The Power Cable Showdown! 

You are right about the power cable. I removed it, and the amp did not work at all. It is a necessary component.

Thank you Vinyl Attack, finally a decent explanation...........I have 2 degrees in music, studied piano, violin, viola and a guitarist for 60 years......yes I am 69......into audio since 1979......I have a SACDr from T+A an germany company and an integrated amp 75 watt/channel by Audio Research.........both of these total retail is more than 20K.........not chump change agreed..........I went thru coincident cables interconnects and speaker cable, then Van den Hul which I hated then Cardas....very very nice.........recently my buddy brought over his PK14 cable (for CD only) from Kimber Kable......it was broken in and was stunning...........now I have ordered their PK 10 made for amps........my point is this, does it make send that world class equipment would sound at it's best with world class cables? If you are looking for a huge sound stage, beautiful musical tone, deep quick low end response then please keep this as your priority not the fact that you think you are being ripped off...........If you are used to eating McDonalds you are going to have to step up and listen and read and do what you can to get the sound you want..........that is what set Audiophiles apart.....we just don't throw away money just the opposite..... we are very discerning about what we need and like and sometimes it costs, sometimes not..........how about a demo with a guarantee or a 2 year old model of a cable?..........cables don't rust..............350 for a power cable is a handshake and you will probably not hear any difference especially with mediocre eqipment......

I use green dot hospital grade power cable in my system. I'm not sure if it improves the quality but if it's good enough to keep people alive it should be good enough for audio equipment.

terrific review!

Sorry I missed this video when it came out. I learned early in my audiophile journey that good speaker cables sound better than cheap ones, even on a starter audiophile system. But it never occurred to me that power cables would make a difference. Five years ago, when shopping for a (for me) high-end integrated amp, the owner of my local hifi shop did an A/B test for me between (A) stock power cable and no power conditioner, and (B) the Z3 cable plus a $300 Audioquest power conditioner. I heard the difference right away, and I couldn't unhear it. He said he'd throw in the cable & power conditioner if I bought the amp. After auditioniing a few other amps at other shops, I took him up on his offer. At home, after a week of breaking in the new amp, I listened with and without the Audioquest cable & conditioner. Though not a blind test this time, I still heard the difference and was happy to have them. That said, my experience was similar to yours: the differences while undeniable were subtle. I'm sure the expense would be wasted on a less resolving system. Incidentally, the amp I'm talking about is a Moon 340i, similar price point & performance as Naim Supernait 2/3 but different sound profile that I prefer over the Naim sound. (The Naim's are great, tho, and I can see why so many people love them.) Thanks for such a thorough and well-done video!

About the "8-gauge" confusion: The 8-gauge refers to the combined gauge of the 24 smaller wires which are separated by color & then twisted together to create a large positive (12x clear wires) and negative (12x white wires) each of which are roughly equivalent to a single 8-gauge cable. The separate ground wire inside the rope is 14 gauge.

Great comparison as these are two power cords I had considered in the past. The GR Research for its perceived value, and the AudioQuest Z3 because it has so many positive reviews and is the recommended cable at its price point from Upscale Audio. Ultimately, I hooked up all my equipment with Cardas Clear Reflection because that is what I was already using for speaker and interconnects. I’m super happier with these cables and it will be a long time before I consider replacing them.

That was interesting. The debate on cable is truly fascinating. This week i had a hum problem which turned out to be due to poor ground on one outlet on a power strip, must get a new one. I do believe the biggest improvements can be made with the interconnecting leads.. Especially with poor fitting plugs and enough length to get to New Zealand.

Cables - power, interconnects, speaker - are an integral part of a nice hifi system. Beware of price though. Cables are high profit items for dealers.

Always enjoy your video’s Chris. But I think I’ll keep my $350 bucks. Do you know how many Costco rotisserie chicken I can buy for 350 bucks. Listening to music and eating some chicken sounds pretty good to me buddy

One tip I might impart, most outlet plugs have a flimsy breaker tab that connects both terminals of the plug. Break that thing off and just strip your wire to terminate on both terminals at the same time. Other than this, a dedicated circuit with good grounding.

GR-Research does not have any regulator safety standards for the cable. The female IEC terminal has CE listing but the male end just says 15 amp/120 volt. Even if the latter was UL certified, the whole cable is not. So use it at your own risk! (taken from AudioScienceReview review).

