So your wondering about Power Cords?

Huck344

I should have my write up completed this evening and will mail the cords off tomorrow.

Huck344

First off, I want to thank McLoki for making it possible to do this test. I must preface all this by saying that I'm not an "audiophile" in the true sense of the word, but I am learning.

I've had these power cords a bit over a week and have been switching them back and forth on different gear just to get a "feel" for them. But, I also spent several hours on Sunday and Monday doing very detailed comparisons and taking notes.

The equipment I am using is as follows:

AVR - Onkyo TX-SR804 (using this as a pre)
AMP - Sunfire Signature Grand
Power Conditioner - Monster Power Center HTS 2500
BDP - OPPO BDP-83
Mains - RTi 8
Center - CSi 3
Sub - SVS PC Ultra
TV - Samsung PN58B560

Currently, I'm only running 3.1 as we have moved recently and I have not run wire to my surrounds yet.

I was unable to test the power cords with the AVR and the power conditioner as the cords are integrated into each of those. So, they are unable to be swapped out. I also want to make note that I use the Oppo for both movies and playing CD's and that it is connected via HDMI. I know that blasphemy to some traditionalist who swear by analog, but I wanted to be up front about all my connections.

I did A/B tests for each equipment individually. Since, I knew which cable was going in, I was worried about possibly having favoritism towards one or the other. So, I incorporated my wife (who has a pretty good ear) and didn't tell her which cable was being used. (not quite a scientific double blind, but the best I could do)

I'll start with the Magic Power Cord and list each item that I tried it with.

SUB -
I first tested a variety of different movies that were heavy in bass and also some that had more subtle bass. Some of the titles I used were "Shoot 'Em Up", "Star Trek", "Iron Man" and "Saving Private Ryan". The first three on blu-ray, the last one is DVD.

I did A/B tests for a variety of scenes. My initial reaction was that the bass was definitely louder with the Magic Cord. Now, I'm not saying that it was overpowering, but definitely was more noticeable. Additionally, I felt that the bass was tighter and that the bass in the 40 - 80 Hz range was more noticeable then with my stock power cord. Where I noticed it the most was in movie scenes in which there was subtle bass. With my stock cable, I could barely hear the bass. But with the Magic cable, it was much more distinct, yet never over powering.

I also tried it out on some bass heavy music, mainly Ying Yang Twins. My overall impression was the same as above. The bass felt louder, but tighter than with the stock cable. To quote my wife, "It sounded like the bass was all over the place with the other cord." I would translate that to mean that the stock cord made the bass much boomier.

AMP -
For the rest of the tests, I used the following musicians. Johnny Cash, The Beach Boys, Holly Cole, U2, Metallica and. . . ABBA (my wife's one demand). There were differences, but much less noticeable than with the sub. In general the Magic Cord had a louder and what I felt a more warmer sound. I honestly don't know how it could be warmer sounding. It kind of baffles me, but it definitely helped my bright RTi's.

BDP - I did not test the Magic cable on this device.


Now to the Digital Reference

BDP/CDP - First off, I saw no discernible difference in picture quality between the stock BDP cord and the Digital reference. But there were differences when playing CD's. I used the same material as referenced above. I must also point out that the differences were not nearly as uniform on each material as there was when using the Magic Cord on the Amp. In general, the sound was louder and warmer. The tweeters did not seem to be as "explosive" sounding with the digital reference as it did with the stock cable. That's actually a good thing as the tweeters on the RTi's hurt my ears from time to time when listening to music. What really struck me was with the ABBA CD. With that CD, I honestly thought the stock cable sounded better than the digital reference. It was definitely louder, but honestly didn't sound as good. I'm not sure if this has something to do with the recording/mastering of the CD. But, out of all the music listened to, that was the only one that I would give preference to the stock cable.

AMP - I did use the digital reference cord on the amp. Results were similar to the Magic Cord on the amp, but not nearly as definitive (in my opinion) as the Magic Cord. Now, I could have been tired by this point, I don't know. I did not do an A/B with the digital reference and Magic Cord. Only with each cable and the stock cable.
SUB - I did not try the Digital Reference on the SUB.

