Except that the power cable has zero to do with HiFi. Nothing.
A boutique overpriced snake oiled cable, often I might add with no official internationally recognised lab safety certification will not, in any way shape or form out perform an industry standard kettle lead.
At this moment in time you have no “findings” just an erroneous opinion, disproved by science.
You do have an observation however, that you perceived a difference in sound quality, again easily put to rest by psychoacoustics, a science. However I am not sure that you accept this as the reason for the perceived difference?
Unfortunately this is not true. What sounds good is 100% subjective thing and there are as many opinions as there are pairs of ears. You can obviously find an average response that pleases most people but it’s still just an average (like Harman curve for headphones). We all still have our own preferences.
So some people might prefer what measures best but I like to prefer what sounds best to me. Everything else still is completely irrelevant in this hobby.
Oh and power cables are one of the easiest cables to differ by sound quality. Even changing the metal screws on the IEC connector to plastic ones can have an effect. But that’s just me, everyone’s free to do this hobby how they please.
I might add that some gear is more sensitive to power cable changes (like my ATC actives) and some almost immune (like my Linn ADSM/3). It obviously depends on the equipment.
I have an audiophile friend who’s handy at building power cables so we made some comparisons with identical cables only doing some small tweaks like plastic screws vs metal. The idea came from a commercial power cable which uses plastic screws on connectors.
Probably has something to do with RF noise and crosstalk but I really have no idea and I don’t care. What matters to me is that it sounds better to me and costs the same so obviously it’s an easy choice.
I always wanted to know if power filters have any effect on my system so I recently experimented with a rather expensive Puritan Audio PSM136 power filter which had a huge audible impact on my system. I used it for over a month before I decided that my modestly priced power strip sounded better so I sold the power filter. Power filter made everything sound smoother and more relaxed but I lost some attack, reach and depth on bass. More expensive isn’t always better but saying that it doesn’t matter how you power your system is just ridiculous. Experimenting by audition is the only way here really.
So, in absence of an actual scientific reason for the perceived change, you have simply fallen prey to your own biases, expected a change and because of the nature of psychoacoustics you perceived one.
Those ever managed to tell a standard power cord from a high-end one in a blind test, not a missed attempt in say 10 tests should be allowed to stay on. The others are just telling stories. No fear - give it a try.
I didn’t expect anything really. Usually I expect these things to have zero effect when doing the comparisons for the first time. Many things also have zero effect like optical cables and unshielded ethernet cables. Then again with power cables (and power strips, power filters etc.), the differences simply are audible in my setup and the difference is constant and repeatable with multiple changes over a long period of time. Do you think I give a f*** if ASR says there shouldn’t be a difference when the difference is 100% real and there when I listen to my setup?
Back in my Naim days I’ve managed to make the system sound harsh and fatiguing with a change of power strip. I didn’t even think about it for two weeks until I finally decided to plug back the $5 plastic power strip instead of the $400 audiophile strip and I was good to go again. This kind of experience just shows me that the difference is real, at least to me. It also has nothing to do with price of the cable/powee strip. My experienge also tells me that if the cable connection is electric, there can possibly be an audible difference. If it’s not (like optical and unshielded ethernet) then there won’t be any audible difference.
There’s tons of measurements showing how power filters reduce high frequency noise, showing that they actually do what is advertised, reduce noise.
Now someone will say it doesn’t matter since it’s out of the audible range and ASR’s measurements are everything that matters and this discussion never ends.
But hey, I’ve gone through this with rest of the measurementists in this thread and several others so I’ll leave it here. It’s useless to repeat myself since it leads nowhere. Have fun with the path you’ve chosen, keep on measuring buddy.
Well, that’s the thing. Nobody needs to keep on measuring, because once the measuring has been done it doesn’t need to be done again.
Conversely …
Have fun with the path you’ve chosen, keep on making decisions based on your own subjective experiences. As paths go, given what we know about the limits and flaws inherent to our perceptual abilities, it’s one that will never end.
To be honest I have no reason to measure a simple industry standard power cable. I know, because of adopted certified standards it will perform its task.
On the other hand, claims of superior, supernatural performing power cables, often with no certification, do need to be measured to demonstrate what it is they improve. Which is always proved as nothing.
Let me ask you a question, what evidence do you require to satisfy you that power cables play no part in sound quality?
As a longtime Meridian active speaker user, I took founder Bob Stuart’s word that the supplied 18-gauge cords were fine for optimum performance.
Wrong.
On the advice of my dealer, I discovered that more solid bass and greater dynamic range were both obviously affected by these wires. Not a lot of money after all, but a big improvement.
