Overview Of Premium Cable History
DarqueKnight
Posts: 6,765
Introduction
Premium audio cable manufacturers and those that use their products are frequently the object of much hatred, ill will, hostility and insults based on the unsubstantiated notion that all such products are a scam.
For some individuals, premium cables are a problem. Some of these individuals bounce from one Internet forum to another on a crusade to save supposedly gullible individuals from being parted from their hard earned by the evil premium cable purveyors. As an engineer, I have been trained to seek the root causes of a problem in order to solve it. I asked myself the question: "Are premium cables really a problem?" If so, where did this "problem" originate?
This report looks at the origins of the premium speaker cable, interconnect and power cable markets. Since power cables are currently the most maligned segment of the premium cable market, we will begin our analysis there.
Premium Power Cables
Aftermarket power cables are thought by some to be the epitome of audio snake oil because, unlike speaker and interconnect cables, they are not in the signal chain and thus couldn't possibly have any effect on signal quality. Even people who have heard the benefits of better speaker and interconnect cables are reluctant to try a better power cord because they just don't see how it could have any possible benefit other than placebo. I have expounded at length on the fallacious nature of such sophistries in previous reports and I will not rehash them here.
Prior to the year 2000, premium power cables were not generally commercially available. The first aftermarket power cables were made by DIY (do it yourself) audio enthusiasts in order to replace the chintzy 18 gauge "zip" power cords that were permanently attached to their audio equipment. Zip cord is so named because the dual conductors are easily "zipped" apart. It was theorized, and subsequently confirmed, by some in the DIY community that the "zip" power cords that were designed for toasters, fans, lamps and other household appliances might be inadequate for audio components. People began to report good results with heavier gauge, better shielded home-made power cords. Some DIY'ers sold their power cable configurations in extremely limited quantities, typically to other audiophiles in their local communities. A large part of this was driven by the positive audible results with heavier gauge, better shielded speaker and interconnect cables that were first brought to market by the Monster Cable corporation beginning in 1979. Once the Internet began to facilitate the easier transfer of audio information among the DIY'ers in the mid 1990's, quite a bit of information on various configurations of DIY power cables became widely available.
As far as I have been able to determine, the first commercially available premium power cable was brought to market by PS Audio in 2000. Their "Lab Power Cable" was a 6 gauge triple shielded power cord terminated with IEC C13 and C14 connectors. It retailed for $400 for a three foot length. The Lab Power Cable was initially designed for one of PS Audio's "Power Plant" AC regenerators. DIY Audiophiles began to adapt this cable to other audio gear, particularly power amplifiers, with excellent results. The rest...is history. The phenomenal commercial success of the Lab cables launched an entire new product line at PS Audio and, as is usual, a variety of imitators and innovators in the premium power cable market.
The premium power cable market actually came about as a response to customer demand from the DIY community rather than slick marketing schemes by a nefarious manufacturer. The question now begs: Why would a DIY'er fork over $400 for a power cable rather than make their own? Simple: The PS Audio Lab cord outperformed anything they could economically make themselves. It is doubtful that PS Audio would have had the balls to be the first company to go to market with an aftermarket power cord, especially a $400 power cord, in 2000 if they weren't reasonably certain that they could achieve a reasonable return on their investment. After the Lab power cable, PS Audio went on to contribute a number of innovative audio grade power products (power cords, AC receptacles, power strips, power conditioners and AC regenerators).
Figures 1-3 show the original Lab Power Cable from 2000. Notice how much it looks like a DIY project. Compare the appearance of the Lab cable to the slick aesthetics and proprietary connectors and jacketing of the more recent Statement SC and Premier SC power cables shown in figure 4.
Figure 1. PS Audio Lab cable brochure photo.
Figure 2. PS Audio Lab cable connectors.
Figure 3. PS Audio Lab cable and packaging.
Figure 4. PS Audio Statement SC on left and Premier SC power cords.
