AudioQuest NRG-X3 Review (AC Power Cord)

[Doodski]

Cmon, I pulled that out of my ass and typed it up in 30 seconds, so I get some credit at least...

I was like.. WHat? I thought you maybe copy/pasted something from the AudioQuest website... lol

 

[Doodski]

Idk why someone buys these cables besides to show off...

It's a fantasy. Obsessing over stuff and one of those obsessions is looking for solutions to problems that don't exist. I have had some buying delusions. Mostly related to motorcycles accessories and sports gear. I just have to have something sometimes. I have made all sorts of excuses why I should buy useless stuff. I'm a lot more analytical about my purchases now but there was a time when it was common for me.

 

[57gold]

Would like to see a similar test with say a high end Shunyata power cable on a DAC and a power amp with some kind of dynamic testing (not sure what that might be?)

I have heard subtle changes in audio performance when trying out various gauge, terminated power cables on both my audio and musical instrument ampflication.

One guitar amp manufacturer, credible guy who builds and mods guitar amps and speakers for David Gilmour, Derek Trucks, Mark Knopfler, Eric Johnson..., reacted with a "that's impossible" when I told him the amp he built for me sounded sweeter (less musical edge) and more dynamic with a $250 audiophile power cable (his amp was the first one I owned that had a detachable power cable). I guess he believed me to be rational, because he drove to local audio shop and borrowed the same cable, called back and said he wasn't sure why, but he agreed with my assessment. He did not want to, his near religious belief was that if a wire spec met minimum circuit design parameters, there would be no audible difference. The power cable he sent with his amps was a 14 gauge quality one that was selected to be "more than adequate" for the task.

Not trying to beat a dead horse, so save the "power of suggestion...people hear what they want to hear...where's the double blind test stuff." Heard it all before.

BTW no surprised that AQ cable tested is a dud, nothing AQ makes for $100 has anything unique about it, bet it is generic cable that just carries the brand.

 

[DWI]

Your uncle is not making any claims about the art other than it is art. He's not telling his customers that their music will sound better, or his car will drive faster, or his house will be warmer for less money. Or any other manner of things that art can't possibly influence.

It's just about perception of value. Ironically this (rather distant) uncle's parents had a small antique shop and I heard stories about some of the crooked deals that went on, normally taking money off senile old ladies, but they never made any money. They may have occasionally been a little liberal with the truth. Far worse is a chap who I almost went into business with, who allegedly borrowed a lot of money against paintings he didn't own and then sold them and, besides that, is wanted by the FBI for money laundering. Real people lost money they could not afford to lose to a guy in a nice suit. And then you think of the likes of Madoff ...

So in the world of commerce and where to draw the line, I've never had a problem with cable companies and sellers of other questionable products because if anyone with half a brain can't see it coming then they probably deserve it, but more because some people seem to get great pleasure owning this stuff within their audiophile peer group, whether or not they do anything. Putting it into context of people getting defrauded and suffering real financial hardship, which happens all the time, and my no.1 social evil (online gambling), I just don't know why people got so upset with these companies.

As @naviivan said in the first post on this thread, "why do you do these test/reviews when we all know the outcome?" Couldn't agree more.

 

[DWI]

BTW no surprised that AQ cable tested is a dud, nothing AQ makes for $100 has anything unique about it, bet it is generic cable that just carries the brand.

You probably have a good point. I know of several brands that package their products with the basic NRG AQ power cables. So it costs them $30/box and they avoid looking cheap by not packaging with a $2 cable.

 

[SIY]

Not trying to beat a dead horse, so save the "power of suggestion...people hear what they want to hear...where's the double blind test stuff." Heard it all before.

But didn't actually do it. Basic controls are basic.

 

[DrZingo]

One guitar amp manufacturer, credible guy...

I believe the term is "credulous".

 

[DonR]

Funny how metrology-grade lab equipment comes with a generic power cord and works just fine but somehow, in some inexplicable way, audio gear sees "improvement" from custom power cables and power regenerators.

 

[Peafowl]

AHA!!! So that is why the little wooden blocks are added to cables to "reduce resonances".

It is also "grounding" the cable to nature, because its wood and not metal.

 

[anmpr1]

It predates him, but he was the first to really make a bundle peddling fraud. If memory serves, the notion was first put forward by Jean Hiraga (the Ur-source of almost all ignorant audiophile nonsense), then Bob Fulton. Polk and one other company whose name slips my mind* were right behind.

