Forums - Print Page

Forums
https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl
AUDIO FORUMS >> General Discussion and Support >> Power cords
https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1788742469

Message started by Donnie on 09/07/26 at 01:54:29

Title: Power cords
Post by Donnie on 09/07/26 at 01:54:29

OK, now something a little more controversial.
Power cords, do you really hear a difference?

I'll be the devil's advocate here, sorry I hear zero difference.
I've tried 4 different power cords on at least 5 amplifiers and hear absolutely nothing different in any case.

I will say that I do hear subtle changes in speaker cables, but I'm talking power cables now.

So tell me about the remarkable differences that you hear with power cables. I'm not going to discount what you are hearing, but I sure don't hear a difference.

Go ahead and pile on me, I have broad shoulders and a recent hearing check that said I can still hear remarkably well for a 65 year old man.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Kahuna Jack on 09/07/26 at 04:26:44

I bought a big pile of various power cables just to settle this very debate for myself. My Decware gear gets whatever fits the snuggest and lays out comfortably in routing. This is just first stage of exploration.
I thought maybe my modest headphone rig I listen to may give me a better shot at hearing differences. SMSL PL200 cd player into a Topping DX5II amp with Verum v1 and v2 headphones. Ive swapped out power cables to the SMSL cd player only.
So far if I hear differences?? I question and second guess what I think it is im hearing. I really dont know what differences Im hearing so I guess the short answer is .... no, I dont think I hear any difference in power cables.... yet.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by armstdav on 09/07/26 at 06:08:28

I've never purchased an expensive power cord but I've had a few be included with equipment I've bought, and for me expensive means $100-200, not $1,000-2,000 or more. For anything that draws significant current and/or needs shielding the "expensive" cords definitely outperform the usual 18GA pieces of crap most OEMs provide. But none of them outperform this one, even now that they're $42; back in the day I bought them for $17:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DK2BB6M?lv=shuf&channelId=510&plpRedirect=mhFallback

As always. YMMV.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Lon on 09/07/26 at 09:59:37

I hear clear and distinct differences in power cabling, have for thirty years or so--my whole journey with Decware and PS Audio. Clear, distinct differences in tonal balance and dynamics and fine detail.

In a way I'm quite envious of those who don't.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by PointThatThing on 09/07/26 at 10:08:55

I’m yet to hear any difference in power cables, power distribution board, massive upgrade. Cable looks pretty but no noticeable sonic benefit, for me

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Ghostship on 09/07/26 at 13:45:13

I think first we need to ensure a clean power supply; a solid gold straw will still suck up dirty water.

Next, connect that clean power to your components without adding electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio-frequency interference (RFI). Whether $25, $2500, or $25,000, if your power cord doesn't address this, it is simply an expensive antenna.

Routing. If your cords, interconnects and cables look like an octopus orgy, your sound quality will suffer.

Fuse. Audiophile fuses or fuse replacements pay huge dividends. If you haven't addressed this weakest link in the power chain, you may not experience audible differences in cables.

Then deal with the current delivery. Amplifiers need instant, unconstrained current during large dynamic shifts or deep bass hits. So, select a power cable that uses lower-resistance metals and optimized geometries to prevent current compression.

Finally, pay attention to the strands and separation...solid-core conductors that are insulated from each other tend to result in improved sound quality over twisted strands assembled close together.

So, if your quality power cable addresses these areas regardless of price, you should hear a lower noise floor, darker background, increased dynamics, and better bass.

If not, at any price, you probably won't experience any improvement in sound quality, and it is very possible that an expensive cable actually sounds worse.

Anecdotally, I have used inexpensive cables, audiophile inexpensive cables, Decware cables, and expensive cables from Audioquest and Synergistic Research. I achieved noticeable sound quality improvements the more criteria are addressed in the design.

AudioQuest performs an amazing demonstration of their cables. They simply play music with their lower-end cables, and then progressively swap them out, technology level by technology level, until they reach their top of the line. This clearly ended the "do cables matter" debate for me.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Donnie on 09/07/26 at 14:07:34

The answers so far have me thinking a little deeper into this question.
How closely do we listen? What do we discern as a change, and what is the difference between hearing nothing and hearing a drastic change?