Great video! I can also hear an improvement, I’m a z3 user!

I replaced the power cable on my TV and it went from 1080p to 4k upon turning back on... ok J/K. 😄

Looking forward to your H390 review!

Thanks!

Directional copper? That's pretty funny! Don't understand how it is even a topic. Alternating current (AC) flows both ways, back and forth. The first circuit it sees is rectification, converted to Direct current and good filtering for any well-designed component. Yes, the high-end cable industry is full of snake oil.

The only reason I was able to score some, what I THINK are nice, power cables is because of some members at the Steve Hoffman Forums kindly offering some really nice deals. I was able to get what I believe is about a $400 power cord (something I would never really be able to afford) for about $125. It is a Black Sand Violet MKII. It sure looks nice! 😊 It was going to my Ayon Orion II Class 'A' integrated tube amp, but since it is currently ailing it is now going to my recently acquired Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp. Seems to sound really good! I also was able to pick up a Core Power Gold power cord from the fellow who actually designed it, also for around $100. It goes to my Crown 2502 which is biamped with my Cronus and runs the 2-15" dipole woofers. Both seem to sound very good and appear to be very solidly made. BTW, FWIW, I'm not surprised that the GR Research cable wasn't quite up to the others. The fellow seems very pleasant, and I know you enjoyed your visit there, especially with the tinkertoy cable lifts 😁 But, honestly, he just strikes me as basically a salesman. And, especially with the esoteric qualities of cables, I wouldn't really expect him to be super proficient in that area. Personally, I think instead of the GR Research cable, I believe it would have been better to choose one of the more commonly used high grade cables. The AQ is fine, but there are SO many really well known power cable providers that I think that would have been better. But, still, a great review and apparently a LOT of work! Thanks for all the effort Bro! 👍

The designer of Clayton M-300 monoblock amplifiers, (msrp is $17,000 for a maxed out pair) says his favorite power cord is something that he charged me $50 for two 6' long pieces. In the current system these amps w/ the el cheapo power cables straight from the wall perform so well that I haven't been tempted to try other more expensive cables that I have laying around. I don't know if others have had a similar experience w/ fairly modest power cables on large powerful class A amplifiers.

Have you experimented with having a directly wired outlet for you audio system. Running from a dedicated breaker in the box to only the dedicated plug? I have heard this is very helpful and the place to start before power cables. Your thoughts?

Great review…makes me wonder how the IFI power cables compare to the AQ…

Does anybody have the Audioquest NRG-Y3 & NRG-X2? I purchased a few and they have just been shipped to me. I'm going to take a good listen to them & have 30 days to return them if I don't hear any sonic improvements over the stock power cords that they would be replacing. I have no idea how the NRG-Y3s compare to the X3s.

Yes i believe it, power cable make sound more tranparant, more clarity, black background, more detail. But for me the plug more important to change, change plug with copper plug, you,ll surprise how the sound change more gooddd.

How is it all of a sudden integrated amps are fine and dandy when a few years back they were just another source for unwanted noise. What's change if anything ?

Great vid.Chris. power cable can make a difference in my my experience.....but you can make your own at a fraction of the cost....I have. You are correct...this is not for midrange components. If you spend a pile of cash on your equipment? Yea sure. Spend more. Placement in a room?.....will make more difference then any of this stuff. At my age and a lot of other peoples age? You cant hear that much difference anymore....biology. Oh...and yes...Danny is fantastic to talk to and upgrade/fix things..."gentlemen" is my best description of him. Thanks Chris. All the best. Be safe

What's the use of using a 6ft length "audiophile grade" (whatever that means) power cord from the wall socket to your amp? Are you going to replace all the twin & earth power cables inside your walls too? What about the circuit breaker board in your home, is that audiophile grade too? What about the miles of powerlines between your house and the power station?

Well there has to be something to this, I went from my own sad attempt at building cables to a minor upgrade in the Svs speaker cables and there was a marked difference. Mids and highs come through cleaner sounding and more clear.

