magic power

ELSock

does the $60 dollar magic power cable really make that much of a difference?

MKZ

A little tighter/stronger bass response IMO. You shouldn't expect much I think.

dpowell

Not sure on the magic power cable but I recently added a MagicPower Digital Reference to my Denon player and there was a noticeable improvement in terms of smoothness vs harshness on the tweeter.

speakergeek

LOL!!!:p This is one funny thread. Have you ever heard of SNAKE oil?

Face

speakergeek wrote: »

LOL!!!:p This is one funny thread. Have you ever heard of SNAKE oil?

Have you ever tried swapping power cords?

speakergeek

That's real magic there! I'll never forget the story of the power conditioner that made the TV image better and sharper...

MKZ

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67621

NotaSuv

speakergeek wrote: »

That's real magic there! I'll never forget how my power conditioner made the TV image better and sharper...

AMEN BROTHER

speakergeek

NotaSuv wrote: »

AMEN BROTHER

:rolleyes:

Monster Jam

Magic power cable.

Wow.

phuz

Over a stock cable, yes.

ELSock

MKZ wrote: »

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67621

i'm sorry if yo guys think i did something wrong, or that i'm trolling, but i was really curious about stuff, i'm new to this "real" home theater thing, so i'm trying to learn all that i can by asking questions. As far as this power cord thing goes, i read, someones review on the micro 4000 woofer and they listed three different power cords for the woofer, the stock cord, and 2 more, one of which being that Magic power cord, so i was askin about it. i mean i'm not a comlete idiot, i can tell when someone is trying to pull my leg, like a "power conditioner" or something like that, but when it was actually commented on in a real review i had to ask...

Face

You didn't do anything wrong.

phuz

ELSock wrote: »

i'm sorry if yo guys think i did something wrong, or that i'm trolling, but i was really curious about stuff, i'm new to this "real" home theater thing, so i'm trying to learn all that i can by asking questions. As far as this power cord thing goes, i read, someones review on the micro 4000 woofer and they listed three different power cords for the woofer, the stock cord, and 2 more, one of which being that Magic power cord, so i was askin about it. i mean i'm not a comlete idiot, i can tell when someone is trying to pull my leg, like a "power conditioner" or something like that, but when it was actually commented on in a real review i had to ask...

I'm pretty sure link was not directed at you.

MKZ

ELSock wrote: »

i'm sorry if yo guys think i did something wrong, or that i'm trolling, but i was really curious about stuff, i'm new to this "real" home theater thing, so i'm trying to learn all that i can by asking questions. As far as this power cord thing goes, i read, someones review on the micro 4000 woofer and they listed three different power cords for the woofer, the stock cord, and 2 more, one of which being that Magic power cord, so i was askin about it. i mean i'm not a comlete idiot, i can tell when someone is trying to pull my leg, like a "power conditioner" or something like that, but when it was actually commented on in a real review i had to ask...

No offense to you.

speakergeek

ELSock wrote: »

i'm sorry if yo guys think i did something wrong, or that i'm trolling, but i was really curious about stuff, i'm new to this "real" home theater thing, so i'm trying to learn all that i can by asking questions. As far as this power cord thing goes, i read, someones review on the micro 4000 woofer and they listed three different power cords for the woofer, the stock cord, and 2 more, one of which being that Magic power cord, so i was askin about it. i mean i'm not a comlete idiot, i can tell when someone is trying to pull my leg, like a "power conditioner" or something like that, but when it was actually commented on in a real review i had to ask...

Rest assured the link was directed at me.;)

MacLeod

Youve got power running thru miles and miles of plain Jane steel cable and thru all kinds of transformers before it gets to your house - then it runs all thru your house thru plain Jane cable then to your outlet. Even if the 3' of "magic" cable was able to do something wonderful to the AC current, ITS TURNED INTO DC AS SOON AS IT HITS YOUR GEAR and runs thru, yup you guessed it, plain Jane wiring and voltage regulators so any magic it was able to perform in those 3' is soon erased by your gear.

Buy what makes you happy - just be realistic in your expectations of the results youll get.

John K.

ELS, not only doesn't it make "that much of a difference", there's no way in reality that it can make any difference. The power cords supplied with audio equipment are sized so as to be able to carry more than the power they'd ever be required to transmit. Manufacturers aren't foolish enough to sabotage their own products by trying to save a dollar or two with a power cord that wasn't adequate to allow maximum performance with the equipment they've spend so much time and effort designing for top performance.

It's of course possible to read reports to the contrary, but this doesn't stand up when put to the (controlled blind listening)test. Let's try to keep audio fact and fantasy separate.

ELSock

thx and cool that it was not directed at me .... also thx for the info

tonyb

Johnny boy- Audio fact and fantasy ???

Please...enlighten me on all the facts to a subjective topic.

WilliamM2

Please...enlighten me on all the facts to a subjective topic

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_4/feature-article-blind-test-power-cords-12-2004.html

There you go.

dpowell

MacLeod wrote: »

Youve got power running thru miles and miles of plain Jane steel cable and thru all kinds of transformers before it gets to your house - then it runs all thru your house thru plain Jane cable then to your outlet. Even if the 3' of "magic" cable was able to do something wonderful to the AC current, ITS TURNED INTO DC AS SOON AS IT HITS YOUR GEAR and runs thru, yup you guessed it, plain Jane wiring and voltage regulators so any magic it was able to perform in those 3' is soon erased by your gear.

Buy what makes you happy - just be realistic in your expectations of the results youll get.

Cheap cords and bad connections can still introduce additional noise into the power source. I wouldn't go so far as to say a good quality power cable can compensate for the miles of plain Jane steel cable but it can eliminate further distortion of the incoming power source.

