Does your McIntosh benefit from fancy power cables?

[BuffaloBill]

Originally Posted by eljr

3 Then there is what I consider common sense.

Sound quality aside, common sense works both ways. You are not going to get the same quality construction, best materials, and attractive (esthetic) appearance with a $12 stock power cord as you are with a reasonably price after-market power cord from a reputable manufacturer. There is value in satisfaction and pride of ownership that goes beyond sound quality.

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Sound quality aside, common sense works both ways. You are not going to get the same quality construction, best materials, and attractive (esthetic) appearance with a $12 stock power cord as you are with a reasonably price after-market power cord from a reputable manufacturer. There is value in satisfaction and pride of ownership that goes beyond sound quality.

+1. Call me vein, paranoid, whatever you want, but after investing $X0,000 in my music room/system, I couldn’t live with the stock PCs.

[Msegal]

I replaced all my power lines in the walls to 12 gauge, use Shunyata receptacles, Shunyata power cables with amps(MC275’s) into the walls and a Shunyata AV distribution to my C500T and Aesthetix Rhea.
No comparison to stock cables. It is pitch black silent. It has amazing dynamics, wonderful resolution and soundstage width outside the walls.

[edward3132]

I will never use a stock cable again after hearing what Shunyata power cables have done for my system.

[eljr]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Sound quality aside, common sense works both ways. You are not going to get the same quality construction, best materials, and attractive (esthetic) appearance with a $12 stock power cord as you are with a reasonably price after-market power cord from a reputable manufacturer. There is value in satisfaction and pride of ownership that goes beyond sound quality.

I could not agree more!

I do not use that stuff they push on AVS or the awful Audioholic site for interconnects. I use Audioquest, Wireworld and Pangea.

My long runs of Cat 6 I used Blue Jeans. (full disclosure)


I have however never replaced a power cord. Just seems a bit extreme to me. Yet, I ran separate 20 amp lines for each power amp, with hospital grade outlets.

I always buy SACD's and hi-res downloads if available yet I have never heard a differance.

Why? Well, as you stated, it's makes me feel good and also, why chance it?

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I'd be absolutely shocked if a double blind study showed that a power cord made sound perceivable different and on top of that if the difference were always perceived as "better."

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Funny thing is, I might just look around for some power cords after your post. Not sure why I developed a mental block to them but not interconnects.

Like I said, Why not?

[eljr]

Originally Posted by crwilli

after investing $X0,000 in my music room/system, I couldn’t live with the stock PCs.

I totally get that.

Yeah, I think I may start shopping... what's on sale and reasonable?

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by eljr

1 I have never seen science to support this.

2 I am keenly aware of human bias which makes clear we hear and see what we want or what we assume. We then construct a logical case to support what we believe. We don't truly look objectively at about anything in our life.

3 Then there is what I consider common sense.

A If I am paying more than $6k for each monoblock and the manufacturer is not maximizing his product by giving me inferior cords, I need look to a different manufacture, don't you think?

B We have no control over the power from the power plant until our house. At that point a 3 foot wire will transform it? Hello. (McIntosh suggests we plug amps directly into wall, not after conditioners)


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and then you have the old, does it sound better or different? Tube amps introduce distortion that is loved by many.... yet, it's distortion that is making the music "warm." so is it "better?"
See?

I beleive skepticism is necessary, which is why I'm asking.
I heard a more noticable difference between power cables, than I did trying to compare 320 and flac on my paradigm computer speakers. He had a sweet nordost cable, and he found a standard cable he kept in his office. It wasn't an OEM Mc cable, it looked like a standard 18 gauge would work with any appliance with a removable cord. My Mc amp came with a 14 gauge cable.

What I heard was audible, even if just subtle. But was I tricked by because the cord may have been lesser than OEM cables? I don't know.

If you can suspend disbelief for a minute, does the fancy power cable sound better because it's a heavier gauge wire? Is it better shielding? The dealer stated that the cable is braided a special way that blocks noise naturally, that sounds fishy. Is it that it's silver plated copper?

I'm a manufacturer of consumer products myself, and I know what it costs to build some things. In my industry, actual material costs make up 10% of the final retail price. Labor makes up 12%. The rest is overhead, management, marketing, etc. If Mc spent as little as $50 on upgrading the cable the product price may go up $500 to do so. On the other hand our amps are a premium product and should have the best cables with no audible sacrifice.

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Sound quality aside, common sense works both ways. You are not going to get the same quality construction, best materials, and attractive (esthetic) appearance with a $12 stock power cord as you are with a reasonably price after-market power cord from a reputable manufacturer. There is value in satisfaction and pride of ownership that goes beyond sound quality.

The problem above is the word reasonable priced. I heard the difference between a throw away $12 cord and a $1,600 cord. There is nothing reasonable with a $1,600 power cord, I buy plenty of things unreasonable though. I'm not saying I won't buy an unreasonable priced power cord for my system, or a set of 3.... But there are other holes in my system I'd like to address first and this doesn't have to happen all at the same time.

[eljr]

Originally Posted by Mouse

I'm a manufacturer of consumer products myself, and I know what it costs to build some things. In my industry, actual material costs make up 10% of the final retail price. Labor makes up 12%. The rest is overhead, management, marketing, etc..

not to get off subject but I have been trying to explain this on the self touted audio "science" sites for years. Good post.

Something else often missed is that when we buy a product we are also buying into a tribe.

[Richard D. George]

The information and the link to the video are in the posts by Grant that I cited. It is all there.

Additional information and the link to the video again are in posts by Grant in the Shunyata forum in the thread about Black Mamba CX power cords.