As I can only speak for myself, I will try to describe what I listen for and take as a change in sound.

I will preface this by saying that while I listen to a lot of music every day, probably 90% of it is of a background type of listening, I listen while I do other things and also when I am mindlessly thinking things through.

But when I really listen for "real" my attention is on the music and I try to block everything else out. Actually that is one of the biggest things I like about listening to music, the ability to shut my thoughts down for a bit to keep my mind from racing.

OK, that was a lot of explanation of mostly unrelated stuff, but I want to describe my mindset.

My listening centers around sound envelopment, how the sound transforms the room to a completely different place, where it doesn't sound like the room that I'm currently in. There is also a sparkle that I am looking for, hard to describe but I know it immediately when I hear it.
The sparkle is a upper midrange sound that for whatever reason makes the sound come alive for me. Weird but true.

So back to the question at hand, I've never experienced a difference in those qualities when I've changed power chords. I wish I had, after spending a couple of hundred bucks it would be nice to hear it change something.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Ghostship on 09/07/26 at 15:20:49

Donnie, for that I'd recommend a full loom of Decware DHC2 power cords at a minimum, Synergistic Research Atmosphere fuses in at least your DAC and Amp, and then if you aren't hearing the sparkle, switch to a speaker cable that separates the high frequencies from the bass, such as those made by AudioQuest (Robinhood Zero, or Dragon series at $34k+ if you can afford it). Or, if your speakers are designed for it, their Bi-Wire options would be even better.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Lon on 09/07/26 at 15:33:52

Ghostship wrote on 09/07/26 at 13:45:13:

Very good points.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by CAJames on 09/07/26 at 16:24:06

I agree you can't talk about power cords with out including (at least) clean power and fuses. Just like the rest of your system the power distribution is only as good as the weak link. If you're using e.g. basic glass fuses I don't think any power cable is going to make much of a difference. At least I didn't hear any difference in power cables before I got a good power source and better sounding fuses. And of course your system needs to be able to resolve all that stuff.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Geno on 09/07/26 at 16:44:37

One of the more noticeable upgrades I’ve had in this journey was with a power cable.

I had been using Zu Audio power cables for several years - 2 different models - and thought they sounded fine. On a whim, I decided to try one of Steve’s. I’m not trying to discredit Zu, or shine a special light on Decware, but there was a VERY noticeable improvement.

Placebo you say? Maybe, but my doctor assured me that he got all of that out of my ears [smiley=cool.gif]

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by Hearafter on 09/08/26 at 00:56:44

Well my take is Yes and No. It really depends on many factors as listed by Ghostship +1. Going from stock cord to any reasonably higher quality constructed cord I have easily heard improvement. If all your dirty power is addressed, your system is revealing and your cables are not already high quality differences are evident to varying degrees. Now if all the above is met and you have quality cables then my experience it is hard to hear much of a difference when stepping up. Note: I have only experienced cables in the $100’s not $1000’s. For me, once you have good quality power cables it seems difficult to hear much of a difference with upgrading PC’s. Below is my experience which cables make the most significant improvement when upgrading: 1- USB 2- IC’s /Umbilical 3-Speaker 4-PC 5- Ethernet

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by MM on 09/08/26 at 03:30:19

The only thing I would add is that when I got my SEWE300b I tried over a dozen different PC’s- stock, DIY, Chi-fi, and brand name- and there was a difference in hum over 10db among them. I have been using a DIY PC that was the quietest, though the second quietest one sounds a little better. So there’s that aspect too.

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by PointThatThing on 09/08/26 at 06:54:23

My power cable “rolling” was all done prior to adding power conditioning. Thinking maybe I should revisit the power cables now that the system has lifted so much with the cleaner power. I hadn’t considered that before but Ghostship has alerted me to what I may have missed in the dirty powered system

Title: Re: Power cords
Post by MikeinMontana on 09/08/26 at 14:52:23

'OK, now something a little more controversial.
Power cords, do you really hear a difference?'

Just make sure you spend more ::)

Of course it'll be amazing!