I am a luddite - in other words Mains Cable

[Speedskater]

Painting with far too broad a brush imo. My products are both, thankyouverymuch!

Really????

You need to read some of Jim Brown's, Neil Muncy's and Henry Ott's papers.

 

[TBone]

It all makes a cumulative difference. This is also where the water analogy to electricity breaks down, resistance in an electric circuit is linearly additive but this isn't the case for restricting the flow of water, so a low quality part doesn't necessarily "bottleneck" the system in the way it would the flow of water. However, using too many parts that add their own sound characteristics can definitely mask changes in the system. If you go from source to driver using high quality wire and connectors throughout the system it makes a massive difference.

It most certainly does. I've spent much time realizing that effort.

 

[microstrip]

Really????

You need to read some of Jim Brown's, Neil Muncy's and Henry Ott's papers.

Nice you refer to these authors. In their articles about the pin 1 problem they clearly refer to the problem of RF entering the equipment through cable shields and being radiated inside the unit. They also address the problem that RF generated inside the unit (clocks, etc) can exit the unit and contaminate other equipment. If RF was not an important issue in audio equipment they would not spend their words with it.

 

[DaveC]

Really????

You need to read some of Jim Brown's, Neil Muncy's and Henry Ott's papers.

I'd guess you know I have... but in a high end system there's more to it, the indefinable contribution of conductor material, dielectric and geometry that are difficult to measure/correlate to perceived sound quality. To make good cables it takes an understanding of both imo...

 

[Loheswaran]

Quick update. I decided to run a dedicated circuit off my rcd as the first stage. I used 6mm twin and earth and two mk gang sockets without switches. I cleaned them with deoxit. Electrician told me I have 242 volts goinh through.

It was an interesting change as I did back to back listening against the 'normal' wall socket. At first I thought it very odd. The dedicated seemed slower at first and dare I say it more stogey - so I thought. As time went by and I did comparisons I realised that it was as if it were a good meal cooked by a talented chef in that each ingredient was better delineated and had a distinct and fuller flavour. It was as if time was slowed down.

 

[BE718]

One of the benefits power cable manufacturers tout goes against this. Namely they talk about fast transient response to high current needs of the equipment. Well, anything with fast transients by definition filters less than another cable! You get fast transients because you reduced how much high frequency filtering is happening. That is the opposite of any kind of high frequency filter.

Ok, a power supply would typically be stepped down in voltage by a transformer, rectified to DC, smoothed and bypassed with large caps, voltage regulated, smoothed, bypassed, filtered by further caps then maybe more next to critical components which often have high psrr in themselves.

Why would the fractional difference a funky mains cable could make to the incoming mains impedance have any bearing on the final output impedance of the power supply?

 

[Gregadd]

If "scientist' beleive power cords have no effect, a logical concluusion would be they would not use them for thier own equipment. Right? A cursory Google search appears to indicate the opposite. See, https://www.google.com/search?q=udr...ved=0ahUKEwj8_cuGnITKAhXG1B4KHcniBk8Q_AUIBigB
"Electrical power supply interference can come in a range of forms, such as voltage dips and surges, harmonics, or voltage spikes."

 

[Gregadd]

The best wire is no wire.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/innov...ould-Power-Your-Gadgets-Wirelessly-180950195/

 

[amirm]

Ok, a power supply would typically be stepped down in voltage by a transformer, rectified to DC, smoothed and bypassed with large caps, voltage regulated, smoothed, bypassed, filtered by further caps then maybe more next to critical components which often have high psrr in themselves.

Why would the fractional difference a funky mains cable could make to the incoming mains impedance have any bearing on the final output impedance of the power supply?

The argument some make is the other way around in that the mains cable can filter what the device generates. My point was regarding saying that in one breath and in the next saying it handles transients in power consumption well.

 

[Speedskater]

The argument some make is the other way around in that the mains cable can filter what the device generates. My point was regarding saying that in one breath and in the next saying it handles transients in power consumption well.

Yep, it's an oxymoron. You don't need both power line filters (power conditioners) and cables that deliver high speed transients.

 

[BE718]

The argument some make is the other way around in that the mains cable can filter what the device generates. My point was regarding saying that in one breath and in the next saying it handles transients in power consumption well.

Sorry I may have misinterpreted. I'm interested in exploring some the controversy regarding mains cables.

Ok, can I ask what people think the "problems" are associated with a standard mains cable? With a view to exploring each topic, such as rfi, impedance etc.

I have just nearly got banned from another site for suggesting and discussing this in a technical and disciplined manner. The subjectivist have gone totally crazy and want my head!