Re: [ARSCLIST] Aren't recordings original sources?

[Clark Johnsen <clarkjohnsen@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 6:49 PM, Scott Phillips
<scottp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

>        Just using power / speaker cords of large enough gauge is more
> important than 'super' power cords.


Again, an unsupported assertion by an unexperienced non-user.


> Expensive power cable will make
> things better than 18ga zip cord.... but so would 12ga romex cable from
> inside the walls of your house.


And again...


> Not as pretty looking as mega-bucks
> cables, but effective. A high end stereo 'looks' higher end with nice
> cables, but IMHO it won't sound better as long as good engineering
> practice was used in selecting the appropriate 'normal' cable type and
> size for the job.


[Sigh]

>
>        As always I guess, YMMV...


Of course! So why don't you try driving the models you're criticising?

clark

>
>
> Scott
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
> [mailto:ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tom Fine
> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 5:08 PM
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>  Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Aren't recordings original sources?
>
> Right on RICHARD! Before running out and burning money on cable exotica,
> just wire your rack
> correctly. Very good information on routing, wiring, crosstalk,
> grounding, etc in numerous places.
> The AES website is a good place to start. You can also find a copy of
> Tremaine's "Audiocyclopedia"
> at a decent library or used book store and read the last section of the
> book, which is all about
> racks, patchbays, cabling, etc. All those "golden age" recordings that
> people love so much weren't
> made in mystical places with zillion dollar power cords. They were made
> in well-designed studios
> with proper cabling, grounding and routing -- the techniques of which
> date from Bell System and
> broadcasting research decades earlier.
>
> -- Tom Fine
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard L. Hess" <arclists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, October 16, 2008 4:01 PM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Aren't recordings original sources?
>
>
> > At 03:22 PM 2008-10-16, Clark Johnsen wrote:
> >
> >>See, I can't quite decide what you dislike more, the price (admittedly
> high)
> >>or the very concept that a mere cord (!) could make more difference
> than "a
> >>transformer, or rectifier or
> >>filter". There being no evidence offered, I'll just have to note that
> on all
> >>wide-range high-resolution audio systems I've ever heard, specialty
> power
> >>cords have wrought major improvements. Granted that's just
> observational
> >>data, but it's the only data so far.
> >
> > Hello, Clark,
> >
> > Perhaps we shouldn't discuss audiophile products in this forum as most
> people in this forum have
> > to struggle to find $1000 to spend on a Nakamichi Dragon, we don't
> need them to have the angst
> > that they need to spend another $1000 on the power cord or they'll be
> missing something. They will
> > get far more improvement out of the purchase of a Nakamichi Dragon or
> a CR7 to play their
> > cassettes than changing the power cord on their Sony cassette machine.
> >
> > I would like to have an engineering explanation of what makes a $500+
> power cord worth more than
> > the $20 one that is typically supplied with industrial-strength
> computer servers.
> >
> > There are only a few electrical and mechanical properties that can be
> altered by the power cord. I
> > think the following is a fairly complete list:
> >   Electrical: Resistance, Capacitance, Inductance, Characteristic
> Impedance of the line,
> > shielding, contact resistance at both ends.
> >   Mechanical: can it withstand X number of insertion/withdrawal cycles
> and will it fall out in
> > use?
> >
> > Considering the variability of the power wiring in the walls, the last
> six feet has only a limited
> > opportunity to make any change to the sound of the component, and if a
> device is properly
> > designed, the minor parameter variations that typical differences in
> power cords present are far
> > less than the variations in building wiring.
> >
> > I think that power cord ROUTING (which doesn't cost much -- a few
> dollars' worth of Velcro cable
> > ties perhaps) is a far better place to spend one's effort than buying
> expensive power cords with
> > insignificant measurable differences. Power cords can crosstalk into
> audio cables.
> >
> > Any equipment other than a power amplifier that sounds better due to a
> power cord's parameters is
> > defective in design or current operation. The power supply should
> isolate the internal circuitry
> > from variations in supply current far greater than that caused by
> differences in the power cable.
> >
> > In an audio power amplifier, the above is also true with the exception
> that if the power cord is
> > causing a reduction in voltage at the amplifier under load, then it
> should be replaced with a
> > lower-loss one, which is typically available for $20 or so.
> >
> > Since there are no published performance specifications for any of the
> cords that I have seen,
> > let's look at a worst-case scenario. If the "bad" power cord has a
> total of one-ohm resistance (or
> > let's even say impedance at 60 Hz), and you have a device drawing one
> amp, then this power cord
> > will add a voltage drop of one volt which is less than 1% of the power
> line voltage. Typical
> > voltage variations are +/- 5% in most areas, with some going down to
> -10% at high load times. In
> > addition, in most industrial buildings, the maximum voltage drop in
> the feeders (2%) plus the
> > branch circuits (3%) also adds up to 5%, so it's quite easy to see
> that the power SUPPLY can have
> > perhaps a +5%/-10% variation and still be within specification. We
> hope it's better than that, but
> > less than 1% from the power cord (and I suspect far less than that)
> should not make a difference.
> >
> > And yes, in an era where we are facing a significant recession and
> possibly even a depression and
> > in the era that is just past where we were flush with money but there
> were still homeless people
> > on the streets of Canada and the U.S.A., I think it unconscionable
> that people would purchase
> > these outrageously priced accessories with such a dubious improvement.
> >
> > I also think it unconscionable that this amount of money is being
> spent on toys when similar
> > quantities of funds could be sent to archives (and receive a tax
> break) so they could preserve
> > at-risk sound recordings of cultural and historic primary sources,
> despite the fact that primary
> > sources aren't allowed on Wikipedia (for good reason, as I said).
> >
> > If you wish to spend your money on this and you have decided you can
> hear a difference, that's
> > great, but I'd like you to think about the difference you hear and
> equate it with the homeless on
> > the streets, or tapes which are rotting with no funds to transfer
> them.
> >
> > Cheers,
> >
> > Richard
> >
> >
> > Richard L. Hess                   email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Aurora, Ontario, Canada       (905) 713 6733     1-877-TAPE-FIX
> > Detailed contact information:
> http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
> > Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
>