I took the Red pill

[tdelahanty]

I'm not surprised by your findings. My system was populated with Diamond Back P/C's until recently. They have 100% braided shielding. They are also super-frozen which supposedly rearranges their molecular structure (questionable to me)??? I have moved on to Nordost Freyll P/C's which are significantly better. I don't like spending money on such tweaks but must admit they do work!!!

[nicoff]

Originally Posted by W9TR

Being an engineer, and worse than that an ex-audio engineer, I tend to lean toward the objective side of the fence. But I'm frequently surprised by gear that shouldn't sound awesome based on objective criteria but does just that.



Up until now, I've used OEM cords on all my gear. I have an excellent sounding system as-is, so I spent money on improving DAC's, electronics, speakers, USB cables, etc.



Last week, I bought a bunch of Shunyata power cords from miner, three Venom 14 1.5m and two Diamondback 1.5m. I'm not sure of the vintage of these cords, but I'm assuming they are well broken in.



A while ago, I picked up a Trifield TF2 EMF meter. It measures magnetic and electric field strength from 40 Hz to 100 kHz, along with RF field strength from 20 MHz to 6 GHz. Its not the end-all be-all as it doesn't measure in the MHz region, but it is a good start.







The first experiment was to measure the magnetic (H field) and electric (E field) strength at the power cord feeding one of my McIntosh MC 2301 amplifiers. The amplifier was warmed up for 30 minutes, with no signal applied during the test. I swapped out power cords and took measurements at the mid-point of each cable. For consistency I placed each cable parallel to the top of the TF2 meter on the seam that separates the meter case halves.



Here are the results:

• Stock OEM E Field 235 V/m H Field 42 mG
  
• Venom 14 E Field 4 V/m H Field 15 mG
  
• Diamondback E Field 3 V/m H Field 21 mG
  

So there is a significant quantitative reduction in radiated noise by using these cables. Especially the E field.





Then I did some short listening tests. I use a standard set of source material that included;



Camille Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 76 Telarc CD-80051

The Art of the Balalaika, Odessa Balalaikas Nonesuch CD





I listened to a few minutes of each, then swapped out all the OEM cables feeding the three MC 2301's with Venom cables. Here is what I heard. The soundstage had more depth and height cues, and the music was more dynamic. Plucked strings on The Art of the Balalaika were crisper. Massed violins on Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 were more delineated and the soundstage was wider. Overall the improvement was not subtle - a big step in the right direction. Well worth the price of admission.



I've got more listening to do, and another couple of cords to replace - I'm thinking the YggY and C 1100 will get the Diamondback cords.



So, call me a believer!



Having this TF2 field strength meter to me is like having an SPL meter - an essential part of owning a good audio system. It is very interesting to measure the field strength around different pieces of equipment - some of this stuff radiates very little while other gear is very dirty. While I can't change out the gear, I can position it in a way that minimizes interference.



More on that later.



Tom



P.S.

There are a lot of other things I can't measure easily now, like conducted EMI and the improvement cables may make in that parameter. I do have an Audio Precision System One and will be building some voltage dividers so I can safely measure power line noise. Even then, it is limited to 10 Hz to 500 kHz, but again it will be a good start.



I know there are things I can hear but can't measure, but I do like to measure what I can and see if I hear an improvement. Of course, the trap here is that if it measures better it will sound better and that is often not the case at all.





P.P.S.

My house is fed by underground power and a dedicated 15 kVA transformer with a single dedicated circuit for all the audio gear. The house lighting and

Very interesting finding. Since you are an engineer what do you think is happening?
For example, do the extra electric/magnetic fields affect the sound waves traveling through the air?
Or do those electromagnetic fields affect the amplifier in a way the amplifier can’t handle it? (If so, can an amplifier be designed to handle them and thus make the need for a fancy power cord unnecessary?)

[W9TR]

I can hypothesize that EMI from the AC cords will get back into the audio chain through conduction into adjacent input cables, speaker cables, and ground lines. This 60 Hz interference signal will ride on top of the desired audio, creating intermodulation distortion products that are audible as a smearing of critical timing and timbre information.

This is just a hypothetical explanation on my part.


Tom

[cleeds]

I've long thought that many audiophiles started as skeptics. That's certainly the story with my journey, which really began after I graduated from the Julian Hirsch School of Audio. It is amazing the kinds of things that can make a difference in an audio system; in the end, almost everything matters.