The amplifiers you mentioned here have a commonality. Both use what is essentially 40 year old amp technology, as such the amount of noise filtering between the incoming power and speaker outputs is not as comprehensive as what is used in more modern amplifier designs. Both line noise and cable capacitance can have a bigger impact in these less filtered designs. A bit of the background that informs my comments: I have been an audio engineer for 40+ years doing both live shows and fixed installations. I have had to deal with chasing noise in systems that sometimes came down to how excess power cable was coiled and its proximity to other cables. These kinds of issues have become less of a problem with new amplifier technology because the amp's power supply section employs very solid EMI filtering.

I wonder how these two power chords compare to a 14awg Hospital Grade Iron Lung Jelly fish preferably 3Ft.

A power cable is different to house mains wiring in at least 2 respects. Fristly, it is near your hifi system, and secondly it is the last of the circuit and is connected to your hifi component. Thus, because of these factors, it might make a difference.

Use whatever cables you have lying around.

For whatever reason, the commonly referred to "Grado Hum" crept into my mind while you were discussing the differences in these cables

I appreciate your calm open approach to this. Not to put words in your mouth but it seems that whether via listening or measurements the differences were very subtle. My only concern is that your listening tests (the only tests that really matter) were not blind. I suspect that over multiple blind trials with multiple listeners, there would be no clear consensus over which cable was which, let alone which sounded better. I believe blind tests would change the perception of subtle improvements into no (or random) improvements. I had several RU-vid exchanges with Danny asking him to do such blind testing, and he became overtly hostile invoking his “you know nothing, I know everything, flat earther” language. This was over a year ago and he seems to have learned that this type of hostility is not working, and has dialed down his approach. But it told me everything I need to know. Seems to me that otherwise intelligent people are willing to splurge on such a cable (say under $500) because it’s a nice solid “thing” and they feel the price is justified on that basis alone, and allows them to hedge whatever doubts they have about sonic improvement. When you get into thousands for cables, I think you leave the realm of otherwise intelligent people and enter into the realm of delusional millionaires for whom neither the expense nor the truth of sound improvement really matters.

Can’t say wether they make a difference or not as I’ve never done back to back tests but I believe that if you have good components then I think it’s only fair to do your gear justice by using good quality cables

I only use first run copper cables.

Unless you have cryogenically synchronized and aligned the quarks that make up the particles that make up the atoms that make the molecules the wire is made from, I don't think you'll hear a benefit. Also, you need the Artisian Bespoked Electrons, not the regular ones.

Well, I would obviously use a power conditioner, but my system other than using good DIY cables for my speakers and realize my best upgrade path will be the individual components long before taking a plunge for an Audiophile Power cable as I'd likely find better sonic benefits there. But in any case to say something is impossible is to be narrow minded. And as we should all know the proof for one self is in the putting just as no two ears specifically hear the same way or sounds. And as always found the observations and tests interesting and enjoyable.

For testing directionality: When you can hear the difference between cables (is a precondition) Buy 2 exactly same cables. Start listening to them to establish that they sound the same. Then just screw of the ends and swap side of the male and female. Now you have swapped the direction on the cable. When you have two identical cables you can listen and compare if you can determine any difference between the one that has swapped direction and the one that has not and is stock.

Though I am firmly in the skeptic side of things, i will admit that it is possible to design a "better" power cable. I have always felt that a "better" cable is not going to be sonically superior in any way. I believe you heard what you heard. But if a new power cable can make any kind of difference in high-end audio gear, that tells me the power supply in that equipment is poorly designed and needs to be fixed. The #1 thing a power supply does is convery AC power to DC power. If an audio maker really wants to go "high end," they should make DC powered components and have you plug into a big battery bank. You can't get cleaner than direct DC power, especially when coming from a battery.

I like your style and the way you started this process lol. I’ve been a subscribed for ages but just had to state my thoughts. And cables matter of course!!!

Thanks! Whilst not in the market for power cables, I always find your videos entertaining.

Seeing the credits at the beginning, does The Cheap Audioman help produce your videos?

I just have one question, why are these manufacturers of hi end audio, shipping the equipment with the wrong power cables. They can design complicated electronic equipment but fail to take into account how the power cable will limit the detail, depth, space and sharpnes of the very expensive piece of equipment they trying to sell. I hope those engineers are watching so they can take their equipment to the next level.

