Have your say & ask the experts

[quote user="oldphrt"]

[quote user="Damien Buckley"][quote user="oldphrt"]

Primary school teacher

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Ever heard the expression 'those who can, do. Those who can't.....

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Those who can't understand electronics buy rip off cables.
 

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tug, tug, is that a chain I hear rattling, lol.

[quote user="Damien Buckley"]tug, tug, is that a chain I hear rattling, lol.[/quote] 

It's more likely to be your ears deceiving you yet again. 

DON'T TOUCH THE CHAIN ANYONE!!!

oh - I think I just did.

 Sorry.

Surely, all the spikes in the mains are filtered out before they get to the amp therefore having no effect what so ever on the audio output.

I wish now that I had started a business selling souped up mains cables!!!!

[quote user="oldphrt"]

[quote user="Damien Buckley"]tug, tug, is that a chain I hear rattling, lol.[/quote] 

It's more likely to be your ears deceiving you yet again. 

[/quote]

chuckle, chuckle, you need some new material

Surely, all the spikes in the mains are filtered out before they get to the amp therefore having no effect what so ever on the audio output.

Precisely. 

I wish now that I had started a business selling souped up mains cables!!!!

Likewise, but that market isn't for manufacturers with any scruples so maybe not. All that pseuodoscientific crap you have to concoct to put in the spec....

Firstly - I've never tried mains cables other than standard ones, and neither have I listened to any mains conditioners.

But, I shall bless you with my thoughts anyway.  I don't see how a mains cable can be any better or worse, so long as it's rating sufficiently for the equipment (and fuse!).

I can't see how shielding would make a significant help, because I would have thought most mains noise would be in the form of conducted EMI rather than radiated EMI.

Maybe not - in which case it might well help.

But then again, it's probably more significant how well the equipment performs with regards to EMC, as well as noise coming up the mains cable.

Mains filtering might well help though.  I think Anton(some numbers) suggested using a variac to supply mains - being a large inductor it would filter out some hf interferance.

That might work.

But again, it depends how well the equipments PSU can reject noise.

Just my thoughts, to keep the ball rolling, like!

Cheers

Bloney

[quote user="bloney"]I don't see how a mains cable can be any better or worse, so long as it's rating sufficiently for the equipment (and fuse!).[/quote] 

Precisely. Any perceived audble difference is an illusion based on the placebo effect. Placebos in hi-fi tend to be very expensive to buy. 

[quote user="oldphrt"]

Precisely. Any perceived audble difference is an illusion based on the placebo effect. Placebos in hi-fi tend to be very expensive to buy. 

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God, this guy is getting stale.

[quote user="hifikrazy"]God, this guy is getting stale.[/quote] 

Unrelentingly accurate though.:O)

Breaking the habit of a lifetime here, I'm actually going to bother replying to a mains cable thread. I'm no technical electrical expert, therefore I can't say why more expensive mains cables work or don't. As far as I'm concerned they do, I have blind tested my system with mains cables (Supra and Merlin) and mains filtering equipment (Isotek and Isol-8) and in my system at least they did make a noticible difference, not only to myself, but also to my wife and the friend that changed cables for me so that I didn't know whether anything had been changed. The only thing I can suggest is; if someone wants to test them in a dealers, see if you can take a friend along to swop the cables without telling you which you are listening to. However, oldphrt is entirely entitled to his opinion and I'm not going to tell him he's wrong.

[quote user="Gwyndy"]Breaking the habit of a lifetime here, I'm actually going to bother replying to a mains cable thread. I'm no technical electrical expert, therefore I can't say why more expensive mains cables work or don't. As far as I'm concerned they do, I have blind tested my system with mains cables (Supra and Merlin) and mains filtering equipment (Isotek and Isol-8) and in my system at least they did make a noticible difference, not only to myself, but also to my wife and the friend that changed cables for me so that I didn't know whether anything had been changed. The only thing I can suggest is; if someone wants to test them in a dealers, see if you can take a friend along to swop the cables without telling you which you are listening to. However, oldphrt is entirely entitled to his opinion and I'm not going to tell him he's wrong.[/quote] So far nobody has tried to explain in technical terms how they could possibly make a difference. I've had plenty of abuse and insults though. Very telling. Here's a link to a double blind lead test. ABX mains leads

I'm not sure if this has been commented on before (couldn't be bothered to read through several pages of yes it does no it doesn't) I don't know if a good quality mains cable would or wouldn't make a difference, there are arguments as to why they would or wouldn't either way.

 Has anyone ever tried a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) an online UPS (don't bother with a really cheap one, the output is designed for PC's only) gives COMPLETE isolation from the mains and a pure sinewave output (the power is converted from AC to DC and back again), also you can sit and listen/watch your favourite track/movie in the middle of a power cut.

I have one on my set up and if nothing else it means my system is isolted from any mains blips or spikes and I can carry on watching a film in the middle of a black out.

Could this be worth a test?

 Let me know what you think.

 http://www.aeceuro.co.uk/t3_series.asp

[quote user="oldphrt"] So far nobody has tried to explain in technical terms how they could possibly make a difference. I've had plenty of abuse and insults though. Very telling. [/quote]

I've speculated on the effect of EMI and the ability of a PSU to reject it a few times, Oldphrt.  Not saying it makes a difference or not - I don't know and not tried - but this is one area where a shielded/filtered cable might concievably make a difference. 

[quote user="Guinness750"](couldn't be bothered to read through several pages of yes it does no it doesn't) [/quote]

I wish I did the same as you!  3 threads going live about main cables in the same forum!