CONCLUSION
I can honestly say that the biggest difference I noticed was with the Magic Cord on my sub. There was no comparison. The Magic Cord on my Amp also made a significant difference. The Digital Reference Cord made a difference on the BDP/CDP, but as mentioned the results were a bit mixed, so I really don't know what to make of it. I was never in the "Power Cords make a difference" camp, but I was also never in the "It's all snake oil" camp either. I honestly didn't have an opinion either way. I still don't quite understand the science as to why they made a difference, but my ears don't lie.

On a side note, one of the good things about having my wife "help" me was that she could actually hear the differences. When we were done, she asked me how much the power cords cost. When I told her between $60-$70 depending on the cord, I expected her to roll her eyes. Instead, she said, "that's not so much, you should get them." I didn't know what to say. . . I was afraid to jinx it!

Huck344

I forgot to add that I will be mailing these to John in the morning.

McLoki

Huck - Excellent review - thanks for taking part in the test.

This is exactly what I was hoping for - someone with no real bias, but an open mind to give a power cord a shot and see what they think. (and share their experience)

Thanks again -

Noosh, your up, cords should be on the way....

nooshinjohn

thanks man...I will leave a post when it arrives

McLoki

Here is the current order of things.

Huck344 .................. Results:.... Difference: Yes.........Worth Cost: MC - Yes, DRC - perhaps (mixed results)
nooshinjohn - ***** Cords in transit *****
Big Dawg
ben62670
Conradicles
polrbehr
Zitro
BlueFox
TNRabbit
Praedet
comfortablycurt
squeeb




Let me know if I missed anyone. Opportunity is open until the final person concludes his/her testing and ships the cords back to me.

dbaldus

Ok, ok... fine - put me on the list, please!

(Honestly hoping that it DOESN'T make a difference just so I don't have to spend more money upgrading my components!)

Conradicles

Huck344 wrote: »

To quote my wife, "It sounded like the bass was all over the place with the other cord." I would translate that to mean that the stock cord made the bass much boomier....When we were done, she asked me how much the power cords cost. When I told her between $60-$70 depending on the cord, I expected her to roll her eyes. Instead, she said, "that's not so much, you should get them." I didn't know what to say. . . I was afraid to jinx it!

Love it!:cool:
A cool wife rules!

Huck344

Conradicles wrote: »

Love it!:cool:
A cool wife rules!

Yeah, my wife is pretty awesome. She doesn't get all that I do, but as long as I include her from time to time, she kind of gets it. She told me the other day, that I should turn the home office into a dedicated 2 channel room. . . Of course, I have to remodel the kitchen first which I'm in the process of doing.

nooshinjohn

This morning in fact:). I am letting them get up to room temp before I plug them in. I am eager to get my ears on the fat Signal Cable.

I would also like to ask permission to take them with me to the Indiana Get-together this weekend.

Thanks for the demo and I will post my thoughts soon.

McLoki

Excellent - enjoy them.

With the understanding that while they are in your care - they are your responsibility, I do encourage you to test them as much as possible and share your experiences with as many people as you can.

If you are ok with taking them, I look forward to hearing the opinion of the group on any difference they may (or may not) make.

Michael

hearingimpared

McLoki wrote: »

Excellent - enjoy them.

With the understanding that while they are in your care - they are your responsibility, I do encourage you to test them as much as possible and share your experiences with as many people as you can.

If you are ok with taking them, I look forward to hearing the opinion of the group on any difference they may (or may not) make.

Michael

Indeed! I'm very interested in some of the reviews as I have these PCs and would like to hear other's impressions.

jinjuku

Interesting read on a power cord test:


Hometheaterhifi.com

concealer404

Ugh. Really?

Erik Tracy

This is the right thread for direct observation, right? Not link lemmings?

concealer404

Erik Tracy wrote: »

This is the right thread for direct observation, right? Not link lemmings?