Those who have been audio enthusiasts, or audiophiles, for fifteen years or more can remember when IEC connectors on audio equipment was practically non-existent. It is only within the last ten years that IEC sockets have become commonplace on audio equipment. The reason is obvious. Prior to ten years ago, there was no reason for audio gear to have detachable power cords because there were no commercially available audio grade aftermarket cords. Indeed, the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC's) 60320 specification for 13 types of IEC connectors was written to facilitate the interchange of power cords for appliances that were intended for international markets rather than the easy replacement of audio gear power cords.
Once audio gear manufacturers became aware that the consumers of upper mid grade and high end gear were interested in higher performance power cords, IEC sockets became commonplace on better audio components.
I used to be a collector of Sony ES components from the mid-1980-s to mid 1990's. I gleefully replaced the captive power cords on my XA7ES CD player, TA-F707ES and TA-F808ES integrated amps, TA-E90ES and TA-E9000ES preamplifiers, ST-S730ES tuner and TA-N90ES power amplifier. I heard better overall clarity and improved bass performance with every replacement. Furthermore, noise spectrum measurements of the stock and aftermarket cords confirmed that the aftermarket cords filtered more noise from the environment and power line.
Premium Speaker And Interconnect Cables
[***Disclaimer: I know that many on this forum viscerally despise Noel Lee and the Monster Cable corporation for their real, imagined and alleged business practices. I ask that you take any Monster bashing comments to another thread. This is meant to be a discussion on premium cable history, not Monster's business practices. Thank you for your understanding.***]
The first premium cable product was brought to market in 1979 by Noel Lee's Monster Cable corporation. The Original Monster Cable was a 12 gauge wire with associated claims that its better stranding geometry and higher purity copper resulted in more faithful transmission of the audio signal. The Original Monster Cable is one of the most successful products in the audio industy and is still being sold today, 30 years after its introduction. Mr. Lee, a mechanical engineering graduate of the California Polytechnic State University and a former research engineer at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories and a former professional musician (drummer in a rock band), demonstrated his new cable at the 1979 Consumer Electronics Show with resultant rave reviews.
Members of the audio DIY community had been experimenting with heavier gauge speaker cables and DIY interconnects for some time. From awareness of those efforts, and the warm reception at the 1979 CES, Mr. Lee perceived that there was an untapped market for high performance audio cables. This encouraged him to offer his cables commercially. The rest, as they say, is history.
Figure 5. Prior to Monster Cable, there were
no cable debates. Can you imagine that?
Prior to Monster Cable, speakers were connected to amplifiers with the same 18 gauge zip cord that ran to most common household appliances. This cable was so cheap that it was usually supplied free of charge with the purchase of a set of speakers. Monster Cable, on the other hand, cost 50 cents a foot. A person needing a 15 foot pair would have to pay an additional $15 over the cost of the speakers. The 2009 equivalent of $15 in 1979 dollars is $50. Asking someone to pay the equivalent of an additional $50 for something they were used to getting for free was a ball$y move on Monster Cable's part...but lots of customers said they were able to hear a significant improvement and they eagerly forked over the ca$h.
Premium audio cable manufacturers and those that use their products are frequently the object of much hatred, ill will, hostility and insults based on the unsubstantiated notion that all such products are a scam.
For some individuals, premium cables are a problem. Some of these individuals bounce from one Internet forum to another on a crusade to save supposedly gullible individuals from being parted from their hard earned by the evil premium cable purveyors. As an engineer, I have been trained to seek the root causes of a problem in order to solve it. I asked myself the question: "Are premium cables really a problem?" If so, where did this "problem" originate?
This report looks at the origins of the premium speaker cable, interconnect and power cable markets. Since power cables are currently the most maligned segment of the premium cable market, we will begin our analysis there.
Premium Power Cables
Aftermarket power cables are thought by some to be the epitome of audio snake oil because, unlike speaker and interconnect cables, they are not in the signal chain and thus couldn't possibly have any effect on signal quality. Even people who have heard the benefits of better speaker and interconnect cables are reluctant to try a better power cord because they just don't see how it could have any possible benefit other than placebo. I have expounded at length on the fallacious nature of such sophistries in previous reports and I will not rehash them here.
