ESP MusicCord

[scotch]

Kudos to Roy for his willingness to actually test his conclusions!

 

[JimmyM]

Roy, the only thing with the Taralabs cable I see is that it's not really relevant to the ESP thing. If you wanted to do it as a sidebar, that's fine, but I don't see any disagreement by the engineers on here that capicitance does affect an instrument cable's sound.

But I'm glad to see you doing homework on this and setting up tests for yourself.

 

[scotch]

Roy, the only thing with the Taralabs cable I see is that it's not really relevant to the ESP thing. If you wanted to do it as a sidebar, that's fine, but I don't see any disagreement by the engineers on here that capicitance does affect an instrument cable's sound.

Exactly! Audio-carrying cable is totally susceptible to various factors that have the potential to alter tone. Capacitance, rf resistance, shield effectiveness, etc. This ac cable thing is an entirely seperate issue. Let's be careful not to confuse the two!

 

[Roy Vogt]

After some consideration from the posts of scotch and Jimmy M the Taralabs test is off the table. The only thing I will be using is the ESP and a conventional power cable. So, there will be two mp3s instead of four.
BTW, thanks to bongomania for the informative link. Interesting stuff.....

 

[smeet]

After some consideration from the posts of scotch and Jimmy M the Taralabs test is off the table. The only thing I will be using is the ESP and a conventional power cable. So, there will be two mp3s instead of four.
BTW, thanks to bongomania for the informative link. Interesting stuff.....

Good decision IMHO. But if you can, please post the taralabs tests in another thread as I would like to hear those results also.

 

[fokof]

Invalid Link Removed

 

[Alex Xander]

I'm posting from another hemisphere, so excuse me if I am off the mark.

I have read the entire thread, and was involved in a similar debate not so long ago with one of the members posting in ESP's defense.

I wish not to be involved in this debate, but surely with the size of TB and the large cities you guys have, there must be an engineer out there who can do and ABY test live?? Forget posting samples, let these people put their money where their mouth is (this is not directed at Roy) and do the test. If they are so sure of their hearing, then they have nothing to lose, right?

To Jauqo - I may very well be on your ignore list so you may not see this, but if there is an engineer in your city who is willing to do a proper test on the cord, would you be willing to participate? Heck, even throw in some of this 17hz business we were arguing about.

 

[Febs]

After some consideration from the posts of scotch and Jimmy M the Taralabs test is off the table. The only thing I will be using is the ESP and a conventional power cable. So, there will be two mp3s instead of four.
BTW, thanks to bongomania for the informative link. Interesting stuff.....

Roy, I would suggest that you post .wav or .flac files instead of .mp3.

 

[Mark Reccord]

I should receive my MusicCord today and I'll definitely try it out in a totally unscientific way this evening. I'm fully aware that my particular expectation bias might affect my perception of any potential sonic differences so I'm going to get a couple of friends involved without telling them what I'm testing, later this week. I've got to put my dummy loads back together before I can do any real quantitative tests but I should be able to get into that by the weekend.

There are so many posts I'd like to reply to individually but I just don't have that kind of time.

Food for thought: The chip I'm currently working on drives fiber optic lines at the 100gbit/s data rate, which involves processing that's ~100000x faster than any audio signal. When passing data the chip requires gobs of current. We use standard IECs and have no trouble with current delivery. We can go from idle current (~500mA) to full draw (10A+) in a matter of nanoseconds. Even if there were some delay in current delivery on the AC side, the reservoirs of energy in the filter caps allow ~instantaneous current delivery on the DC side.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

I don't see any disagreement by the engineers on here that capicitance does affect an instrument cable's sound.

No disagreement at all. What is pertinent is whether you have to pay a premium price for low capacitance (you don't) and whether the other magical claims made by Tara have any validity (they don't).

Audio-carrying cable is totally susceptible to various factors that have the potential to alter tone. Capacitance, rf resistance, shield effectiveness, etc. This ac cable thing is an entirely seperate issue. Let's be careful not to confuse the two!

Snake oil is snake oil. The only difference in these two cases is the flavor being peddled.

 

[scotch]

...

Snake oil is snake oil. The only difference in these two cases is the flavor being peddled.