The Power Cord is a central part in my system; don’t want to miss it. Very noticeable improvement. Thanks for the Vid!

I don't see the need for a special (expensive) power cable when you can buy good power conditioner like the old H series from APC or Furman for the same or less money and plug multiple items into them.

When I think about all the various sources of noise, static, and interference that might infect my power source as the wire enters my components, I'm unpersuaded that a single bit of say 10 feet of high quality wire late in the chain will make a meaningful improvement. There is some 75 miles or more to the nearest generating plant, and given the networked nature of the power system, thousands of miles of wire connect to my power input. But, if I find myself getting noise in the system, you have got me thinking that a power conditioner might clean up noise in my mains power.

I’m willing to believe (I know that’s big of me) power cables make a difference. I can see how they would act as a filter to the distorting elements in the mains. However if this is true then I would think that a single good cable connected to a power strip would allow you to clean up the power with a single cable and not have to add new AC cables to all of your equipment

I enjoyed the piece. Thoughtfully done. People can listen for themselves and make their own decisions. I think you are right on about how marginally less significant factors ought to be prioritized. Unfortunately, as the degree of anonymity a mode of communication provides increases, civility tends to sink into the noise.

Audio Science review did an intresting review of tge GR power cable.

All cables (regardless of RCA, power cable, speaker cable, etc) are like tires on the car. Getting slicks might work killer for the track, might not work so good off road. And getting the highest performance tires on the common Toyota Corolla, might not make much of difference. But using cheap re-treads on a 2023 Corvette Stingray, yeah, you are not going to like the experience. Bottomline is, you should buy cables that is the same quality as your system. Rack system? Least expensive cables. 100 watt receiver? Get decent but not $$$ cables. Ultra high end? Don't let cables be the weakest link on your system.

Great video. You are an excellent communicator and your vids are information rich. It looks like I will soon have the opportunity to upgrade my 'stock power cords' with a set of used high-end Transparent Reference Powerlink Powercords. Do you or anyone in your audio community know anything about the quality of this product and what a 1 meter used power cord in very good condition is worth approximately? Thanks For Your Good Work.

It ain't rock n roll without 60 cycle hum!

What about the fuse in the equipment that prevents too much current…. It is places in serie with the power cable, is this not the weakest link in the chain? Dit participate some demo’s but could never hear any difference, and if there where or not was a topic of discussion so if it makes a difference it must me super small… ROI = limit to 0

I'm not a skeptic on better cables, but I use a non scientific method for buying cables. I spend on cabling relative to what my equipment costs. Expensive equipment, I spend more on cables. Inexpensive equipment I use more standard cables. I do the same thing in matching equipment together. To me it is about balancing everything and ensuring it is all cohesive and the result sounds good. A tweak hear or there can make some difference, but again you have to achieve a balance between all of your gear and accessories.

A power conditioner made the biggest difference in sound quality in a system I built for my son. I did not think it would make a difference in sound. I just wanted to protect the equipment. Then when we started listening to it we could do a side by side comparison and it made a difference. Much less distortion. I couldn’t believe it. I wasn’t looking for the difference. It was just there. As for power cables? (Shrug shoulders)?

I'm going to post four paragraphs I have posted elsewhere on this topic of Power Cables; I am first going to introduce my comments on your RU-vid channel with stating that I choose my words carefully, and wisely. Therefore, please notice that I say there is a different category of cables; Power as opposed to Audio. Obvious, but I wanted to clearly express the designation. A power supply within, or externally connected to a hi fi audio component is responsible for filtering, from what I've heard. Furthermore, and it is expressed in a paragraph below, I don't think that a very expensive Power Cable is required by necessity, and essential for an audio signal. Far more important are Speaker Wire, and interconnects, too. I'm not saying a cheap, no brand cable should be bought, and connected! I just think that a (in italics) very expensive Power Cable is not going to actually make an audible difference. We have to remember that we are considering electrical flow of electricity, not an actual audio signal; it's about electrification. Slightly edited, here is what I posted elsewhere: A Power Cable provides power for hi fi, electricity in North America is listed as 115Volts to a hi fi audio component; it does not actually provide an audio signal! Here in Canada it is up to 120 Volts. There does not seem to be a logical path to a noticeable difference, even a very small one, for an effect on Audio! As these hi fi audio products are connected to a wall AC outlet, the same voltage, and current is passing through; and entering an amplifier, or a Receiver with amplifying circuits. A power supply within, or externally connected to a hi fi audio component is responsible for filtering, from what I've heard. Furthermore, and it is expressed in a paragraph below, I don't think that a very expensive Power Cable is required by necessity, and essential for an audio signal. Far more important are Speaker Wire, and interconnects, too. Therefore, if it is not selected hearing - as I call it, it could actually be a Placebo Effect. Maybe not always; as I pointed out it could be Selected Hearing, as I call it. Certainly there is actually a bit of difference if comparisons are noticed; or measured, such as improvements, for different hi fi products of the same function! Such a similarity of function to be considered are speakers, turntables, especially phono cartridges, and amplification; obvious, and noticeable. And easily measured, too. Furthermore, good quality audio cables that have better, air tight insulation are also relevant; and are going to make a bit of a difference, and improvement. However, based on Science, and from the logic of electrical theory, and application a very expensive Power Cable cannot make a better connection; significant, or noticeable effect on hi fi audio."🔉🎵🎶