I would also venture to guess that I wouldn't notice a difference if I plugged in my son's $100 panansonic DVD player with the MagicPower Digital Reference cord because of its plain Jane circuitry however my personal experience with adding that same cable to a not-so-plain-Jane Denon player is enough to make me a believer in a quality power cord.

DarqueKnight

ELSock wrote: »

does the $60 dollar magic power cable really make that much of a difference?

It depends on a lot of other factors such as:

1. Your gear.
2. Your ears.
3. The quality of wiring in your home.
4. The amount of electromagnetic interference in your home environment.

Typically, the better the quality of your gear's power supply, and the better the quality of power (low noise) coming from the wall, the less effect better quality power cords will have.

With regard to Signal Cable, they have a 30 day money back guarantee. If any of their products don't work for you, you would only be out of the shipping costs. Reviews and the opinions of others are nice reference points, but they are no substitute for first hand experience.

I tried Signal's Digital Reference power cords with my CD and SACD players, plasma televisions, and digital preamps and heard/saw no improvement whatsoever. I used the MagicPower cord with the same devices and heard/saw varying degrees of improvement, which have been discussed in some of my other posts.

tonyb

WilliamM2 wrote: »

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_4/feature-article-blind-test-power-cords-12-2004.html

There you go.

Ok,there I go......almost 50% heard a difference,and they acknowledged the shortcommings in the test as well.

No one is saying you will hear gobbs of increased musicality by changing out power cords,cables.But every little bit helps and combined with other tweeks,can improve the over all sound of your system.

Face

WilliamM2 wrote: »

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_4/feature-article-blind-test-power-cords-12-2004.html

There you go.

This is from someone who can't hear the difference between any cables.

MacLeod

tonyb wrote: »

Ok,there I go......almost 50% heard a difference

50% correct means you didnt hear nuttin'. You can get 50% simply by flipping a coin every time! If you were to take a test to see if you could taste a difference between an apple and orange, youd guess right every time. Same here. If magic cables or magic cable risers or magic wall sockets or magic door knobs or magic whatever actually changed the sound then you should be able to pick that change out every time. I know for a fact I could pick out an amp playing with 12 db of bass boost at 80 Hz over one that was running flat every single time. Thats why double blind tests work so well - they eliminate the element of chance and its also why the "golden eared" people hate them so much.

Another point - the only way any of these magic things could affect the sound would be to either boost or cut some frequency from 20-20KHz by at least 3 db as you cant really hear a difference of less than 3 db. Thats it. Cant make more midbass without boosint 80-200 Hz. Cant make brighter highs without boosing 6.3-10 KHz. Cant make more brassy sounds without boosting 5 KHz So my question is, why would you want something that changed the sound?! The only thing I want changing my frequency response is my EQ. I want my amps, CD player, cables, power wires and everything else to convey a totally transparent signal. And unless theyre defective, thats exactly what RCA's, power wire amps and CD players do.

speakergeek

MacLeod wrote: »

50% correct means you didnt hear nuttin'. You can get 50% simply by flipping a coin every time! If you were to take a test to see if you could taste a difference between an apple and orange, youd guess right every time. Same here. If magic cables or magic cable risers or magic wall sockets or magic door knobs or magic whatever actually changed the sound then you should be able to pick that change out every time. I know for a fact I could pick out an amp playing with 12 db of bass boost at 80 Hz over one that was running flat every single time. Thats why double blind tests work so well - they eliminate the element of chance and its also why the "golden eared" people hate them so much.

Another point - the only way any of these magic things could affect the sound would be to either boost or cut some frequency from 20-20KHz by at least 3 db as you cant really hear a difference of less than 3 db. Thats it. Cant make more midbass without boosint 80-200 Hz. Cant make brighter highs without boosing 6.3-10 KHz. Cant make more brassy sounds without boosting 5 KHz So my question is, why would you want something that changed the sound?! The only thing I want changing my frequency response is my EQ. I want my amps, CD player, cables, power wires and everything else to convey a totally transparent signal. And unless theyre defective, thats exactly what RCA's, power wire amps and CD players do.

VERY well stated!!!

Face

It's not a matter of "boosting" frequencies, it's a matter of playing them more accurately.

WilliamM2

Face wrote: »

This is from someone who can't hear the difference between any cables.

Just like everyone else apparently. Got any links to successful blind tests of any cables?

MacLeod

80 Hz is 80 Hz, regardless of who or what is playing it. What makes it sound different is the intensity that its being played at.

This is totally hypothetical but say a LSi7 had a frequency response of totally flat (+/- 0 db) from 20-20KHz and a RTi4 was equally flat from 20-20KHz, theyd sound identical. Not gonna happen cause no speaker is that flat.

So if what matters is the intensity or level that 80 Hz is being played at then the most accurate reproduction of that frequency with a test tone would be 0 db if running a 80 Hz. In order to change the sound, a cable or whatever would have to boost or cut that 80 Hz by at least 3 db. Now youve changed the sound - and youre no longer playing 80 Hz "accurately".

So say you want to have a bigger kick in your kick drums, youd bump up 63 and 80 Hz a couple db. Now say you want to make the male voice sound more nasaly youd drop 1 KHz a couple db. Now you want more shimmer out of your cymbals, up goes 12 KHz. Now say you like a lot of sibilance youd bump 6.3 KHz up a few notches. So now youve got your own distinct sound - but its quite a bit different from the original signal.

Thats the whole purpose of an EQ, to make up for the speakers output, resonant objects in the room (or car in my case) and other things that change the frequency response from neutral. Its not necessarily to increase a certain part of the sound necessarily but rather to increase it if the listening environment has decreased it and youre trying to get it as close to the source as possible. So since this is the goal, why would you want something in your signal path that will change the source signal? Cables, amps and everything else should not change anything.

dorokusai

5.....5.....5 dollar foot longs.