Sonic Singnature of Power Cords ????

[rollo]

   So does your  power cord change tonality or just make it quieter ? Does it make it lusher, brighter, fuller, thinner or no harm ?? What difference did you actually hear that made you purchase it ?


charles

[gander]

   So does your  power cord change tonality or just make it quieter ? Does it make it lusher, brighter, fuller, thinner or no harm ?? What difference did you actually hear that made you purchase it ?


charles

Who are you asking?

Gary

[Folsom]

My own designed power cords just make everything more natural sounding. Nuanced. They don't radically change the sound, thank god... I don't need any goofy cords.

[Nick B]

The only time I've ever had a dramatic change was when I had the McCormack amp and I tried
Gary's 8 gauge solid core copper cord. It was a very dramatic improvement in the bass. Gary's current cords sound quite good, but I haven't had the time and inclination to do a serious a/b with my reference cuts. Also, as I don't have subs yet, there isn't much bass to judge with the mini kef LS 50s

[BobM]

Almost any power cord upgrade is going to improve bass over the stock cord. I think that's a given, but sometimes the bass is bloated and sometimes it's tight. Same with the treble. I think different metals in the cable, and especially the connectors, have a big effect on that. In general, here's what I found.

tin plated brass connectors - OK, not the best but better than stock. You will get more, but not necessarily "good" more

copper connectors - this is usually the go-to for most people. It is balanced and can have fine nuance in both the top and bottom ends without becoming tinny or hard, it can certainly sound warmer than other options

gold plated copper - usually helps to smooth out the highs and tighten the bottom a bit more than plain copper, and it is a more solid metal and less prone to bending

rose gold over copper - same as above but with a bit more bloom on the rose, warmer than plain gold

silver connectors - this will definitely open up the top end, sometimes too much. The bottom may sound leaner than copper but it is also much tighter. If your system sounds bloated normally you might want to go here, but if it is already transparent this is too much of a good thing

rhodium connectors - these act like a loudness filter, extending both top and bottom and making them tighter, but it can also be too much of a good thing, except on a subwoofer (meow)

Just what I found in my system. Of course, trying these on a CD player might result in different results than on an amp, or a preamp. It's all about tuning the flavor of an individual component.

[rollo]

  So far Folsom choose a cord that offers no or little color. I agree. Color can be bright, warm, more bass more treble and so on. What I have found over the years is that I desire no color just a quieter background. Then condition line.
The other pet issue is wire Ga. We have 10ga at the wall. We add say an 8 ga. cord  which is connected to much smaller ga inside component. Does different and competing LCR's of wires hinder flow of power ? Would it not be better to use appropriate ga. for current draw of component. Then maximize design with better wire, dielectric, shielding, coatings and  connectors ?


charles

[P.I.]

My own designed power cords just make everything more natural sounding. Nuanced. They don't radically change the sound, thank god... I don't need any goofy cords.