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A $1,000 power cable?!

#142
I'm considering getting one of these as the electric utility is now offering premium service with cryogenic treated electrons which have also been aged in silver foil electrolytic capacitors for 3 months. They told me my lights would burn brighter, the actresses on my tv would be prettier and my music will now have a visual quality to it.
They also include free kool aid.
 
#143
Seriously, NEV375 nails it. The math and science of electricity is well known, prove-able and repeatable. When manufacturers start laying on the voodoo BS, one should strip away the BS and look at reality. There are solid concepts, such as audio cable resistance, capacitance and inductance, and with passive pickups and passive electronics, they can be real issues. A cable that promises "fuller low end" may just be a high capacitance cable that is rolling off your high end and lowering the resonant peak of your pickups.

How can a 6 foot power cable make a difference after all that Nev375 lays out...the wiring in your house, or the club, all the wire from the substation to the bar, the breakers, the outlets etc? It's BS and nothing but BS. I don't care if Victor Wooten can "hear" a difference, it's still BS.

Much of what's touted in cable design and construction might even be true...at radio frequencies (skin effect, etc) but at the frequencies of a guitar or bass, forget it.

With a guitar cable, capacitance, flexibility, % shielding...these are important. With active instruments, capacitance is pretty meaningless as the low impedance output of the instrument isolates the pickups from the loading effects of the cable.

I usually use a pretty stout power cord for my bass head. On occasion I just grab whatever from the cord box. The thinner ones make no audible difference and that is no surprise. The one I usually use is the right length for most of my gigs. It makes me feel better that it's a larger, more robust cable. It makes no real difference in the operation of the amp.
 
#144
Major Softie said:
So, does that mean you can explain what it means that the Anaconda Alpha Helix delivers unmatched "authority?" :eyebrow:
Click to expand...

I wish I could :p
I can't also explains where it does actually deliver the dimension, might be intriguing... :eyebrow:


Steve Dallman said:
Seriously, NEV375 nails it. The math and science of electricity is well known, prove-able and repeatable. When manufacturers start laying on the voodoo BS, one should strip away the BS and look at reality. There are solid concepts, such as audio cable resistance, capacitance and inductance, and with passive pickups and passive electronics, they can be real issues. A cable that promises "fuller low end" may just be a high capacitance cable that is rolling off your high end and lowering the resonant peak of your pickups.

How can a 6 foot power cable make a difference after all that Nev375 lays out...the wiring in your house, or the club, all the wire from the substation to the bar, the breakers, the outlets etc? It's BS and nothing but BS. I don't care if Victor Wooten can "hear" a difference, it's still BS.

Much of what's touted in cable design and construction might even be true...at radio frequencies (skin effect, etc) but at the frequencies of a guitar or bass, forget it.

With a guitar cable, capacitance, flexibility, % shielding...these are important. With active instruments, capacitance is pretty meaningless as the low impedance output of the instrument isolates the pickups from the loading effects of the cable.

I usually use a pretty stout power cord for my bass head. On occasion I just grab whatever from the cord box. The thinner ones make no audible difference and that is no surprise. The one I usually use is the right length for most of my gigs. It makes me feel better that it's a larger, more robust cable. It makes no real difference in the operation of the amp.
Click to expand...

+1
Jaco only needed 4 dollar power cords :)
 
#146
Steve Dallman said:
How can a 6 foot power cable make a difference after all that Nev375 lays out...the wiring in your house, or the club, all the wire from the substation to the bar, the breakers, the outlets etc?
Click to expand...

Well, the answer you'll get from golden-eared audiophile cable believers is that the equipment the power cable is hooked up to only "sees" the last few feet of the power feed. Apparently...:rollno:
 
#148
seamonkey said:
I tried one. I couldn't hear a difference. So I called the manufacturer. They suggested I stare at the cable when I plug it in. Turns out that you need to see it plugged in or it doesn't work. Tried that but my lying ears still couldn't tell a difference. The manufacturer suggested that it could possessed by demons. Sounded as plausible as anything, who am I going to believe my lying ears or demons?