Prior to the year 2000, premium power cables were not generally commercially available. The first aftermarket power cables were made by DIY (do it yourself) audio enthusiasts in order to replace the chintzy 18 gauge "zip" power cords that were permanently attached to their audio equipment. Zip cord is so named because the dual conductors are easily "zipped" apart. It was theorized, and subsequently confirmed, by some in the DIY community that the "zip" power cords that were designed for toasters, fans, lamps and other household appliances might be inadequate for audio components. People began to report good results with heavier gauge, better shielded home-made power cords. Some DIY'ers sold their power cable configurations in extremely limited quantities, typically to other audiophiles in their local communities. A large part of this was driven by the positive audible results with heavier gauge, better shielded speaker and interconnect cables that were first brought to market by the Monster Cable corporation beginning in 1979. Once the Internet began to facilitate the easier transfer of audio information among the DIY'ers in the mid 1990's, quite a bit of information on various configurations of DIY power cables became widely available.
As far as I have been able to determine, the first commercially available premium power cable was brought to market by PS Audio in 2000. Their "Lab Power Cable" was a 6 gauge triple shielded power cord terminated with IEC C13 and C14 connectors. It retailed for $400 for a three foot length. The Lab Power Cable was initially designed for one of PS Audio's "Power Plant" AC regenerators. DIY Audiophiles began to adapt this cable to other audio gear, particularly power amplifiers, with excellent results. The rest...is history. The phenomenal commercial success of the Lab cables launched an entire new product line at PS Audio and, as is usual, a variety of imitators and innovators in the premium power cable market.
The premium power cable market actually came about as a response to customer demand from the DIY community rather than slick marketing schemes by a nefarious manufacturer. The question now begs: Why would a DIY'er fork over $400 for a power cable rather than make their own? Simple: The PS Audio Lab cord outperformed anything they could economically make themselves. It is doubtful that PS Audio would have had the balls to be the first company to go to market with an aftermarket power cord, especially a $400 power cord, in 2000 if they weren't reasonably certain that they could achieve a reasonable return on their investment. After the Lab power cable, PS Audio went on to contribute a number of innovative audio grade power products (power cords, AC receptacles, power strips, power conditioners and AC regenerators).
Figures 1-3 show the original Lab Power Cable from 2000. Notice how much it looks like a DIY project. Compare the appearance of the Lab cable to the slick aesthetics and proprietary connectors and jacketing of the more recent Statement SC and Premier SC power cables shown in figure 4.
Figure 1. PS Audio Lab cable brochure photo.
Figure 2. PS Audio Lab cable connectors.
Figure 3. PS Audio Lab cable and packaging.
Figure 4. PS Audio Statement SC on left and Premier SC power cords.
Those who have been audio enthusiasts, or audiophiles, for fifteen years or more can remember when IEC connectors on audio equipment was practically non-existent. It is only within the last ten years that IEC sockets have become commonplace on audio equipment. The reason is obvious. Prior to ten years ago, there was no reason for audio gear to have detachable power cords because there were no commercially available audio grade aftermarket cords. Indeed, the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC's) 60320 specification for 13 types of IEC connectors was written to facilitate the interchange of power cords for appliances that were intended for international markets rather than the easy replacement of audio gear power cords.
Once audio gear manufacturers became aware that the consumers of upper mid grade and high end gear were interested in higher performance power cords, IEC sockets became commonplace on better audio components.
I used to be a collector of Sony ES components from the mid-1980-s to mid 1990's. I gleefully replaced the captive power cords on my XA7ES CD player, TA-F707ES and TA-F808ES integrated amps, TA-E90ES and TA-E9000ES preamplifiers, ST-S730ES tuner and TA-N90ES power amplifier. I heard better overall clarity and improved bass performance with every replacement. Furthermore, noise spectrum measurements of the stock and aftermarket cords confirmed that the aftermarket cords filtered more noise from the environment and power line.
