[Davidv100]

Hello everyone.
My question is so basic that I didn’t find the right thread to post it.
Feel free to tell me that I should have posted somewhere else - but where ?

So…
I understand an expensive power cable might make sense to power sensitive audio components with a clean power regenerator, like the ones built by PS Audio.

But whitout a clean power regenerator, does it make sense to buy an expensive power cable for the last four feet when the current has already travelled miles through standard urban cables.

I am asking this as I am about to buy an expensive new DAC and I have to choose between various power cables, from “None” to “>$1,000”. And I am wondering whether the power cable of my legacy toaster might be a respectable candidate.

Thank you.

 

[msing539]

Here it depends on who and where you ask.

You posted in Cables, Power, Tweaks, etc. You'll find many here that will tell you, yes, a power cord can make an audible difference.

There's also Sound Science where they'll say no, a $6 power cord will suffice.

 

[Davidv100]

Here it depends on who and where you ask.

You posted in Cables, Power, Tweaks, etc. You'll find many here that will tell you, yes, a power cord can make an audible difference.

There's also Sound Science where they'll say no, a $6 power cord will suffice.

Thank you msing539.
Funny comment

To make my question a bit less blunt, I will rephrase though :

Does an expensive power cable:
- only keep a clean current clean (then it should not make sense without power regenerator, I guess).
- or does it also clean dirty current ? (and if so, how long should it be for a neat cleaning ?)

 

[msing539]

Thank you msing539.
Funny comment

To make my question a bit less blunt, I will rephrase tough :

Does an expensive power chord:
- only keep the a clean current clean (then it should not make sense without power regenerator, I guess).
- or does it also clean dirty current ? (and if so, how long should it be for a neat cleaning ?)

There are some power cords with filtering built in--one example is the iFi SupaNova.

But generally, a cord is just a cord. When you go up in price (generally), they construct them of better materials, in different strand configurations, with better shielding, etc.

 

[Dogmatrix]

I use hospital power cords , the build quality shielding is regulated

 

[gregorio]

But whitout a clean power regenerator, does it make sense to buy an expensive power chord for the last four feet when the current has already travelled miles through standard urban cables.

No, it doesn’t, unless you buy it for it’s visual/aesthetic appearance.

I am asking this as I am about to buy an expensive new DAC …

Even a cheap DAC will have its own internal power supply that will condition its mains/input power. If you’re buying an expensive DAC which isn’t able to do that adequately, then obviously you’ve been had. In commercial recording studios they just use standard cables because it doesn’t make any difference.

G

 

[Doug2507]

Cable believer myself but only between source and speaker. As above, your source should have a good enough built in PS. I understand some countries may not have the best supply and will maybe need regen but in the UK what comes out of the wall is already pretty clean. And if you're buying a fancy regen, why would you then need an expensive power cord between it and source, makes no sense and means the regen / conditioner is also crap.

I've got a fancy power cable with Furutech IEC, silver plated / fused MK plug, shielded core etc etc and it's been sat gathering dust for years, it provides zero sonic improvement over a stock cord to my ears, when on the other hand changing out speaker cable or maybe less so, an IC, can make a huge difference.

LPS on the other hand would be a little different and I do put value on a quality LPS vs a wall wart.

 

[spacecase25]

Chord is something you play on an instrument, or its a brand if capitalized, or it’s a measurement of wood.

 

[Davidv100]

Thank you for correcting me.
I changed the topic title and edited my posts.
Chord -> Cable.

 

[rangerid]

Very very system dependent. If you have a revealing system and in the high end, they make a tremendous difference:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/high-end-cables-thread-digital-analog-power.937916/post-17253572

I had a loom of Audience FrontRow, Transparent Opus, and Siltech Ruby Mountain II recently, the difference they make in a system is jawdropping. Compared to my previous loom of 500-1k power cords: on the Susvara with the Audience FrontRow on all my components is like a super HD650 presentation, Siltechs make the Susvaras sound like a mix of HD800 with Utopia Bass, Transparent Opus on all components boosts resolution to higher than ShangSr but extremely fatiguing.

For power conditioning, get stuff from Shunyata or Synergistic Research, they're quite a bit better than the competition at each price point.

Something else to keep in mind is that the majority of those who claim cables or anything in the 'tweak' realm makes no difference have no or very little actual real world experience with them and going solely off theory...

 

[dougms3]

The simple answer is yes it does make a difference. A big difference. Theres a reason why people with high end systems have expensive power conditioning and cables.

Unfortunately, these things are expensive. You can try out some options from aliexpress which are pretty good for the price.

But don't take anyone's word for it, test it yourself and when you find out how much of a difference they can make you can decide what makes sense for you.

The cables only deliver the power, the power conditioner does the filtering. Cables vary alot, some are made of copper or silver or a mix of both, have different types of dielectric and shielding as well as varying thicknesses and draw processes. It gets complicated.

 

[gregorio]

Very very system dependent. If you have a revealing system and in the high end, they make a tremendous difference:

The most revealing and high end systems are the top commercial recording and mastering studios, and they do NOT use audiophile power cables because they make no difference at all, let alone a “tremendous difference”! Maybe you meant a poorly revealing system and in the lower-end?

The simple answer is yes it does make a difference. A big difference. Theres a reason why people with high end systems have expensive power conditioning and cables.

Again, the highest end systems (million+ dollar studio systems) do NOT have expensive power conditioning and cables. Only (some of) those with cheaper, lower end audiophile systems use expensive power conditioning and cables, because they believe the audiophile marketing snake oil. That audiophile marketing doesn’t exist in the pro-audio/commercial studio world because it wouldn’t work/fool the engineers.

G

 

[Dogmatrix]

Something I have often thought about in this genre
If something as simple as a cable can make a glaring contrast why doesn't anyone talk about the different power standards
Half the world runs around 240v the other half 120v
Shouldn't that make a huge difference I would have thought the market for step up/down transformers would be bigger
Seems non existent

 

[Redcarmoose]

It’s really no big deal. Simply try a power cord which is (supposedly) better than a standard computer cable and listen for results. No reason to make a big deal out of it. Though in my experience some amps show changes more. Meaning tube amps often make the cord change-out more noticeable, where with solid state the difference was less or not much at all.

Even without power regeneration an upgrade in cable can prove to offer subtle results at times. It’s the small distance from the wall to your equipment that’s critical. With that said make sure you go directly to the amp as a power strip will muddy-up the effects, especially a computer hooked to a power strip. Just go from the wall to your amp alone.

This discussion is purely individualistic. Meaning don’t let anyone tell you the answer. You must test and find truth yourself. Such examples challenge the understanding of some, yet there is not 100% the correct answers to your systems questions, especially by a stranger who has different hearing and different gear. It’s best to not listen to anyone’s opinion, but do a few tests yourself.

 

[gregorio]

Shouldn't that make a huge difference I would have thought the market for step up/down transformers would be bigger
Seems non existent

Don’t tempt fate! As soon as some bright spark comes up with the idea of audiophile grade step up/down transformers and provides advertising revenue/perks to the right people and websites, then it will make a huge difference, maybe even a night and day difference because an audiophile grade transformer can of course be musical, raise veils, be sweet, add micro-details, etc.

G