The Dark Art Of Power Cords - December 2022

This month I am going to venture into one of the dark arts of audio and video: Power Cords. Like interconnects and speaker cables, there are as many naysayers as there are believers. But, power cords remain the most mysterious of them all. For the record, I do believe cords, power, speaker, and interconnects do make a difference. The question is does it make it better?

Over my 50 years of playing with audio and video, only power cords continue to remain the difficult one to predict. Two of my friends in the industry, Frank Culmoni and Mike Moffat of both California Audio Labs and Theta Digital (Mike now does Schitt Audio), have played with power cords. Frank has a double engineering degree from MIT so most likely to understand what they do. His conclusion was, ultimately, yes they do make a difference and he has no understanding why they have such a sonic impact in musicality, spatial, or otherwise. Some were, at the other end of the spectrum, completely undesirable on all counts. This has lead many manufacturers to use some basic power cord (for both cost and political reasons) as well as controversy with customers.

One of my early experiences in trying to understand them came from Bryston Electronics. They chose a heavy cord but one that was also shielded as designated on the cable with the letters SJT. It was their thought that if there was any sonic difference, it was not the power cord itself causing it but rather the leakage of RF from the power cord into nearby interconnects. It made a lot of sense and remains the most logically accurate answer.

However, as years went on, I began to play with power cords from all sorts of manufacturers and some even home brewed. Like Frank and Mike, I began to experience that each cable was capable of having all sorts of effects, some very desirable, some not so much. In addition, there were cases where the stock power cord supplied by the manufacturer was, in fact, the best of all. Likewise, the price of the power cord provided no practical guide into the results. Thus, cheap ones could perform as well or better than expensive ones and visa versa.

Likewise, what may deliver desired results on a preamp failed miserably on a power amplifier, what worked on a power amplifier was a disaster on a subwoofer and the list goes on and on. Even more confusing was the influence of a combination of them within a system and, again, I really don’t know why. So, where does this leave this mysterious subject?

Simple: Experimentation within your own system. To that end, Audible Elegance has loaner power cords for you to try, if you so wish. We have a limited number of them so be patient if you need to wait your turn. Straight Wire has two versions, actually. One more stranded than the other. The less stranded one is targeted towards items that draw a heavy amount of current. Wireworld and Cardas also produce a range of power chords as well and we have a few of them about. We do require a pre-authorization on your credit card for both our protection and that the borrower is encouraged to do the testing promptly and not become a forgotten item on a shelf. Others are waiting to try them too.

In a nutshell, no, I don’t promote one brand over another. No, I don’t believe one company holds the magic answer either which are words they don’t like to hear but, it’s the truth. Can power cords make a difference? Absolutely. In some cases through experience, we can be pretty accurate in a recommendation if we have had the chance to play with the product combination multiple times with the same results. But across the industry? No way. Even then, there can be cases where what you receive as electric for your house could affect the results. Maddening, isn’t it?

So, if you want to see what they can do for you (or to you) it is best to borrow them first from whoever or wherever you live. If they make the effort to loan you some, then please reward them with the purchase if you like them. These are the people who care about you and the results. Mail order houses are nothing more than McDonalds in that regard. Give me your card, here’s your stuff, and you have so many days to return it. After that, we don’t care.

Happy Listening as always.

-Lou

The Forgotten Element - November 2022

As we approach winter and the heating season, I thought it timely to make you think about an important element: Water.

As your heaters begin to work, one of the common side effects of their use, more so than air conditioning, is the drying out of your home. You notice this with door jams, cabinets, and all sorts of things. For those of us who have pianos, controlled humidity is essential to preserve adhesives of different materials to wood like the felt on a hammer to the wood used to hold it. Sudden change in humidity sets off rapid contractions that may disrupt the attachment of adhesives. It can, as well, affect speakers erupting in the sudden appearance of unforeseen rattles or buzzes.