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Tom.......Welcome to the "believer" side of the aisle. My journey from skeptic to advocate began with power cables, too. Then it was like eating Lays potato chips. You just can't eat one. Power cables led to interconnects, to digital cables, and to speaker cables. It was good that I was able to make the various purchases incrementally over time so the sting of the prices could be absorbed easier. If I had to write a check all at once for the grand sum of my cables, I'd probably have a heart attack. Anyway, now, when new gear arrives I don't even unpack the factory cords. I go straight for the gusto.

Dan - this is going to be a fun ride. The fact there are measurable differences in at least some aspects of power cable performance helps me mentally justify making the changes. The sonic improvements are pretty significant.

I am also looking at how much EMI my gear makes and making changes to its position to try and minimize any interference. More on this later.

[Macuser]

Some interesting findings you've made. I also use my EMI meter quite often and I'm surprised at how much and sometimes how little power cables differ from each other. One of the first tests I made with my meter was checking to see if I was using the quietest 120 leg of my electrical panel for my gear. It turned out I did not and there is a big difference in EMI noise in my 2 legs for whatever reason. After a few minutes of swapping my dedicated lines over to the quieter of the 2 legs I had a free and noticeable upgrade.

[tdelahanty]

W9TR, my apologies, my post doesn't read very well. The Diamond Back is a very good P/C and an excellent choice. My intent was to say I was looking for a solution to a problem in my system. Once again my sincerest apology.

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by tdelahanty

W9TR, my apologies, my post doesn't read very well. The Diamond Back is a very good P/C and an excellent choice. My intent was to say I was looking for a solution to a problem in my system. Once again my sincerest apology.

No worries - I took no offense. I am learning a lot and really value everyone’s perspectives. I don’t have any preconceived notion about any of this stuff - apart from the fact that I’m now a believer.

[W9TR]

Originally Posted by Macuser

Some interesting findings you've made. I also use my EMI meter quite often and I'm surprised at how much and sometimes how little power cables differ from each other. One of the first tests I made with my meter was checking to see if I was using the quietest 120 leg of my electrical panel for my gear. It turned out I did not and there is a big difference in EMI noise in my 2 legs for whatever reason. After a few minutes of swapping my dedicated lines over to the quieter of the 2 legs I had a free and noticeable upgrade.

I love these tweaks that are free and based on a solid scientific foundation. It’s a win-win, takes very little time, and pays off big time. Congrats on the easy and free upgrade.

Having a simple EMI meter and making the invisible visible has been revelatory. Highly recommended!

[Puma Cat]

Tom,
Really glad to read of your experiences with these power cords and your comments about the improvements they bring. Your experiences are consistent with those many of us have had with aftermarket power cords, and for me, Shunyata's superb range of power cord products over the years.

I started off similar to you, in that I bought a couple of Diamond PCs at 50% off from Dedicated Audio in 2010, and did some experiments. The results I obtained were so impressive that I bought some Venom 3 PCs (which were just being launched into the market) for the remainder of the components in my stereo and for my Home Theatre TV and AVR. Things improved even more when I got a Hydra 4, and some Black Mamba CX and HC/CX power cords.

One the thing most important requirements for a power cord, in addition to reducing the efflux/influx of EMI and RFI is Dynamic Transient Current Delivery aka DTCD.

It's DTCD capability that allows a power cord to breathe life, respsonsiveness, attack, dynamics and power into an audio presentation, and its responsible to a large extent for the improvents you're hearing with your Venom & Diamondback power cords. Caelin developed a very important and useful measurement system for measuring DTCD quanitatively, and this metrology has provided an objective way for him to evaluate new power cord designs and configurations over the years. So, while some of the measurements you've made explain some of the improvement you're hearing, you'd need other metrology to be able to measure some of the other "measureable" attributes that comprise (just) part of what we hear.

Here is a graphic showing DTCD between a Venom 3 and a generic black power cord from Shunyata back in the day (around the 2011 time-frame, IIRC).



One thing I can attest to is you will obtain clearly discernable and audible improvements as you move up the Shunyata power cord product line from Venom to Delta to Alpha, etc.

If you think the Venom and Diamondback power cords are impressive, you should get in the new Venom NR-V10 and V-12 noise suppression power cords for evaluation, especially if you are not using a Shunyata power distributor. The improvements these will bring to your musical presentation over your Venom and Diamondback PCs is in a word, CONSIDERABLE.

To sum up: "You haven't heard anything yet!"

Regards,
Stephen aka PC