@ 6.15 "Billions of volts"?? Really? The highest voltage transmission lines on the planet are just over 1 Megavolt. I think the highest voltage line in the US is 765KV, or about 1,300 times lower than 1 billion. The directionality of cables has nothing to do with the flow of the electrons, it's about how the shield is connected. Typically, the shield is only connected at one end, so the termination at that end determines how the shielding is connected to ground. Most of the stock power cables that come supplied with components aren't shielded at all. This makes them prone to transferring AC noise into low level interconnects that they cross or are run parallel with. Phono level signals are especially sensitive to this.

Early in this vid thought comment came to mind... I don't know why anyone hates on Danny. ?? I like him I personally think he makes clear sense and I think his products are well worth the $$ vs the wine drinkers here just choosing Audioquest Dragon speaker cables for the dopamine trip. I don't pass judgement, if you have the $$ to spend great, but I just wish you do realize even if you spend 100x or more there is massive diminishing returns vs going with something reasonable like 500-800$ stuff (or even less as in Danny's or other options). To me all it has to do is remove any external interference because I do believe it has consequences with high end peripherals vs a dresser top boom box system. But, to each their own

Everyone always compares to stock cables and we all know they're crap. So any expensive cable compared against unshielded cables could do better in a noisy environment. What i want to know is if you go one step up, a shielded hospital cablemfor example, will that get you to the same point as the GR research? Or do cables above the GR Research give you more?

Yes it's the shielding and better conducting materials but honestly I wouldn't spend more than a few hundred bucks on a cable if it's a very high end system however multi thousand dollor cables do exist that's a bit extreme

Thanks for this very informative video. I own a mid to high end audio system. I recently had my listening room acoustically treated by the pros at RealTraps. My speaker cables are mid-high end Audioquest as are my amplification Interconnects. Now, I am in the process of upgrading my power cords. I bought a few 'open box' Audioquest Blizzards, a few NRG-X2s & NRG-Y3s power cords. One of the Blizzards will go to an Audioquest Niagara 3000 power conditioner/surge suppressor. But where do you recommend the other power cords should be utilized for the best possible results? I have 30 days to return the one's I don't need. The Blizzards are 5 times the price of the other 2 power cords. Are they best utilized with my tube & solid state amps or my source components?? Thanks!

Just get hold of some of the wire that the electricity company uses to get the power to your house. Obviously it's perfect as people don't seem to take that part of the circuit into account. Power seems to only degrade when using the power cord that the amp manufactures supply with the amp. If it wasn't perfect or close to how would adding one golden link (the power cord) into a rusty chain add benefits to a system. Other bottlenecks for poor cable could be in the amp and speaker, 1mm thick lead leads on electronic components and minute circuit board traces.

The B24 needs an Aussie plug option.

Because I have a decent amount of source components, I purchased a 2nd line conditioner/surge suppressor. It's the Furman Elite 15 Power 1. Would plugging in the ifi Power Station into the back of my Furman (AKA,Daisy-Chaing) and plugging my source components into the Ifi Power Station be an added benefit to lowering the noise floor?

