ESP POWER CORD AND XOTIC BASS RC BOOSTER-WOW!!!!!!

[bottomzone]

I was recently blessed to acquire an Essential Sound Products(ESP) MusicCord and an Xotic Bass RC Booster. Here is my review and comments on these AMAZING PRODUCTS. First, an edited version of an email that I sent to Michael Griffin of ESP.


In all honesty, despite the very sound science and
engineering behind the ESP cords, I was skeptical about really detecting any
actual audible difference. There is good news and bad news. The good news is
THE CLAIMS HAVE BEEN EMPIRICALLY DEMONSTRATED TO MY EARS!!!!!!!!!! The bad
news is I AM HOOKED ON THE CORD!!!!!!!!!!! Here is a brief description of
my experiments and real world use.

The day that my MusicCord arrived, I opened the box and was blown away-and
that was just with the bag-VERY NICE TOUCH!!! The cord is what I
expected -BIG! I plugged in my SWR Workingman's 10 combo bass amp using the
stock power cord and played my Ken Smith Black Tiger 5 for a few minutes. I
then switched to the MusicCord and powered my amp back on and played without
making any adjustments on my bass or amp. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.........something
is different about the sound. I was initially disappointed with the
MusicCord because there was what I thought was a lack of bass response. I
repeated the experiment again, this time recording the results using my Zoom
H4 recorder. After doing repeated A/B listening of the recording, I figured
out what was happening. There was not a lack of bass response as a result of
using the MusicCord-THE BASS WAS TIGHTER AND MORE DEFINED!!!! NOT ONLY THAT,
THERE WAS MORE OVERALL CLARITY THAT I DID NOT EVEN REALIZE I WAS
MISSING!!!!! Cool!!! Now, onto the real world test-playing in church on
Sunday with the choir and band, including the dreaded Leslie organ speaker
cabinet just a few feet away from my amp setup. My set up consists of a
Euphonic Audio Micro 300 amp, a Schroeder Mini 10 +L bass cabinet and a
Furman power conditioner. During the first service, I replaced the stock
power cord with the MusicCord. I have never really had any problems hearing
myself and everything sounded good-REAL GOOD!!! Between the first and second
service, I unplugged the MusicCord, plugged the stock cord back in and
played a few notes. I COULD NOT UNPLUG THE STOCK CORD AND REPLACE IT WITH
THE MUSICCORD FAST ENOUGH!!!!!! Even with the clarity of my setup, the
MusicCord removed a veil that I did not know existed!!!!!! After second
service while packing up my gear, one of the choir singers, who is also on
the pastoral staff, approached me. He mentioned that normally here can here
my bass along with the organ (which is way to loud by most accounts!). This time, even though he was behind me, he
could hear my bass just like he was right in front of me!!!!

In summation, the MusicCord has passed the test, Michael!!!!!! I am a firm
believer in your products and will tell as many people as I can about the
MusicCord.

Now, the Xotic Bass RC Booster. To make a long story short-THIS THING IS THE BOMB!!!!!!! What it does is make your bass sound BIGGER without adding or subtracting to the sound-CLEANLY!!! Here is a great demonstration by Melvin Lee Davis:

http://www.prosoundcommunications.co...vis/index.html

So, if you are satisfied with your current set up and would like to improve the clarity and impact of your sound, you owe it to yourself to check out these products. WARNING-THEY ARE ADDICTIVE!!!!


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

[bongomania]

It is truly amazing how our brains are able to convince themselves they perceive what they expect to perceive. It is literally impossible for a power cord to improve the performance of your amp, unless the stock power cord was faulty or inadequate. This has been proven repeatedly in many blind tests and by the analysis of independent engineers. The only "documentation" to the contrary is in the marketing materials for the company that sells the cables.

Please understand I am not at all trying to put you down; it's just that these cables have been shown to be fraudulent over and over again.

[PhatBasstard]

Originally Posted by bongomania

It is truly amazing how our brains are able to convince themselves they perceive what they expect to perceive. It is literally impossible for a power cord to improve the performance of your amp, unless the stock power cord was faulty or inadequate. This has been proven repeatedly in many blind tests and by the analysis of independent engineers. The only "documentation" to the contrary is in the marketing materials for the company that sells the cables.

Please understand I am not at all trying to put you down; it's just that these cables have been shown to be fraudulent over and over again.

+++++1
.....but subscribed anyway. This will be fun.
(...do I hear a "Tara Labs" in the distance?)

[Alcyon]

ho boy.

[Mudfuzz]

I'm with Bongo and Phat.

[theory028]

That's the edited version of your email to him?

I don't buy it, but at least your happy with the products. I suppose that's what really counts

[Nyarlathotep]

Originally Posted by PhatBasstard

subscribed .... This will be fun.