That may well be the case, but let's focus on ac cables in this thread. We've already gotten onto the audio cable tangent & just had a speaker cable post as well. Sure, its all 'cable', but I think the thread is better served by keeping it focused. By discussing the other cable applications we confuse the various factors unique to each use & let's face it- any less confusion in a thread this size is helpful!

 

[aborgman]

I find it funny how some in this thread have such a hard core issue with those of us who hear a difference in tone with the ESP power cord.

It's even more funny when some here challenge the level or quality of our hearing. Some of us actually make a living based on the quality of our hearing.


Might as well just come out and call us a bunch of D-fools.

No, we're just calling you perfectly normal human beings.

Do you see optical illusions?

When you go to a movie do you see the characters moving, or do you see individual snapshots?

Why do you believe the physical processes that lead to normal folks being able to see optical illusions and be fooled by common psychoaccoustic effects don't apply to you?

Did you watch the McGurk effect video? What did you hear?

 

[Paullee01]

Finally two reviews/tests coming soon by Roy and Mark. After almost 18,000 views this might finally put this debate to rest. I for one am curious to hear the results. If they do find some truth to this cord I might purchase one and I'm sure a few others in this forum will do the same.

 

[t3ch]

Please just think about that ridiculous water analogy for a second.

I think that was his problem to begin with... he only thought about that analogy for a second.

 

[Mark Reccord]

Finally two reviews/tests coming soon by Roy and Mark. After almost 18,000 views this might finally put this debate to rest. I for one am curious to hear the results. If they do find some truth to this cord I might purchase one and I'm sure a few others in this forum will do the same.

I'm pretty sure whatever we find won't put the debate to rest. It's been raging in the hifi world for years.

 

[aborgman]

I've got a question for the real engineers here (and by that I mean those with actual engineering degrees). Is it possible there could be any passive components, or anything in the way the cable is constructed, that can possibly be altering the A/C going into the amp in anyway whatsoever?

Yes.

Would that alteration have any effect on the amp performance? No.


Imagine the best water filter in the world.
Now stick a Britta pitcher in front of it.

Yes, the Britta pitcher filers some stuff. No, it has no effect on the final water quality - because the existing filter was already capable of filtering to a purity unimaginable.

 

[Paullee01]

I'm pretty sure whatever we find won't put the debate to rest. It's been raging in the hifi world for years.

Your probably right about the debate. On a personal note as I said earlier if you and Roy determine this cord does make a significant difference I will purchase one. (even though it is hard to part with $150.00 for a power cord) I will call ESP to see exactly what the return policy is before I do anything.

 

[Roy Vogt]

Roy, I would suggest that you post .wav or .flac files instead of .mp3.

I was thinking of that. I'll see what I can post as far as size.

 

[Roy Vogt]

I'm posting from another hemisphere, so excuse me if I am off the mark.

I have read the entire thread, and was involved in a similar debate not so long ago with one of the members posting in ESP's defense.

I wish not to be involved in this debate, but surely with the size of TB and the large cities you guys have, there must be an engineer out there who can do and ABY test live?? Forget posting samples, let these people put their money where their mouth is (this is not directed at Roy) and do the test. If they are so sure of their hearing, then they have nothing to lose, right?

To Jauqo - I may very well be on your ignore list so you may not see this, but if there is an engineer in your city who is willing to do a proper test on the cord, would you be willing to participate? Heck, even throw in some of this 17hz business we were arguing about.

If there's one in the Nashville area, PM me on here and we'll work something out. I am already planning on taking the ESP to the top two amplifier techs in the area and a recording/mastering engineer who has won a Grammy for his work with Chaka Khan and also worked with Steve Vai and Larry Carlton. We'll figure out some ways to test this thing....

 

[JAUQO III-X]

To Jauqo - I may very well be on your ignore list so you may not see this, but if there is an engineer in your city who is willing to do a proper test on the cord, would you be willing to participate? Heck, even throw in some of this 17hz business we were arguing about.

No Alexander you are not on my ignore list. I would like to do a test but exactly how should I go about it for the best test results, so that every one is satisfied with what ever the end results may be?