So i thought. I may be lost.

jinjuku

Erik Tracy wrote: »

This is the right thread for direct observation, right? Not link lemmings?

I don't think the article is off the beaten path as related to the OP. There is a very good section on how they setup the evaluation.

Since the OP was kind enough to pass the cable around for evalution it may be nice if people have some form of protocol they can adhere to so they can best judge the cable on it's sonic performance without any bias that would lead them to a wrong, negative or positive, conclusion.

No need to get so defensive over something harmless as an article:cool:

concealer404

Again, this thread is about people experiencing the difference, or no difference, for themselves. Not reading about it.

hearingimpared

jinjuku wrote: »

Interesting read on a power cord test:


Hometheaterhifi.com

Here we go again. That link and test is old and has been posted on Club Polk before. I thought this was a thread for people who are given the chance to try out the power cable and give their impressions?

There is no "proper" protocol! It's subjective and I sure as heck wouldn't want to go through all those hoops to make someone else is happy or satified or meets their requirements with my findings. I report what I hear, nothing more nothing less.

Sorry for the derail. How bout we keep thead clean and go along with its the OPs intentions?

McLoki

This thread is for direct observation.

With that being said - I am fine with links to other tests (as it may inspire others to try the cords), but would appreciate any discussion of those links to take place in another thread.

Thank you,

Michael

McLoki

Here is the current order of things.

Huck344 .................. Results:.... Difference: Yes.........Worth Cost: MC - Yes, DRC - perhaps (mixed results)
nooshinjohn - ***** Testing out Cords *****
Big Dawg
ben62670
Conradicles
polrbehr
Zitro
BlueFox
TNRabbit
Praedet
comfortablycurt
squeeb
dbaldus
cstmar01


Let me know if I missed anyone. Opportunity is open until the final person concludes his/her testing and ships the cords back to me.

Big Dawg - please send me your address and a contact phone number so the cords can be shipped to you when noosh completes his testing.

hearingimpared

McLoki wrote: »

This thread is for direct observation.

With that being said - I am fine with links to other tests (as it may inspire others to try the cords), but would appreciate any discussion of those links to take place in another thread.

Thank you,

Michael

Good deal Michael, however, that link posted above will discourage people from trying power cords.

polrbehr

Well, that's that, I suppose.

Take me off the list, if you would.

Phew! And to think, I was almost ready to try them out for myself! :eek:
















J/K

comfortablycurt

McLoki wrote: »

Well, we are nearing 2 weeks for Huck344.... Forming any opinions yet?

BTW - CCurt and Squeeb you are both in.

Sweet! Thanks for the opportunity to test this out Michael!


I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it.:D

McLoki

And as my post to move my name to blue (for about 3 more days) Here it is.....

Did you take the cords to the Indiana meet and how did it go?

Other than that - I got nothin'

Michael

nooshinjohn

I did take them but they were not used... So far, I can hear a distinct difference between the stock cord and the short fat one. not so much between the thinnet cord and stock. I will be more detailed in a few days....

Big Dawg... PM me your address so that I can get them on the road Monday or Tuesday.


John

nooshinjohn

Ready for the next person to step up... please shoot me a PM with your address and they will be on the way.

My thought will be posted this weekend, but I will say this, I wish I could keep them BOTH! They do, in fact make a difference.:cool:

Thanks for the opportunity to expand my horizons. My wallet hates you for it.:D

McLoki

Big Dawg and ben62670,

PM me your addresses and a contact phone number. I will forward the address info when I get it to Noosh..

(for the record, If I get bens first, I will just move Big Dawg down in the list until I recieve the contact info.)

Michael

McLoki

Ben - your up.

Dawg - PM me your contact info and I will add you back into the list...

Noosh - Bens address has been PM'ed

Thanks everyone,

Michael

ben62670

So far I have hooked them up between my Denon 2900, and my active XO. These are the only two items that have IEC connectors. Right off the bat I notice more weighty bass, cleaner mids, and better detail and sustain on the highs. Also the noise floor has decreased. Unfortunately I will be upgrading the power cables in the near future:(