Premium Speaker And Interconnect Cables
[***Disclaimer: I know that many on this forum viscerally despise Noel Lee and the Monster Cable corporation for their real, imagined and alleged business practices. I ask that you take any Monster bashing comments to another thread. This is meant to be a discussion on premium cable history, not Monster's business practices. Thank you for your understanding.***]
The first premium cable product was brought to market in 1979 by Noel Lee's Monster Cable corporation. The Original Monster Cable was a 12 gauge wire with associated claims that its better stranding geometry and higher purity copper resulted in more faithful transmission of the audio signal. The Original Monster Cable is one of the most successful products in the audio industy and is still being sold today, 30 years after its introduction. Mr. Lee, a mechanical engineering graduate of the California Polytechnic State University and a former research engineer at Lawrence Livermore Laboratories and a former professional musician (drummer in a rock band), demonstrated his new cable at the 1979 Consumer Electronics Show with resultant rave reviews.
Members of the audio DIY community had been experimenting with heavier gauge speaker cables and DIY interconnects for some time. From awareness of those efforts, and the warm reception at the 1979 CES, Mr. Lee perceived that there was an untapped market for high performance audio cables. This encouraged him to offer his cables commercially. The rest, as they say, is history.
Figure 5. Prior to Monster Cable, there were
no cable debates. Can you imagine that?
Prior to Monster Cable, speakers were connected to amplifiers with the same 18 gauge zip cord that ran to most common household appliances. This cable was so cheap that it was usually supplied free of charge with the purchase of a set of speakers. Monster Cable, on the other hand, cost 50 cents a foot. A person needing a 15 foot pair would have to pay an additional $15 over the cost of the speakers. The 2009 equivalent of $15 in 1979 dollars is $50. Asking someone to pay the equivalent of an additional $50 for something they were used to getting for free was a ball$y move on Monster Cable's part...but lots of customers said they were able to hear a significant improvement and they eagerly forked over the ca$h.
Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
Post edited by DarqueKnight on
Comments
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Cable Economics
There are some who grudgingly admit that some premium cables provide some audible benefit, yet they believe the prices for these cables are in the realm of obscenity. The prices of premium cables are far, far less than those of diamond rings and bracelets, and, unlike the diamond ring or bracelet, the audio cable actually serves a practical purpose. Some of these cables use precious metal conductors, difficult to manufacture winding geometries, proprietary jacketing materials and proprietary noise reduction technologies. Some of these cables are the result of substantial research in preserving signal integrity. Additionally, a relatively small market size and the realities of retail distribution also increase cost.
No doubt, just like in every other lucrative market segment, there are crooks in the premium audio cable manufacturing industry who offer next to nothing in real value, yet charge premium prices. Consumers should use the same common sense and discretion while shopping for audio cables that they use while shopping for diamonds...or anything else. Why get mad, or angry or embittered because a cable manufacturer is asking $11,000 for a pair of speaker cables and someone is willing to pay that? The seller and the buyer aren't doing anything wrong. I never see anyone getting mad, angry or embittered at diamond merchants for selling small rocks for $11,000 or more. Nor have I ever seen one case of someone hysterically demanding proof that an $11,000 diamond is "worth it" and that it actually provides greater practical and aesthetic value than significantly less expensive gem stones. Some people need to calm down.
While some premium cables cost a lot, the consumer would pay much more if they made a comparable DIY item...assuming they had the materials and fabrication capability. DIYer's have been trying to duplicate the performance of Audioquest's DBS (dielectric bias cables) for years. Although some "workable" and "functional" DIY DBS designs have been produced by the DIY community, no one has yet been able to come close to the performance of the Audioquest DBS product. A typical DIYer simply does not have access to the research expertise, volume discounts, quality of materials and precision manufacturing processes required to duplicate these cables.
Even when the same parts are available to the DIYer, it is often cheaper, and certainly more convenient, to buy a commercially available product. For example, the 10 AWG 3 conductor power cable, IEC connectors, silver content solder, and heat shrink tubing used in Signal Cable's MagicPower cords are available to anyone who wants to purchase them. However, once you have bought all the parts and paid shipping, you would have spent substantially more than the $59 that Signal Cable charges for a 3 foot MagicPower cord. In addition to this, the cost of time spent assembling the cable must also be considered.
Conclusion
The DIY roots of the premium cable industry are not surprising once you consider that the entire consumer electronics industry has it origins in the DIY community.