So I called in an exorcist from Craig's list. All the ebay exorcists were busy with guitar cables. The exorcist came out and lot's of chanting and smokey stuff, really thick smokey stuff, and sure enough the magic from this cable started working. I could actually see dancing lights emanating from the cable as I played. It could have been demons were gone, or maybe scientifically the smoke cut off the oxygen to the copper in the cable and let it magically work? Scientifically knowledgeable on TB would know which one of these answers was the scientific answer. Me? I was just happy it worked. So happy that I was just happy in general. Happy Happy.

A couple of days later all the smoke cleared and again I couldn't hear a difference. It's like the demons came back. Somehow the smoke also clouded my memory, but never my hearing of course. Seems I forgot to pay the exorcist. Now I understand Gram's saying about "Remember to pay your exorcist or you'll get repossessed!" :hiding:
Click to expand...

The power of bass compels you!

The power of bass compels you!

Uh oh.........the headstock on my bass just did a 360!
 
#149
spankdaplank said:
I'm considering getting one of these as the electric utility is now offering premium service with cryogenic treated electrons which have also been aged in silver foil electrolytic capacitors for 3 months. They told me my lights would burn brighter, the actresses on my tv would be prettier and my music will now have a visual quality to it.
They also include free kool aid.
Click to expand...
DO NOT DRINK THE KOOL AID!
 
#150
Mark Reccord said:
There is no need or purpose for a fancy power cable in any application. I've been involved in the design and manufacture of very high end home audio gear ($30k active loudspeaker system, $10k CDP/preamp, etc.) and have had the opportunity to audition a lot of power cables, many costing far more than $1000. Not a single one made any measurable or audibly perceptible difference. My former boss, who is a full-on hardcore audiophile totally buys into the idea that fancy power cables make a lot of difference to audio quality.

He swore he could hear "not subtle" differences between power cables, yet was unable to differentiate very real (but subtle) differences caused by out of spec resistors in a critical part of the amplifier circuit that I could reliably pick up on.

We're diametrically opposed on this subject but we still manage to get along. He's got a great set of ears and a great sense of what sounds good in an audio system, I just think he's off the mark with the fancy cable business.
Click to expand...

Get serious, man.
 
#151
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#152
This thread has caused me to do some serious soul searching. Somewhere back in my pile of 1300+ posts I recall making the comment that my skinny Bill Lawrence instrument cables were the best that I'd ever tried. Truth is, I might not be able to pick them out in a blind test with other cables. I repent in dust and ashes. Will you ever forgive me?

M. M. :)
 
#154
It's simple. there's a whole army of scab-picking audiophiles out there with money to burn, who are never satisfied and are just DYING to wring the last possible ounce of performance from their gear. They'll buy anything at any cost, if you just plant the seed of doubt in their minds about ANY aspect of their setup. Give them the SLIGHTEST hope that your ridiculous gizmo will 'deepen the soundfield' or 'open up the bass response' so you can 'truly hear your system's potential for the first time' and they will buy it. It makes them happy. It's their hobby. They have a need. Someone's going to fill it. That's it.
 
#155
dmusic148 said:
It's simple. there's a whole army of scab-picking audiophiles out there with money to burn, who are never satisfied and are just DYING to wring the last possible ounce of performance from their gear. They'll buy anything at any cost, if you just plant the seed of doubt in their minds about ANY aspect of their setup. Give them the SLIGHTEST hope that your ridiculous gizmo will 'deepen the soundfield' or 'open up the bass response' so you can 'truly hear your system's potential for the first time' and they will buy it. It makes them happy. It's their hobby. They have a need. Someone's going to fill it. That's it.
Click to expand...
For a brief moment, I thought you were describing most of us here at TalkBass....

:hiding:
 

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