what are these chords supposed to do?

[scirica]

Great analogy!

[GWNG8]

Originally Posted by CGabriel

If you are willing to share some information about your system I can help you.

We look at power delivery as a system and not about just individual parts. I think the best analogy for a power system is that it operates a bit like the intake and exhaust system of an engine. If you install a high flow flow muffler and get no results it is probably because there is a restriction somewhere else. Some people install hi-lift cams and get no improvement in horsepower because there is restriction in the intake or exhaust. Perhaps the intake air filter is the limiting factor or perhaps the stock headers are too restrictive? You need to look at the whole system and find the limiting part. If you address that limiting part or issue you will get results.

It is the same with power delivery. You must address limitations to DTCD first to ensure that there are not limitations to the flow of instantaneous current in the power system..

I have no problem understanding the engine side of this.....but I don't know much about cables/electricity.

My setup is as follows
Pre-amp: McIntosh C500T
Amps: Pass Labs XA60.5 monoblocks
Speakers: Tannoy Kensington SE
CD player: McIntosh MCD1100

TV: Pioneer Elite Plasma

[cmalak]

GWNG8...you have the Shunyata power cords plugged into the MCD1100 and the C500, correct? Are you plugging the other end into a wall outlet or a power strip or a power conditioner of some kind?

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by GWNG8

I have no problem understanding the engine side of this.....but I don't know much about cables/electricity. My setup is as follows Pre-amp: McIntosh C500T Amps: Pass Labs XA60.5 monoblocks Speakers: Tannoy Kensington SE CD player: McIntosh MCD1100 TV: Pioneer Elite Plasma

What country do you reside in?

How old is your home?

Do you have a dedicated power circuit or multiple circuits?

What is the current rating of the power circuit(s)?

Is all of your equipment connected to a single power circuit or to more than one?

What type of power distribution are you using? Computer power strip, or?

Have you changed the wall outlet and if so to what?

Have you verified the correct polarity and grounding of the power circuits?

Have you had an electrician check the ground rod and electrical panel connections?

Do you have whole surge protection installed?

What type of interconnects do you use?

About your room acoustics: Would characterize it as live or well damped?

Does your system image well with width, height and depth?

What is the TV connected to? satellite, cable box? Do you use a ground isolator for cable lead?

No offense is meant by this question but sometimes we can get far down the road of question and answer only to find that the person only has partial hearing in one ear. I have noticed that you have talked about tube rolling, so I am assuming your hearing is normal?

[GWNG8]

Originally Posted by cmalak

GWNG8...you have the Shunyata power cords plugged into the MCD1100 and the C500, correct? Are you plugging the other end into a wall outlet or a power strip or a power conditioner of some kind?

Tried plugging directly into the wall, as well as a panama 5400....didn't change

[GWNG8]

Originally Posted by CGabriel

What country do you reside in?

How old is your home? 10 years

Do you have a dedicated power circuit or multiple circuits? multiple

What is the current rating of the power circuit(s)?

Is all of your equipment connected to a single power circuit or to more than one? single

What type of power distribution are you using? Computer power strip, or? panama/direct to wall

Have you changed the wall outlet and if so to what? changed one (for panama) (don't recall the brand)

Have you verified the correct polarity and grounding of the power circuits? no

Have you had an electrician check the ground rod and electrical panel connections? no. Had recent additional work done by an electrician in other part of house, and made no mention of anything unnormal (actually said box was very high quality)

Do you have whole surge protection installed? no

What type of interconnects do you use? nordost XLR

About your room acoustics: Would characterize it as live or well damped? live (I have 4 acoustic panels, area rug and drapes) but hardwood floors

Does your system image well with width, height and depth? no...but I prefer it (my dealer called it "near field") room is also not wide and I have had to set up on the long wall

What is the TV connected to? satellite, cable box? Do you use a ground isolator for cable lead? satellite/no

No offense is meant by this question but sometimes we can get far down the road of question and answer only to find that the person only has partial hearing in one ear. I have noticed that you have talked about tube rolling, so I am assuming your hearing is normal?

tested 3 years ago, and was told my hearing was similar to a 20 year old (from late 30's).


