Power cables

[Rocker]

DaveF, as I wrote earlier I cannot explain how a mains socket can improve the sound from your hi-fi, all I can suggest is that you try one for yourself. In the case of Russ Andrews, you can always return it for a full refund if it fails to deliver.... and no, I do not work for Russ Andrews.

I discovered the importance of mains cables when I had a Naim Audio system way back in the 1980s. Shortage of mains sockets forced me to group three or four mains cables in a junction box with one plugtop powering the system. I noticed the system sounded better but thought little about it at the time. A possible answer is the reduction in the number of electrical joints and connections but this is pure speculation on my part.

I firmly believe that anyone whose system costs in excess of €1K will benefit from spending a few hundred Euro on getting a better mains supply for their system.

You are very welcome to call and listen to some music on my system. I can demo the compression that I alluded to earlier....

[Fran]

There's little I can add to this debate..... only that so many have been banging on about it for years, and yet no one has managed to demonstrate their "beliefs" one way or the other. That would lead me to believe that neither side is completely correct in their statements.....

BTW, credit to you both for maintaining civility. These types of threads usually go bad very quickly.....


Fran

[Claus]

I am not surprised when it comes to our forum, but we just had "cable-gate" over on the Danish forum: Someone posted asking for advise on what to get with a 5K budget in terms of power cables. It got personal on the third page and at least two members were expelled. It has to be said his system cost around 70K, so maybe the outlay wasn't totally disproportionate.... But it very quickly got VERY emotional.... ;)

Personally I don't believe power cables can be proven to make a difference in blind tests. But earthing is a different matter: It is common knowledge how much this means in the music production business, so I do believe that there are gains to be made here.
I use one of Andy's cables for my amp and a free bee Titan Audio with my CD player. I cannot hear if they make a difference.... :)

Edit: My power cord for the CD is a Titan.

[DaveF]

well we cant let this thread conclude without knowing what power chords Simon is going to get. Then the slagging can begin.

[Diapason]

Well I already use 600-odd euro worth of Kubala Sosna power cable on my CD player and I'm not convinced it does anything more than the bog standard kettle leads on my amps. Still, I'm open to anything these days.

[Fran]

Swap ya a kettle lead so....

[Ivor]

Swap ya a kettle lead so....

Same offer and I'll throw in a handful of "hifi" fuses.

[Diapason]

Heh, let's not go nuts...

[tony]

Well I already use 600-odd euro worth of Kubala Sosna power cable on my CD player and I'm not convinced it does anything more than the bog standard kettle leads on my amps. Still, I'm open to anything these days.

Now that would make a good down payment on a regenerator or swap with JohnK for a DAC.

[mick]

'Peter Walker, Mr Quad himself, probably one of the most respected men in hifi, whose design in speakers hasn't been bettered today, has said of the indifference a magic power chord will make.

What a pity that the approach to hifi today isnt like how it was in the 50s, 60 and 70's. Good design based on solid engineering principles. Once the marketing people took over that was it.' DaveF

I agree about Peter Walker. My brother-in-law was in Cranford University studying electronic engineering.
He had a Thorens,SME,Shure feeding quad 57s through Quad amps. There was a buzzing from one speaker at certain frequencies. He spoke to Peter Walker at Quad who could not believe there would be distortion coming from the speakers. So he took them down to the factory and Peter Walker and himself sat and listened to the speakers. There was a buzzing from the speaker using their setup. Peter Walker took the grills off the speaker and exposed the mylar film. He took a look at the speaker and put an extra staple into the frame to tighten the mylar. Job done and buzzing stopped. 'Good design based on solid engineering priciples' ???