Anybody who has ever looked at Romex in the walls, crappy fuseboxes, and old power lines will not spend big $$$ on the last few feet going from the outlet to the device. Get a CyberPower UPS instead!

OMG, measuring cables for noise ???? and drawing conclusions from that?!?! One would expect to measure impedance, conductance, resistance.....but surely not noise.

Et Tu Brutue? While I value the opinions presented here, even I know that wires are part of a circuit , so obviously any change in the circuit , will affect performance. one can't argue science. If anyone thinks they hear one thing or another, they do , that is how human hearing works, since it is a process of the brain, and the brain has no self awareness. If one thinks changing wire is more significant than the subjectiveness of human hearing, have fun. I prefer to spend my money elsewhere, but I will be happy to listen to whatever system with what ever wires you might enjoy sharing. I could even bring some cool records.

May I have some beer with my worms please... 😁

I read in some advisory sites that, the goal in an audio system to keep the cables as short as possible. Can somebody tell is this true or false?

so. Yes. No. perhaps. definitely maybe. everything changes. better amps help. better speakers help. biggest change in my system: room treatment. speaker placement. do wires help? yup.

OK how about this, a 70 year old house with inferior wiring, on a hundred year old grid? Will power cables make a difference then, just food for thought.

Subtle, in our world is enough.

I hope you'll forgive me for this: My high end power cable gave me better tasting tea when I used it on my kettle for boiling water. To each their own. I made my own high end power cables, just for laughs. I can't hear the difference, but they do look nice in my system.

I use to laugh how the genius/Engineer, Paul W. Klipsch, would state that cables were bs and that "lamp cord was good enough", I dont use lamp cord for my speakers. I will say that cables are a very important part of a good stereo system, great video...cheers....✌

If I may say so, the takeaway for me on this was that the iFi audio PowerStation AC Power Bar is the thing to get!

Inside every electronic device there is a AC DC converter, named power supply, AC is ISOLATED FROM YOU EQUIPMENT, this is pure nonsense!!!

As a "semi-audiophile," I was persuaded that cables can make a difference. I was having problems with the IEC connectors on some Wireworld power cords; they tended to sag and lose connection. Looking for a better connection, I bought a Transparent HPPC and put it on my preamp (McIntosh C2300). What I got was am improvement in sound! The sound was more open. I replaced most of the other power cords. A couple of years later I decided to try the Transparent Premium on my preamp, and again heard more open sound with an increase in detail (due likely to the Premium's noise reduction properties). I replaced the rest of the cords with Premiums. I don't think putting them on my sources did much; the most noticeable changes occurred further down the chain. My only complaint is that the Premiums aren't very flexible.

I can't hear the difference of sound in power cables. This might be due to my mid quality equipment, my crappy ears or the lack of listening experience. But my science knowledge keeps telling me that a power cable can't make that huge difference if the rest of the cables in the wall, outside the house and down to the power grid are unchanged/untreated. Therefore I strongly believe that the majority of sound difference a power cable can make, could be achieved by clever cable routing in the house and rack. My rack has four cable routes - one for power, one for speaker cables, one for NF signals and one for digital signals (e.g. ethernet, USB). Thus I keep power hums away from high current speaker output and low current amplifier input and digital signals. Lastly I avoid cable looping - the connection from the turntable to the phono preamp takes a different route than from that phono preamp to power amp, etc.

Thanks for the review and comparison. Personally, the very first cable I upgraded was my power cable. I wasn't sure what to expect, if anything. It turned out to be very noticeable and a solid improvement in sound. (I put it on my amp) So, for me, it does make (can make) a big difference.

What would we do without weekend engineers blowing up the comment section?

Yes cables have direction, at least silver does. Listen to tests done by Kenji over at Kenrick’s Audio of Japan, I’ll try and find the link for you. He demo’s the differences.

Imagination, placebo effect? Yes, you can hear differences, but not in an properly blinded AB test.

The reason some individuals do not hear a difference is their system is not resolving enough. I suggest using a balanced audio system with XLR connections that also has power conditioning. Now change out your stock cables with fancy ones and compare for a few days, if you cannot hear a difference than keep your stock cables and be happy! The critical part is having a discerning ear and using quality recordings to hear/know the difference!

I'm not an audiophile so I could not possibly hear the difference.