No offence to the last question as I have considered it....along with my electrical system.....something has just never "felt" right.

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by GWNG8

tested 3 years ago, and was told my hearing was similar to a 20 year old (from late 30's). No offence to the last question as I have considered it....along with my electrical system.....something has just never "felt" right.

When my hearing was tested in the military, it exceeded the measurement scale of the test instrument except for a small blip at 4khz. Since I am now over 60 my hearing is nowhere near that good. I have some high frequency loss in the right ear and can only hear to 14Khz. This probably from unprotected M16 fire while in the military. My father in-law wears a hearing aid in his left ear and has trouble hearing low volume conversations especially from women. And yet both of us can easily hear power cord differences in a relatively mediocre home theater system.

Power related components like power cords and power distributors have a different set of sonic improvements than speakers or tubes or other components that primarily modify the tonal (frequency) palette. Power components improve or degrade timing related and noise parameters of sound perception. They open up both frequency extremes because they allow the component's power supply to "breathe" easier. They also improve subtle levels of resolution and improve the macro and micro sense of dynamic scale.

You should be able to hear the difference between a stock power cord and a $100 Venom-3 power cable on a CD player. I personally know and have experienced where this difference could not be heard. In each case there was something that limited the audio system's ability to perform optimally. There are two primary potential problems: room acoustics and AC power limitations.

Poor room acoustics, especially "live" rooms with lots of early reflections can seriously impair impulse arrival times. This makes it difficult to hear differences in power cords, interconnects and vibration tuning devices.

There is a reason most audio equipment manufactures have a negative view of power conditioners and many of them advise against their use. In spite of some manufacturer's claims of "non-current limiting" - all power distributors and conditioners degrade DTCD (dynamic transient current delivery). The real question is how much does each power related part, component, wire, cord or connector reduce DTCD. If you have an in-wall outlet that was installed when the house was constructed - you should change it immediately. These outlets were purchased by the developer based upon lowest cost, not good electrical performance and performance longevity. A loose or corroded wire connection in the outlet can seriously degrade instantaneous current draw. This will make any relative improvement with a power cord replacement completely irrelevant and inaudible. Similar problems occur in wiring junction boxes and daisy chained outlets. Checking these connections is any easy and almost no cost way to significantly improve your power system performance. If you are capable, tighten the screws that attach the electrical ores to the breakers in the electrical distribution panel. These screws loosen up over time due to vibration and thermal heating and cooling.

I didn't ask the questions for no reason. It doesn't matter if you use or don't use audiophile grade power cords. If you can't any difference there is a reason and that reason is limiting the overall performance of your system. You are not getting the potential performance from the very expensive electronics that you have spent so much time and money acquiring.

[j3brow]

I thoroughly enjoy reading Caelin's responses. And I do not own any Shunyata product. His responses just make sense. Thank you for contributing.

[GaryProtein]

GWNG8

Given your equipment, Pre-amp: McIntosh C500T, Amps: Pass Labs XA60.5 monoblocks, Speakers: Tannoy Kensington SE, CD player: McIntosh MCD1100, I don't see how a lack of transparency of your rig is the problem. Nor do I think your hearing the problem either because you probably would not have graduated to your present components if that was the case.

The expensive new cables might just have the same sonic characteristics of whatever you had before, regardless of how inexpensive they might have been.

Your honesty and your experience is one reason I am not in the "cable camp."

[GWNG8]

Originally Posted by GWNG8

tested 3 years ago, and was told my hearing was similar to a 20 year old (from late 30's).


No offence to the last question as I have considered it....along with my electrical system.....something has just never "felt" right.

Sorry answers got buried in the response.

From this and other responses I think it's evident the first thing I need to do is check out my electrical system.