+1 to that. Was Tera Labs the really expensive ethernet cable that promised to make your digital music sound better? Or am I thinking of something different?

Placebo effect = LOL

[dannybuoy]

If you recorded an A/B test with the power cord, why not share the clips and set up a poll to let us guess which is which?

[Nyarlathotep]

If he put up clips I (or anybody) could just view 'em in something like Audacity and compare wave forms

[PhatBasstard]

Originally Posted by dannybuoy

If you recorded an A/B test with the power cord, why not share the clips and set up a poll to let us guess which is which?

Hey!
Urban Legends are no fun when you start asking for actual facts.
Killjoy.

[dannybuoy]

Originally Posted by bongomania

It is truly amazing how our brains are able to convince themselves they perceive what they expect to perceive.

This is true, there have been many experiments done to prove it. I read about one where they got a bunch of wine connossieurs together and gave them 2 glasses of the same white wine to drink, but one with dark red food colouring added. They described the white using words such as 'floral', 'crisp', etc. and the red as 'spicy', 'full-bodied' and basically nobody realised it wasn't even red wine! Basically, they tasted it the way their brains expected it to taste.

There's a lot of parallels with the way wine buffs talk about flavour and audio buffs describe sound!

[scotch]

I found that Cryogenically treating my MusicCord really brought out the latent midrange detail that my other power cables were not producing. By freezing the MusicCord, the nano molecular structure is aligned producing better phase coherence and a pleasant earthy aroma!


Sorry, just kidding.... I'm trying to be more open-minded these days, but an ac cord for well over $100 just isn't going to happen in this economy! I'm glad the op is enjoying his though....

[bottomzone]

I, too, never believed that a power cord could have an effect and laughed everytime I read a Stereophile review claiming such and I did not expect to hear any audible difference. I expected to try the cord out for a while and send it back before 30 days were up and get a refund. Not only did I hear a difference, but people who are not musicians and didn't even know I switched cords could hear the difference! I intend to post the clips soon.


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

[diechris]

Originally Posted by bottomzone

I, too, never believed that a power cord could have an effect and laughed everytime I read a Stereophile review claiming such and I did not expect to hear any audible difference. I expected to try the cord out for a while and send it back before 30 days were up and get a refund. Not only did I hear a difference, but people who are not musicians and didn't even know I switched cords could hear the difference! I intend to post the clips soon.


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

when you post clips... make then discrete(ex: clip1, clip2)then tell someone(me for instance..but doesnt matter really) which clip is which and let the rest of the people decided which sounds better. just so that no one can have any doubt in the answer.

[bongomania]

Originally Posted by bottomzone

I, too, never believed that a power cord could have an effect and laughed everytime I read a Stereophile review claiming such and I did not expect to hear any audible difference. I expected to try the cord out for a while and send it back before 30 days were up and get a refund. Not only did I hear a difference, but people who are not musicians and didn't even know I switched cords could hear the difference!

You consciously didn't expect to hear a difference, but you knew you just spent a lot of money on a cable and were listening for a difference. Even if consciously you were saying to yourself that there would be no difference, the fact is your brain had already predisposed itself to assume that there could be a difference, and that you would be able to hear it. Therefore you heard a difference.

I'll even speculate that you were excited by that new, revitalized tone, and it made you play with more confidence and enthusiasm, and that made everyone else think you sounded better. Especially if you were playing more energetically, it has been shown over and over again that if a tester plays the same sound sample to listeners twice, but make it a little bit louder one of the times, people will always say the slightly louder one sounded better, "clearer", "fuller", "deeper", "richer", etc.

Here is a relevant article I have handy:
http://www.moultonlabs.com/weblog/mo..._blind_testing
I'll post some more soon.

[bongomania]

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...hp/t45432.html
Several good links within that thread.

[afroman]

I do agree that the Xotic RC Bass Booster is amazing. I got one based on a guitarrist friend who had the guitar AC Booster and I love it. I don't use it as a booster but as an essential part of my sound. It does make your signal hotter and louder, but aside from that, it's your tone w/o any changes but clearer, more defined, more presence, just a better overall version of your original sound.

As soon as you turn it off , you just press it back on again.
Highly recommend it. Expensive but it's a very high-quality piece of gear and even use it for recording.

On the other hand, even if the power cord thing worked... $130????
No thanks

[RHFusillo]

I did a little google search yesterday for high-end power cables. It was pretty shocking. Some people are selling $4000 power cables!

P.S. Xotic makes good stuff. I like their Tri-Sonic bass preamp.

[barium]

I always thought this was the most... Uh... Weird audiophile claim... How does a few feet of super-duper-high grade cable help after the massive amount of old, cheap copper cable that's in your house walls?

[bongomania]

Exactly. That is one of the (many) fundamental flaws in the premise.