Does your McIntosh benefit from fancy power cables?

[W9TR]

And not to mention male and female connectors to boot.

Best Sirs,

Not to mention the hermaphroditic connectors.

"The Hermaphroditic Connector has a dual wipe contact design that was developed for use in severe environments. Shallow entry angles on the contacts ensure a smooth insertion force profile, great for high-mating cycle applications."

Couldn't have said it better myself!

[Ventoux]

So.. the answer is YES

[Lockheed Martin]

Last week, I changed my Shunyata Alpha Digital from MCD1100 to stock power cord. The difference is very large, the sound stage, resolution, clarity, bottom end, etc... Very awful, so I can't live with stocks cord.

[leftside]

Apparently "the noise reducing property of the Alpha Digital is so significant that this can be objectively measured using a Power Analyzer." I couldn't find the Power Analyzer results, but it does sound promising.

There's more. Even a guarantee:
"All these claims have been proven, and all doubters have been banished. Try one for yourself. This is a serious game changer... guaranteed!

The Alpha Digital power cord was developed directly by Caelin Gabriel to target and measurably reduce the extreme high-frequency noise generated by all types of digital electronics, whether in audio or video applications. The noise reducing property of the Alpha Digital is so significant that this can be objectively measured using a Power Analyzer. More importantly, even a brief evaluation will yield an unmistakable, dramatic improvement in sound or image quality.

In the old days, power cords designed specifically for digital used ferrous metals or heavy shielding that did more to "tune" the sound than improve it. These outdated treatments had obvious colorations such as dynamic compression and a dulling, or darkening of sound. The Alpha Digital power cord delivers a dramatic reduction in measured noise without any side-effect, leading to clearer visual images and better sound in every conceivable digital application, including new Class-D amplifiers. "

[Lockheed Martin]

Originally Posted by leftside

Apparently "the noise reducing property of the Alpha Digital is so significant that this can be objectively measured using a Power Analyzer." I couldn't find the Power Analyzer results, but it does sound promising.

There's more. Even a guarantee:
"All these claims have been proven, and all doubters have been banished. Try one for yourself. This is a serious game changer... guaranteed!

The Alpha Digital power cord was developed directly by Caelin Gabriel to target and measurably reduce the extreme high-frequency noise generated by all types of digital electronics, whether in audio or video applications. The noise reducing property of the Alpha Digital is so significant that this can be objectively measured using a Power Analyzer. More importantly, even a brief evaluation will yield an unmistakable, dramatic improvement in sound or image quality.

In the old days, power cords designed specifically for digital used ferrous metals or heavy shielding that did more to "tune" the sound than improve it. These outdated treatments had obvious colorations such as dynamic compression and a dulling, or darkening of sound. The Alpha Digital power cord delivers a dramatic reduction in measured noise without any side-effect, leading to clearer visual images and better sound in every conceivable digital application, including new Class-D amplifiers. "

You are right, that why I love Shunyata cable. I've recently upgraded Zitron Phython to Alpha Digital, and the difference is subtle, more clarity, better resolution and sound stage.

[eljr]

Originally Posted by leftside

"the noise reducing property of the Alpha Digital is so significant that this can be objectively measured using a Power Analyzer." .

so if it can't be measured the improvement is not as great?
think about it

many power cords can honestly say they measure quieter than X or y or z.
this is not in dispute and is "proof" of nothing other than the cord measures better than the lamp shade wire they likely tested it against.

Presented as the statement is, it is nothing but confirmation bias to those that hear a difference.

Originally Posted by leftside

"All these claims have been proven,

The claims that remains unproven are that the noise reduction in the cord is audibly translated and that human's are capable of hearing the difference as a result. Also, unspoken to is if a difference is perceivable, is this difference consistently "better?"

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If power cords do audibly alter sound that humans can perceive, as better, consistently, speak to that, objectively not with these kinds of statements.

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My approach is much different than most I suspect.
I am not in the camp of either "side."

I understand that each of us has our own reality and if a cable improves the sound to someone, the sound is indeed improved to that person.

So I don't speak against a claim of one who hears improvement.

When posted as a fact, outside of personal perception, I ask for the universality of evidence that only science provides.
Statements such as the one I quoted are very deceitful as they imply one thing while saying another.

[The Sandman]

Originally Posted by eljr

My approach is much different than most I suspect.
I am not in the camp of either "side."

I understand that each of us has our own reality and if a cable improves the sound to someone, the sound is indeed improved to that person.

So I don't speak against a claim of one who hears improvement.

When posted as a fact, outside of personal perception, I ask for the universality of evidence that only science provides.

Makes sense on the face of it but I mostly disagree.

Hearing is a function of perception - the ear detects vibrations and the brain interprets them. Since everyone has a different set of ears and a different brain, perceptions will of necessity vary among individuals.

Logically speaking, in general "audiophile" power cords either can improve the sound or they can't. Short of using something like a PET scanner to see if different brain pathways light up when using different power cords I don't see how you could measure a person's ability to hear a difference - certainly not with the normal array of electrical meters.

So, either some people think they hear an improvement which doesn't actually exist, or other people can't discern the improvement that does exist.

Of course, psychological factors can be a contributing (or confounding) influence, but that's true in both directions. So yes, the mere belief that a fancy, expensive cable will sound better might sway a listener's opinion. But so might the belief that the power cord is just a pipe for flowing electrons and changing the last few feet of cable leading to a component couldn't possibly change the sound.

And perhaps everyone's ears "hear" exactly the same thing, but some brains filter out or add in subtle nuances and other's don't.

Ultimately, each audiophile has to decide for themselves whether or not power cords make a difference, whether or not the difference is an improvement, and whether or not the perceived benefit is worth the cost. This can (for now at least) only be determined by listening - either to the cords themselves or to other audiophiles whose ears you trust. It's not something you can work out "scientifically".

[Mouse]

I think it is something that can be done scientifically.
Imagine a software that can take a recorded song, feed it to a DAC, while measuring accuracy of that song.

I noticed a cleaner drum pattern. The free power cable had a drum that hung around just a tad bit longer, while the high priced cable had a very precise beat.
While it's not so different like comparing two different brands of speakers, it was like the difference between clapping outside with no residual sound, and clapping in my carpeted theater room with no sound treatment (I hear a clap with a little fallout, far less than intentional reverb but audible). Is there audio software that can record, detect, and compare sound waves of a source file and a microphone recording?

[eljr]

Originally Posted by The Sandman

Makes sense on the face of it but I mostly disagree.

Hearing is a function of perception - the ear detects vibrations and the brain interprets them. Since everyone has a different set of ears and a different brain, perceptions will of necessity vary among individuals.

Nice reply, thanks.

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I said, "I understand that each of us has our own reality (perceptions) and if a cable improves the sound to someone, the sound is indeed improved to that person. " You said, "Since everyone has a different set of ears and a different brain, perceptions (reality) will of necessity vary among individuals."

Seems we said the same thing. Just swap "reality" for the word you preferred, "perceptions."

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Once we get into calling our experience a universal truth, without the science behind it, well then, that becomes a different story.

Keep in mind, it's a logical fallacy when one or more examples are claimed as "proof" for a more general statement.

[eljr]

Originally Posted by Mouse

I think it is something that can be done scientifically.

Of course it can and it is, all the time.

level matched double blind tests