The most common experience involves you: static shock. This frequently happens as you walk across a carpet and touch a metal object that is grounded. ZAP! With today’s electronics and touch panels, I have seen where they become “locked up” by such a static shock. 99% of the time, simply turning off the product and turning it back on will suffice to bring it back to life. Sometimes you may also need to unplug the device for a few minutes and then start the product again.

Another common area this happens is with playing LPs, records, vinyl or whatever term you have for those black discs (fun intended on that one). Some companies have made a nice living by selling things like specially treated felt mats to static guns like Zerostat. They can work pretty well. But, I would like to suggest an entirely different approach, one that is inexpensive and can be healthy for you (those who suffer nose bleeds know this) IF DONE RIGHT.

It is called adding humidity. There are humidifiers, vaporizers, and even pretty cool lighted fountains. All of these are capable of solving humidity levels in your home. Along with one of these you should have a humidity monitor and these are very cheap and sold all over the place. I sell them as well and try to keep my house to 30 to 40% during the winter months.

Now, and this is really important, you MUST care for these devices using water. Not only should you use distilled water to avoid damaging the unit with mineral deposits but you also need to use some form of anti-bacterial treatment once in awhile and preferably, weekly. For vaporizers, cleaning with a little bleach is quite effective. Now some folks might flinch at spending a little for safety but given today’s medical charges, it’s incredibly cheap. If you have a humidifier on your furnace, remember to keep that clean as well. Remember, chlorinated water is only effective for so long and just add a bit of airborne dirt or dander and that pretty much finishes that. Just think about your pet’s water dish outside and you get the picture.

So, as always, happy and safe listening! -Lou

A Few Basic Rules For Speaker Cables - October 2022

First off, I am not going to venture into the controversial world of brands, designs, sound, and such.

There are a thousand different opinions with millions of participants all using all sorts of terms, which, if spoken to a real musician or band, would leave them wondering what drug you were using to either buy it or avoid it.

Instead I want to address some basic fundamentals. In general, speaker cable lengths should be kept to a minimum. The longer the length, the greater the resistance. This typically starts to really show up in most basic systems once you exceed about 10 feet. There are certainly important differences at shorter lengths with more serious systems. As you exceed 10’ there is a growing loss of clarity, again, with most receivers or amplifiers. This is because most amplifiers are designed around an 8 ohm load. So, adding 2 or more ohms can be, and often is, a significant proportional change. One of the ways around longer cable lengths if one has a preamp to power amp combination, is to use long interconnects from the preamplifier to the amplifier. Preamps are usually designed around the 50 to 100 thousand ohm load so adding a few ohms here or there has electrically very little impact.

Another typical issue is excess cable length for all sorts of reasons. The common mistake is to neatly coil up that excess and stuff it some place. This is a bad idea. Depending upon the excess length and the tightness of the coil, you end up creating an inductor. Inductors store energy in a magnetic field and in the process oppose any changes in current through them. In short, the amplifier ends up working harder to achieve the volume you want while also affecting both dynamics and clarity. So, what do you do? Well, go to the hardware store, buy some wire ties and lap the cable back and forth on top of itself and tie it tight. This is not a perfect solution but certainly substantially better than creating a coil.

Q: So, Lou, do you know of any tricks particularly when dealing with different cable lengths for stereo and home theater? Glad you asked. Yes, but you need to do a little homework or work with a good dealer. Depending upon the lengths, you change, with proper electrical calculations, the gauge of the wire. Shorter runs will have a lighter gauge than longer ones, basically. Some manufacturers do make different cables that allow you to do this easily. Others may not.

Just one more thing and I have seen this recently. How about splicing cables? Ah, no! You end up creating all sorts of issues the least of which is the potential for creating a short and blowing up the amplifier section of whatever you are using. At the very least, a fuse can be blown. At worst, a wonderful pyrotechnic display.

There truly is a great deal more to talk about when it comes to speaker cables after 40 years of experience but that is best covered in my store as it can vary case by case. Lou