To me cables are full of snake oil and bs. Just when you have some basic good quality cables. Especially in case of digital cables and power cables.

I would have thought a properly designed piece of audio equipment would have built in noise reduction at the power input stage, transformer, filters etc inside the product. For that reason I find it hard to comprehend why you would want to spend several hundred on a power cable (unless you are plugged that cable directly into a transducer such as a speaker which of course with a power cable you are not!). For that reason it makes no logical sense for the need to reduce mains power noise prior to input. Whilst I accept your findings that the cable did measure lower noise, all that would be filtered out anyway (unless the power input stage on the other end is total crap of course which it should not be if it’s designed properly). For those reasons, I’m sorry but I just think these things are totally unnecessary. I’d like to add that I have used a £1 power cable on my (reasonable hi end) power amplifier and I have zero noise at full volume at my speakers (both ATC and Spendor), no hum, no hiss, total blackness, so if you can explain how spending Over $350 on a power cable is going to improve that situation then I’m all ears. Please don’t take this as a critics of your review here, it’s just simply my counter argument based on a logical thought process and my own experience of not wasting money to “solve a problem” that doesn’t exist.

Here is what I will never understand about the cable change sound believers. Why don't they do a single double-blind test? Instead of telling us what you think you are hearing why not prove what you are hearing? I challenge Vinyl attack to set up a double blind test. ;-) BTW, both these cables have been exhaustively measured using $30,000 in testing equipment. They failed to show any differences down to 1/10 of 1db (audibility is 1-2 db). If the power cables changed the sound it would have to show up in a frequency response. The only argument left is the cables do change the sound however frequency response and measurements simply cannot show this audible difference. You also have to disregard the fact this is the exact same genre of measurements devices that are used to test all the components the power cables are plugged into (i.e. DACs, players, processors, streamers, etc.). Fortunately, we have the means and knowledge available to prove or disprove audibility. For some reason, however, not a single cable manufacturer/reviewer will set conduct a single double blind test. Why is that?

😂. The only award $400 power cables should get is this one 💩. Cut the cloth sheath off and see what off the shelf cable they’re using.

Have you done true ABX tests? The measurements you did basically say they are the same with less than half a percent measurement difference. Would want to see if you saw output difference at the speaker wire side. What your test showed me is the stick cable measures just like the fancy ones.

There's no contesting this. Power cables do make a difference. I feel sorry for the ears that can't hear it. Also, it is well worth spending the extra money if you've already invested in high-end equipment. Ultimately, you want to leave no stone unturned in harvesting the potential of your system. I would say I'm a believer, but the truth is, I'm not. There's no believing in what you already know. How do I know? Through experience, through comparing the befores and afters. I laugh at the arguments against this. I've been accused of being delusional. I used to argue with the non-believers who insist it's a combination of snake oil and placebo effects. What I realized is that when the flat-earther has decided the earth is flat, there is no convincing him otherwise. I realized it was an exercise in futility. So I stopped trying to convince.

badly designed cables can influence the sound. every good designed cable ... sounds the same. power cables especially. ask an electrical engineer instead of listening to Consumer audio brands. and yes, I had multi-thousand cables once ... now I buy bluejeans cables and I'm done 😂

What a waste of time. Unless you have a specific problem with RF at your location none of these cables will do a difference. These cables are for people with deep pocket and thin brain! By the way your can get a IEC cable with a shield for a dollar more than the regular one.

You can't just say cables make a difference. You have to separate signal carrying cables from power cables. While signal cables can alter sound ( tho how much is debatable) people don't seem to understand what happens to make AC power into audio. What happens on the AC side has little to no effect on the sound. First, audio signal is created from DC not AC. The process (power supply) eliminates all the crap in the AC, it's no longer AC it's DC. Voltage fluctuations in the AC may, may affect sound. Do some homework, learn about placebo, before spending money that could be spent on something that does matter, like speakers and their placement in your room. That's AT LEAST 95% of your sound. If you want to spend on placebo and eye candy that's totally ok, but you should just understand where your $ is going.

A meter of cable is going to help reduce noise when there is hundreds of yards of cheap cable inside your walls feeding your power socket. Complete nonsense.

LOL

"When to buy cables?" When you have absolutely no clue about physics or electronics, and you have more dollars than brain cells.