Power cables for active speakers - do they matter?

[Flaesh]

Take the door off a microwave, defeat the safety latch, and point it at your amp

and listen carefully:

 

[kemmler3D]

and listen carefully:
View attachment 478563

Bingo but probably stand aside while it's on...

 

[JSmith]

and listen carefully:
View attachment 478563

JSmith

 

[egellings]

If you think cables make a difference, wait until you try cable risers!




















LOL.

A riser for the cable and a little riser for the brain (beer); an unbeatable combo. It's nirvana squared!

 

[respice finem]

For some it's actually necessary to have "risers"

 

[mhardy6647]

in re: cable risers... I will remind this august group that relativity is a key feature of physics.
In this context: don't raise the cable, lower the floor.

source: stealin' my own doggerel: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...awyers-with-insight.64109/page-2#post-2359488

 

[respice finem]

A slightly crazy take I've seen recently: "Fat" speaker cables on maybe 12 cm high DIY risers.
So the robot vacuum cleaner fits under them

 

[Heinrich]

Note that not all original equipment and aftermarket AC cords are well manufactured.
Some problems:
a) missing (or not connected) Safety Ground wire.
b) swapped Neutral & Safety Ground wires.
c) poorly crimped wire stranded.
d) poorly machined contacts.

To DIY power cables is a gamble with life. I didn't read the full stoty, but I once misused some random cables for an HMI lamp, that needs 5kV for ignition: St. Elmo's fire all around, hi there, smartie! My significant other once did (b) from your list,. She's still around, don't worry.

Last and least, the audio quality will depend on the mood of the uranium atoms crushed in the nearby power plant (QCD's confinement is a plain lie.). Solar eruptions interferre with the grid also.

Play it safe. And sure, those cables for actives are stiff and visually ugly. You are not, take care.

 

[rynberg]

Dynamic range. Distortions not compensated by brain signal processing like in your head.

I sincerely doubt you are a practicing electrical engineer with answers like this, although I have seen some engineers that certainly made me wonder how they kept employment.

What is the dynamic range of the combined UMIK-2/computer interface? What is the actual dynamic range in your listening environment? I guarantee you that A > B, but get back to us with the actual values.

What type of distortions? And when you come up with an answer to that, feel free to show any kind of scientific literature to back up your claim.

 

[MattHooper]

My expectation was NOT to hear any difference

I was once sent a series of expensive high-end AC cables.

I was sceptical.

I didn’t expect to hear a difference.

But to my surprise I heard a difference. It seemed distinct.

But I was also very aware of the issue of sighted bias. So I had an engineer friend help me to a blind test between the expensive AC cable and the office shelf $15 AC cable I’d been using. The results: once I didn’t know which cable I was listening to I couldn’t detect any difference at all.

It was a very educational day… not to mention it saved me probably some money

 

[Cbdb2]

There is a lot of RF noise around, and all cables behave as antennas.

So the last 6' of power cord eliminates all the RF picked up by the 300' of cable running to the transformer? Do cables look like antennas? Antennas act as antennas and cables act as cables, to do what there designed to do. Sure cables will pick up some RF but the levels are very low and easily dealt with with a RF filter on the device.
As has been said a dozen times your test is invalid. Do a proper blind test.

 

[Cbdb2]

UMIK-2 and measurements followed by recordings of the music that you find the most reliable to have a difference.

1) do a few measurements of the same cord to capture the variability of your technique. Ideally a quiet room with you out of the room is best.

2) then DeltaWave to compare recordings. Look for patterns.

3) Then take the best recording from one cable and the best recording from the other. Post it here to see if we can figure which is which. You said one sounds more transparent. See if anyone else figures it out.

4) Use Foobar to generate ABX testing. See if you can hear it yourself.

Complicated and difficult to get accurate in room recordings. Why not start with Deltawaveing the actual power line voltages with 2 different cords at the 2 different speakers? If there the same there will be no audible difference caused by the power cords.

 

[egellings]

For some it's actually necessary to have "risers"

The serious 'phile drools!

 

[Cbdb2]

If the speakers are, say, 1500 Watt and the power cord is 18 Gauge, it could indeed make difference in power delivery.

No it wont. 12' (6' power cord) of 18 gauge has less than .1 ohms resistance. Even at 20 amps the cord will only drop the line voltage to 118 volts. Wont make any difference.

 

[mhardy6647]

So the last 6' of power cord eliminates all the RF picked up by the 300' of cable running to the transformer? Do cables look like antennas? Antennas act as antennas and cables act as cables, to do what there designed to do. Sure cables will pick up some RF but the levels are very low and easily dealt with with a RF filter on the device.
As has been said a dozen times your test is invalid. Do a proper blind test.

A transformer (or other inductor) probably looks more like an antenna to RF than does a random hunk of wire.
Since quantum effects were recently brought up this feels like a good time to share a photograph (video frame grab, in full disclosure) of a Quantum mechanic.

Such are rarely observed in Nature -- especially in current times.

 

[caught gesture]

Yet someone else professing to have formal scientific training cherry-picking what science they are choosing to believe in. In this instance, the scientific fields (discovered, proven, peer-reviewed) of cognitive psychology and social psychology are to be ignored whilst claiming some form of authority bias by mentioning training in EE.

 

[Cbdb2]

Yet someone else professing to have formal scientific training cherry-picking what science they are choosing to believe in. In this instance, the scientific fields (discovered, proven, peer-reviewed) of cognitive psychology and social psychology are to be ignored whilst claiming some form of authority bias by mentioning training in EE.

Training in EE is often limited to a specialty. They all get the basics but if your focus is digital electronics your probably not going to take the antennas or high voltage courses. I do agree about the cherry picking thou. And getting a EE degree dosnt guarantee logic.

 

[Cbdb2]

A transformer (or other inductor) probably looks more like an antenna to RF than does a random hunk of wire.

The magnetic core absorbs RF and they are usually in a metal case so not a great antenna either.
Unless your close to a powerful RF transmitter RF is not a problem for home audio.

 

[Heinrich]

Since quantum effects were recently brought up this feels like a good time to share a photograph (video frame grab, in full disclosure) of a Quantum mechanic

Quantum is about observations that can be interchanged. I would rather advise the OP to stop fiddling around with deadly powers (esp when based in Europe). To me the sound effect, real or not, is secondary.
Look, to believe in 'good sound' is the basis for all enjoyment. Actually, it is never as good, and we all know it, whatever right thing we do. As rediculous as it may sound, better ask him to buy a commercial product that carries a safety certification.

 

[Barrelhouse Solly]

I'm guessing mostly no except when there's a physical defect that causes crackling sounds. If you get those you should replace the cable for safety reasons.