That rings a rusty bell. I remember the Fulton J loudspeaker. And I recall Fulton selling special cables with it. Polk had Cobra Cable.

 

[Malcolm]

The EU will mandate low-loss IEC cables soon enough. Go green or go home.

At least that’s one plus now that the UK is on the outside…..

 

[SuicideSquid]

So, about a year ago, I decided to check out a new local audio store, where they sell Paradigm speakers, since I never heard them.

As I was demoing a few speakers, the sales guy asked for my budget, and I said $2000.
Then, a few minutes later, he suddenly switched topics from helping me choose a speaker and started talking about power cables.
Then, he recommended that I spend $1000 on speakers and the other $1000 budget to buy their premium "brand" power cable, because that's where the difference is heard.
This was just after I told him that I have an AVR already.
I was just shocked and said "You just lost my respect and all opportunities for future business." and walked out.

I don't remember the company they sold, but I'm sure it was AudioQuest, considering that they still advertise it on their website.
I can see people falling for this garbage in the 1990's, but in the year 2021?
Really?


Oh yes, I'll publically shame them.

Spoiler

Website: https://coquitlamavu.ca/

If you spend $1,000 on cables and $1,000 on speakers, the salesman earns a significantly larger commission than if you spent $1,975 on speakers and $25 on cables.

Who knows if this idiot believes the garbage he's peddling or if he's just eyeing his bottom line - either way it's shameful.

 

[elvisizer]

Not trying to beat a dead horse, so save the "power of suggestion...people hear what they want to hear...where's the double blind test stuff." Heard it all before.

I love it when people post clear textbook examples of priming someone and then are like "don't tell me I did what I just did" lol

 

[SuicideSquid]

You see on TV many shows about companies being sued for this and that. You would think there ought to be some class action lawsuit against a HiFi company that lies about the performance on their product.
Because it is ridiculous how easy it is to prove ther claims are false.
Lower distortion = No
Lower Noise = No
Double blind test audible difference = Failed
The jury rules guilty.

You're unlikely to succeed in a claim against these companies because of the kinds of language they use and the specific nature of the claims they make.

It's very much like the alternative medicine industry. Homeopathy and "high-end" cables have a lot in common. Homeopathic treatments are literally just water and sugar pills, with no active ingredient. The bottles will usually say things like "traditionally used to treat pink eye" or "may help with the symptoms of headache". If you put a homeopathic remedy on the market that says "CURES CANCER" the FDA will be on you immediately and you'll find yourself paying fines and facing potential jail time.

Like the alternative med industry, the audiophile nonsense industry uses a lot of weasel words and handwaving that would, if it came to a civil claim for false advertising or fraud, be interpreted by the court as "advertising puffery" rather than "statements of fact". Audioquest never says its cable will reduce distortion by 25%, or will reduce noise by 10dB. They just make general statements about how it'll make your system sound better, and lots of people provide subjective reports that the cables do so.

Plus, unlike the alternative medicine industry, its hard to point to a specific harm caused by this kind of puffery, aside from separating you from your money. You're not failing to treat your cancer because you believed Audioquest's bullshit. And Audioquest, its employees, directors, and shareholders, like it or not, have a constitutional right to free speech that has to be weighed against consumer protection. So, shady, misleading, and unscrupulous business practices? Sure. False advertising giving rise to damages? Very unlikely.

 

[DWI]

You're unlikely to succeed in a claim against these companies because of the kinds of language they use and the specific nature of the claims they make.

It's very much like the alternative medicine industry. Homeopathy and "high-end" cables have a lot in common. Homeopathic treatments are literally just water and sugar pills, with no active ingredient. The bottles will usually say things like "traditionally used to treat pink eye" or "may help with the symptoms of headache". If you put a homeopathic remedy on the market that says "CURES CANCER" the FDA will be on you immediately and you'll find yourself paying fines and facing potential jail time.

Like the alternative med industry, the audiophile nonsense industry uses a lot of weasel words and handwaving that would, if it came to a civil claim for false advertising or fraud, be interpreted by the court as "advertising puffery" rather than "statements of fact". Audioquest never says its cable will reduce distortion by 25%, or will reduce noise by 10dB. They just make general statements about how it'll make your system sound better, and lots of people provide subjective reports that the cables do so.

