measure the output once the power cable I'd plugged into a dac with a lot of mains hum and see the lack of difference.
I don’t hear it also, though I have not had the chance to hear a 3k power cable. I hear a difference when I use a power conditioner. I have one from Xindac and one from General Electric, the last one is a ups with power regenerator onboard, it makes a new clean signal from your existing signal, you can defenatly hear the diffrence if your signal was bad in the firstplace offcoarse.
Thanks very much for your insights on this video. I just built my own Valve Amp. So, I purchased a cool looking power cable that was not overly expensive.
To me it only makes sense when used in between a power regenerator and the component so as not to introduce noise into the clean power. It makes no sense plugging it into the wall socket.
Your video fits perfectly to my opinion about power cables. Power cable has to be correct in size (gauge) vs current/power requirements perfectly fitted to plugs and fully safe in terms of electricity and electric cabling rules. SO the best quality by lower investment is the best solution (in my opinion). People are saying this is first meter of cable which is seen by amplifier so has to be perfect. But from the other side this is last piece of cable from source (electricpower station) so if current is demolished by km/miles of system plus all trafos between what this piece of cable can improve ? OK this is we call here "academic(al)" discussion and if somebody hear the difference and is rich enough - why not - his money - but in general good quality cable correctly sized to amp/watts/volts with solid and well done plugs has to be more than enough.
The word “believing” is highly appropriate when discussing cables. Confirmation bias is a powerful thing. If you believe your cable sounds better than it probably does. That’s how the human brain works.
With due respect, I do hear the difference in sonic performance (not necessarily for the better) every time I change a power cable or interconnect. I've experimented by changing the iec and ac plugs with gold or rhodium-plated ones, and the difference in sound was obvious enough for me to confirm there's a difference, although in some cases the sound was not to my liking and I would prefer a switch back. As to what caused the difference, I don't know, but I can live with that, not every question has an answer. So as far as I'm concerned, it's not confirmation bias. I know from my experience with the power cables I've used that it isn't. As a side note, I'm using a mix of stock and branded power cables. The stock cables are actually 'survivors'. They sound very good and deserve a place in my stereo, alongside the more expensive ones.
I think powercables makes the biggest improvement, more than a interconnect cable, all begin by the source and with the power !! If i use three different power cables i hear three different sounds, and with a good one a much blacker background.
Some of my audio friends believe the same about using it at the source nd they made the same comment on the blacker background. Perhaps one day, I will go get 20+ power cables and really spend time testing it.
There is difference between cables. I agree that the power cord makes the biggest. As a matter of fact , when you change the plugs on the cables, there is a change in the sound already.
Please people, don't spend money on this type of bullshit, no one can hear a difference between power cables. Not even dogs...think about it, your house is wired with romex, why not just run solid copper from the breaker panel directly into the amp and eliminate 2 unnecessary connections ??? Total bullshit.... get real
Thank you for your honest opinion about high-end audio power cables. I too, am skeptical of their benefits. Don't want to spend an enormous amount of money for a fat electrical plug that does nothing to improve a system's sound.
what makes a difference is the wiring in your house, you want a dedicated line to your stereo using 10awg wire with a Hospital Grade receptacle for each amplifier.
Power cables are like powered antennas and they draw frequency to them. A power cable needs to be able to shield against incoming frequencies, and shield against sending frequency. The idea is, you don't want to transmit any noise or frequency into your amplifier as the capacitors can pick up on that frequency and begin to resonate (Spread Spectrum.) I would focus on replacing the .75 cheap wall outlet to either a hospital grade plug or an audiophile grade plug. The difference is conductivity. Those cheap wall plugs have no copper behind them at all. They make a miserable (but deadly) connection and the outlets themselves are loose and do not make good connections to your equipment. IN fact, they create micro arcs which create noise on the electric signal. What I can tell you from my experience is that power cables, wall plugs, and linear filters are cumulative. Adding one is good or doesn't have a strong effect. Adding two is better, but adding all three makes the chain complete. If I had $3000 to spend on a power cable, and I plugged it into a .75 Home Depot Special wall outlet, I am not going to be all that surprised that there wasn't any effect.
@@anishmaharjan7781 I have gone further and added PSAudio's Noise Harvestor to my electric outlet. All this noise cleaning has brought out incredible depth and nuance. It's like if you add gray to a color, it mutes the color and makes it less vibrant, etc. It will still be whatever color, it just wont be as bright and vivid as it could be if you never added gray. Noise on the electric line is the same. It is like adding gray to the sound. Isnt that better sockets, cables or noise Harvesters add sounds that weren't inherent to the recording. It is that they take the gray out so that the sound has more vibrancy, and depth.
falcon048 Yeah, but how do you shield the rest of the wire from the power station (it's part of the circuit). I get your logic (everything matters in a system/circuit), but it doesn't seem consistent. Consumer outlets do vary in quality and the cheapest ones aren't very good, but the decent ones make a very secure connection and can be easily measured by testing the resistance. The capacitance can be measured in interconnect cables and so can the inductance (what speaker crossovers use to filter frequencies, thus change the sound). I just think audiophiles should always be aware of the placebo effect. I just don't like to see people waste money on things that don't ad value to them. Sneaky tactics are common place now (not only in audiophile gear) and many people don't even notice they are being taken advantage of. Even if power cable do make a difference, wouldn't you agree that that all "3" components should be sold together, as you stated to realize any effect?
@@gordthor5351 Listen, I have had this discussion for nearly 30 years and there is litterally nothing more that can be said. If you want to waste time searching for a scientific answer, you will probably not get it in this life time. I have upgraded power outlets, cables, line conditioners and noise harvesters in multiple houses, and even office buildings.. Each time, I get the same results. Therefore, it isn't placebo. Here is the bottom line. No one, and I repeat, NO ONE is going to spend the time or the money to do what is necessary to test this phenomenon or theory. You would have to purchase a reference system, make measurements and then build the exact same system but with all the special cables and measure again. No one has done it. So, think on this. No one who bought a $15,000.00 stereo system, bought cheap $9.00 cables. Conversely, if your stereo system is $300.00, do NOT buy $15,000 cables.
@@falcon048 There is no better science than a blind A/B test. I don't need to look any further than a proponent willing to let me (blindly) switch the cables, so they can tell me which one sounds better. Can people repeatedly notice the difference in a blind A/B test? I don't think anyone should buy a $9 cable, because there are certain properties needed for a decent cable to perform it's tasks. There is a point of diminishing returns and it comes far sooner than many thousand dollar cables. My argument is based on science and listening. A blind A/B test covers both. Anyhow, we were asked not to start any endless arguments, so I am done here. If someone can demonstrate the A/B test to me, I'm a believer.
Many audiophiles with enough money do not mind the diminishing returns....as long as the sound is a little "better" and that cool factor. It's a slippery slope though!
Thomas, I agree completely. I need to hear and obvious and immediate difference or it is out. I rarely do. I bought some good cables years and years ago and still use them with great results. I have had new ones on loan and hear no improvement. It is way too easy to fool yourself in this hobby.
I used one of them $3500 cables one my toaster the other day. The toast was that little bit nicer with that perfect crunch. It must have been due to the smoothness with the bit more punch. In the 50 hz signal that did the job. I’m now considering up grading my wire to my lamps to improve the quality of light being admitted by the led in them.
Just use the same gauge Romex thats inside your walls. Since the wire length to the speaker is much shoter to that in the wall. The power cable will be completely transparent, as if the amp was plugged into the wall with no power cable at all