Most premium cable companies, rather than preying on the ignorance of consumers, actually came about to satisfy a pent up demand from the DIY audio community, which can be classified as a group of generally technically competent and well informed consumers. In order to induce a consumer of this caliber, a consumer accustomed to building their own cables, to buy a cable product, a manufacturer needed to offer a level of performance and quality that was unavailable to the DIYer.
The fact that high performance power, speaker and interconnect cables have been embraced by the DIY community should serve to inform that there is some performance value in this product segment.
It is also interesting to note that ugly cable debates generally don't exist on DIY oriented Internet forums. Why is this? First, the DIYer is, by nature, someone who is interested in learning and trying new things and then objectively reporting their results. Second, many, if not most, DIYers have already proved to themselves that the offerings of legitimate high performance cable companies are, in many cases, superior to anything they could fabricate themselves. When the focus is on learning rather than arguing and disparaging, a lot of valuable information exchange can take place.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
Darqueknight,
What a primer on the subject. And interesting 'history' on Monster...who knew?
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash] -
Thanks for the info DK. though I am not yet persuaded to part with large sums of cash for such things, I do not have any opinion worth posting on the matter. If there are benefits to be had by going with esoteric designs, those that can hear and appreciate them by all means should do so.The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD
“When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson -
Excellent thread, thank you."He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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In regard to the DIY, I would guess that if anything would be easy to do it would be to build a power cable. Any comments on what the expected result (other than being electrocuted) would be from going to Home Depot, getting some 12 or 10 quage wiring, a heavy duty plug, and socket, and making a cable to the perfect length from the power conditioner to the <fill in the blank>.Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes
Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables
Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
Three 20 amp circuits. -
I don't know if Home Depot or any other hardware stores currently carry IEC type connectors.
You can buy heavy gauge power cable from Home Depot. The only thing I would advise caution about is the quality of the copper used in the hardware store cables. Most of the time, this copper is the "tough pitch" type that has a lot of impurities, which translates to higher noise.
You should also use a good quality solder and good quality connectors.
I have never made a DIY power cable. I did make some DIY speaker cables out of 6 AWG tough pitch copper cable from Home Depot. The results of that trial are here.
At the bottom of the 1st post in this thread is a chart comparing the sonic qualities of my DIY Home Depot cables to three commercially available cables.
If you google "DIY power cords" you will find a lot of fabrication guides and performance results.
Here is a link to a DIY power cord effort by one of our forum members: Some DIY Power CordsProud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
DarqueKnight,
Thank you for taking the time and effort to share this information with me. I started here at C.P. to learn and I sure have learned a lot.
Thanks again -
DarqueKnight
Thank you for sharing.
You are indeed a Master. -
Hi DarqueNight.
Thank you for the post. Very interesting and informative.
Got any other histories in the making?
Mike____________________________________________
Home Theater 32"LG LCD; Comcast; 7.1 Onkyo 805; Fronts: Polk M50s; Center: Polk CS2; Sides: Polk M40s; Rear: B&W LM1s; Subs: (2) Sony 12" x 100w; Samsung 1500BDP; Toshiba A-2 HD-DVDP.
PC stereo: Viper custom PC: Windows XP; ASIO4ALL; JRiver Jukebox> Pop Pulse USB to S/PDIF conv> Monarchy DIP > Musiland MD10 DAC > Parasound 2100 pre> Aragon 4004 MKII amp> Dali Ikon6 towers; Sunfire True Sub; PSA Duet, Ultimate outlet and Noise Harvestors. -
Not at this time.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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Excellent thread, very interesting,,Thanks for the info.Linn AV5140 fronts
Linn AV5120 Center
Linn AV5140 Rears
M&K MX-70 Sub for Music
Odyssey Mono-Blocs
SVS Ultra-13 Gloss Black:D -
Once again, DK, excellent work ! Nice skill to be able to pass on knowledge to us in the peanut gallery and make it pleasant.Sal Palooza
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That's 4 minutes of my life I'll never get back.CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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Please don't change the thread title.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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Awesome write up Doc.
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Excellent!!!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Nice, interesting history there.
