Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat The Old Snake Oil topic

Several years ago we had some good discussions about power cables

Do they make a difference?
How ?
Is it all in our heads ?

etc

Interesting to read that Paul McGowan still wrestles with it.

Some cables just look great and will definitely impress other people just by the looks of it.

The way I look at this in a simple way.

From the entry in my house up to the wall socket it is hard wired, simple copper. 3 hardwires or sometimes more through a plastic guiding tube. That is how it is done in The Netherlands as standard practice in every home. I make sure my connections stay clean. I used to have a analogue and digital separation, but not anymore. I favor to keep, it hardwired up to the device and used shielded VMVK groundcable for that, just not practicle to be honest it will hardly bend.

The only further logic I can see is to use shielded cable, keep it short as possible and of sufficient mm2 but that is not scientific proven.

In my DSP5k manual M advised to use 2 separate sockets for the 2 speakers to get the best performance, that is not written in my DSP7200.2 manual.

So yes, I also would be interested to read if someone has breakthrough experience.

Yep, they make you poorer. Benefits debatable.

A man take the numbers from a rectangular plasticy thing and the money disappears out of your account.

No, they have definitely got your money.

Sorry couldn't resist

I was just about to post this, really enjoyed the last 3 days of his blog, very interesting.

Reminds me of how the cricket commentators try an explain where swing comes from. No-one really knows but there are theories.

Ok... I know I am off-topic but just had to get the cricket in somewhere.

I believe there is some merit. Most of it comes from the fact that high quality power cables are correctly terminated, don't tarnish, maintain tight connections, are properly ground and have decent shielding. I think you can get all this for a decent price. My view is, if I have a 5-10k piece of equipment, I am not going to quibble over a $20 V's $200 power cable. Now, I think your nuts to drop 2000,unless it's gold. If it's gold, please tell me where you live...
I built my own, using very heavy gauge furutech cables and connections. Cost was around 200 cable, seems comparable to cables several times this price. It makes a difference in my system. I would note that I have a equ=tech power processor.

I suspect that a properly shielded cable may be of benefit to the rest of the system if your setup doesn't allow very careful placement of low-level analog signal cables.

Huh?

It's conservation of rotational momentum, inelastic collisions and an interface between laminar and turbulent flow.

Pretty much the same thing applies to swing in a cricket delivery.

PS This being on the internet, I fully expect to find that sentence used in the marketing for a $100/ft cable at some point!

"Everything matters". Money may be better spent having a good electrician test the house wiring/earth.

(where's Ian?)

Doesn't the Reynolds Number come into it too?
D

I think that's included in the

though I would have said transition rather than interface...

At last a discussion of fluid dynamics... this will descend into drinking soon

Chris

PS. I did like the blog - a shining example that for all our modern technology we still don't know a whole shed load of stuff.

IME they can make a noticeable difference, but it is somewhat system dependent, and mains quality/house wiring dependent. Also, some are better designed than others. I've extensively used the Russ Andrews woven ones, and, in my case, at least as much benefit came from following his (excellent, and free) tips regarding making sure the general house wiring/earthing are all in good shape, checking for loose connections, keeping contacts clean, using a dedicated low impedance ring-main, etc., etc.

I still use the ones I already have on my sources, etc., but haven't bought 3m pair runs for my DSPs yet, as my funds are still recovering from Meridian purchases At the moment I'm using a good quality, heavy gauge mains cable (nothing fancy, just as meaty as possible) and using WattGate connectors both ends (which are excellent, heavy gauge contacts and plated too, etc.) along with Euro sockets to get rid of fuses, and it works well. That said, if I get an injection of funds, I personally would buy some RA powerkords, having experienced the difference before.

In terms of the points raised about lack of measurements, and proof, etc. on the original link, the RA vs ASA case was, in fact, quite interesting, as they did go and measure the effect the cables were having - (RA Test Results). IMO the ASA acted inappropriately the second time around, more like a witch hunt than an honest, normal investigation (which doesn't surprise me after witnessing the huge flame wars which seem to erupt on certain forums - not here, I might add - when this subject is broached). An interesting discussion about this can be found here - WHF Forum Thread.

IIRC, in terms of the measurements, the particular mains cable in question, a woven RA/Kimber designed cable, in various AWG and braid patterns rejected an increasing amount of RFI in the MHz band. However, it had a 'comb' type pattern to it, and that was the basis of the newer 'sawyer disc' design, I believe, which attempted to smooth that out and provide a better, more broadband rejection, although I haven't tried that design.