Plus, unlike the alternative medicine industry, its hard to point to a specific harm caused by this kind of puffery, aside from separating you from your money. You're not failing to treat your cancer because you believed Audioquest's bullshit. And Audioquest, its employees, directors, and shareholders, like it or not, have a constitutional right to free speech that has to be weighed against consumer protection. So, shady, misleading, and unscrupulous business practices? Sure. False advertising giving rise to damages? Very unlikely.

More to the point, if you claim "these pills cure cancer", and the claimant takes the pills instead of more conventional treatment, the damages are measurable in loss of life. If a cable fails to perform you can ask for your money back.

MQA were investigated for misleading and exaggerated advertising. Not guilty!

MQA Ltd

www.asa.org.uk

 

[SuicideSquid]

More to the point, if you claim "these pills cure cancer", and the claimant takes the pills instead of more conventional treatment, the damages are measurable in loss of life. If a cable fails to perform you can ask for your money back.

MQA were investigated for misleading and exaggerated advertising. Not guilty!

MQA Ltd

www.asa.org.uk

I believe I made the point about the difference in harms in my post

UK law regarding free speech, liability, and advertising are very different from those in the US and Canada, but also this is just the result of a complaint to an advertising standards board - no one was sued and there was no court hearing (also, you're only ever "guilty" in criminal matters, in civil proceedings for damages caused by false advertising, you'd be "liable").

 

[H-713]

I gave it a postman, only because there are plenty of really expensive cables that are far worse than a generic piece of junk from Best Buy. The Anti-Cables RCA cables are a really great example of this.

This isn't as stupid as some of them ($100 is very high but not insane), and at least it has decent flexibility and low DC resistance. I could conceivably see an affluent person paying $100 if they wanted a flexible power cord for a very power hungry amplifier... maybe. Like I said, it gets much worse.

 

[57gold]

The one described below comes with the biggest terminations ever seen, called "Bocchinos". Had to look them up:

All Bocchino Audio power plugs: ( 10 /15/20 Amp ) are comfortable passing very much higher currents than their rating, when used in an Audio system with high demand for electrical current from high power appliances and especially power amplifiers and similar power hungry appliances. The plugs perform effortlessly permitting huge current draw from the mains enabling amplifiers and similar appliances to perform without any struggle. Benefits being that high current demand required to deliver realistic energy levels for intense transients in a recording enables a more than 'being there' experience with the source material. Drums thwack! Orchestral crescendos are enabled a better control by the amplifier because its source of power is not throttled by inferior metallurgy or design construction. The Plugs have been mainly directed at High End Audio cabling; Other applications are for scientific, medical and research institute instrumentation and appliances. Many of these appliances such as MRI machines utilise very inferior power plugs. Swapping the Plugs to Bocchino Audio Plugs will improve the sensitivity of such instrumentation and a host of all other electronics that utilise mains power as their power source.

Sablon Audio

Our power cord range is designed to deliver clean low impedance power to maximise the sonic potential of your system. World class musical involvement combined with analytical prowess, outperforming industry peers irrespective of list price.

King Sablon - USD$3,950

• Bocchino plugset, platinum plated USA (only) / silver plated IEC
• 5awg of high purity stranded copper per polarity arranged in a low noise geometry
• High tech shielding giving >90db noise attenuation
• Standard length 5 foot, +$400 per extra foot.
• Custom platinum plated IEC, ideal for class a / tube equipment +$300
  

Versus a $5 cable in a $25 box/package retailing at $99, be interesting to test something exaggeratedly designed like these. One for sale used for only $3K.

 

[DWI]

I believe I made the point about the difference in harms in my post

UK law regarding free speech, liability, and advertising are very different from those in the US and Canada, but also this is just the result of a complaint to an advertising standards board - no one was sued and there was no court hearing (also, you're only ever "guilty" in criminal matters, in civil proceedings for damages caused by false advertising, you'd be "liable").

Appreciated. I spend a lot of time in courts, civil and occasionally criminal. Figure of speech.

There is also statutory protection in the UK under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and 2014 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 but, as you say, different jurisdictions, different rules.

We don't have punitive damages, thankfully. The Consumer Protection Regulations are technically criminal because they involve prosecution and payment of a fine.

I'm no expert, but it seems UK and EU consumers get a much better deal than in the USA.

 

[pseudoid]

Thank you @amirm ,
If I may summarize your (otherwise, painstaking) results on a more positive note:

The cord is 16 gauge and is more flexible than my thicker freebie AC power cords. The mating ends connect perhaps a bit more solidly than my generic code. I think the terminals look ugly but they work.

The only thing this mopo would add to the above, would be to keeping all AC cables as short as possible.