Thanks DK
Speakers
Carver Amazing Fronts
CS400i Center
RT800i's Rears
Sub Paradigm Servo 15
Electronics
Conrad Johnson PV-5 pre-amp
Parasound Halo A23
Pioneer 84TXSi AVR
Pioneer 79Avi DVD
Sony CX400 CD changer
Panasonic 42-PX60U Plasma
WMC Win7 32bit HD DVR -
Excellent read Knight. I learned a lot about monster with 2 of the dealers I worked for. They came in and trained us on there history and the very 12 gauge cable which was the first of it's kind. In my young years of audio and video , monstercable is what got me into wire all together.
DanDan
My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time. -
I'll reluctantly admit Monster actually got me into the cable crap as well. I owe them that. That said, I have moved on and I'm not looking back unless I'd like to attenuate a signal a certain way.
DK, nice writeup as always. You rock.~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Heh, diamonds are a far bigger scam than audio cables will ever be.Steve Carlson
Von Schweikert VR-33 speakers
Bel Canto eVo2i integrated amp
Bel Canto PL-2 universal disc player
Analysis Plus Oval Nine speaker cables and Copper Oval-In Micro interconnects
VH Audio Flavor 4 power cables
Polk Monitor 10B speakers, retired but not forgotten -
There were a handful of "better" speaker cables that popped up during the mid 1970's that, for various reasons, were neither technically nor commercially successful. The appropriately named "Cobra" speaker cables (circa 1976) were a high capacitance Japanese cable that Polk imported and sold. Cobra cable didn't seem to work well with a lot of amplifiers (oscillation issues) and also had a reputation for rapidly tarnishing. They were withdrawn from market. There are a few threads here on the forum discussing them.
Monster was the first to general market with a viable improved speaker cable product.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
Fiddlesticks! I guess I'll have to see what this cable thing is all about!
Great work DK. Now hopefully people can see that this is not a biased forum that only accepts what few believe is gospel.
Keep it up. -
Good Read DK.
Thanks!!!! -
Nice writeup Raife!
The biggest problem with premium power cables is that nay sayers will point to the cheap Romex in the wall and challenge you to a valid explanation how the premium power cable can change the electricity that was generated miles away. This is still the biggest obstacle to the power cord industry.
I've also heard some really good DIY power cables. I like to read the "dissection" threads that show the actual wires, shielding, terminations, connectors, workmanship, etc. There is definitely some snake oil out there.Carl -
The biggest problem with premium power cables is that nay sayers will point to the cheap Romex in the wall and challenge you to a valid explanation how the premium power cable can change the electricity that was generated miles away. This is still the biggest obstacle to the power cord industry.
Not really. Not when you think about it calmly and rationally. The old, snide, tired naysayers "argument" about cheap Romex and miles and miles of cheap, dirty utility company wire conveniently ignores the fact that much can be done to clean the power signal once it comes from the wall...just as a good water filter can do a lot to remove contaminates from tap water after it has been processed by a multi-million dollar water treatment facility and traveled through miles and miles of water system piping.;)Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
It was a nice read, however are there any published objective tests that to show the actual differences in electrical properties, frequency response, attenuation, noise immunity, etc of various cables and wires?
Yes there are.A quantitative comparison of those products would be very educational.
I agree 1000%.A scientific measurement makes for a strong argument.
I don't like to argue.Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country! -
The old, snide, tired naysayers "argument" about cheap Romex and miles and miles of cheap, dirty utility company wire conveniently ignores the fact that much can be done to clean the power signal once it comes from the wall...
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Nice write up!!Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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And it isn't the fancy power cord!
Of course, it is. Do yourself a favor and try some. You might have some credibility after that.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Kudos for the very nice write up!
This thread raises an interesting question of whether or not greater benefit is gained by A) conditioning the power & using the equipment mfgr's power cord or B)installing a premium power cord directly plugged into the grid? It is assumed that A & B combined will have the greatest benefit.
Given the recent climate in this forum, it is felt prudent to state the following: By asking this question I am not asking for a debate to emerge in this thread concerning this question nor implying an opinion. I am rehtorically asking this question from an engineer's perspective. Unless you have relevant material (research, etc) to respond with, please refrain from responding to this question.
This discussion has been closed.