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One of the resident know-it-alls (who shall remain nameless unless he responds to this as he deleted the post after it had hit my inbox, denying me the opportunity to respond directly) posted a response to my post: Clay says: "Actually you're in good company with regards to 'fancy' power cables. Nelson Pass recommends against upgraded power cables for his amplifiers. I'd say he knows more than a bit about the proper use of AC. That's not to say that some AC circuits don't need tuning, just that the power cable is not attacking the source of the problem. I'm in the midst of a project to do that - I live in an apartment building and don't have control over the circuit. :)"
To which Mr. Know-it-all responded:
"Your position is utter nonsense....
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...and completely misguided and uninformed. And not just about Pass amplification. You obviously have no idea how many people use premium aftermarket power cables with Pass amps and preamps, both with great success and improved performance. [stuff snipped to prevent possible identification]. Stock cables simply do not perform up to the same level."
Dear Know-it-all,
The 'position' you refer to as "utter nonsense and completely misguided and uninformed" is that of Nelson Pass, a quite well respected designer of some of the best sounding circuits in all of amplification. I did not present it as MY position, but rather as his recommendation. I believe this is clear in my comments (repeated above for your benefit). The fact that other people might use aftermarket power cables does next to nothing to diminish Mr Pass' recommendation, in my view. By the way, in response to your question - do you know how many people with Pass amps actually follow Nelson's recommendations versus your own? I didn't think so. You go on to further castigate Mr Pass with these words: "Some equipment designers still have their heads in the sand regarding power cabling, presuming that "wire-is-wire", as long as the gauge of the power cable meets their engineering philosophy. [more stuff snipped due to being irrelevant analogies to computer audio]". Mr Pass would no doubt find your thoughts quite amusing. Finally, your comments actually refer to my words, when you say:
"These glib responses and attitudes, including such pejorative comments like "fancy power cables" does nothing to further the art, or science of
listening." I'm not looking to further the art - I'm looking to get the best sounding system for the best value. That I don't subscribe to your idea that a more expensive cable will always be better than stock (as you state above) is NOT an impediment to furthering the art of listening. Indeed, I'd think of it more as a stepping-stone. In my earlier post in the thread I said - if a $500 cable sounds better, I would seek out the source of the problem (as opposed to trying to fix it with an expensive cable). That's MY contribution to furthering the art - i.e. trying to identify the source of the problem - in the case of 'fancy power cords that might be poor AC circuits, as an example - rather than promoting expensive band-aids at very high margins, such as you do. NOTE [Mr. Know-It-All IS a dealer of, among other things, expensive cables] I even noted in my post that I was currently engaged in such a project. You go on to ask: "Have you experienced any premium power cables on Pass gear? Your comment indicates no. For if you had such experience, you wouldn't have made that comment in the first place." Indeed, I have experienced 'fancy' power cables on Pass gear. I used a well regarded aftermarket power cable until recently when I upgraded to a First Watt J2. As an afterthought, I switched out the premium cable and replaced it with the cable that Nelson had provided, once the J2 was broken-in. Imagine my surprise when it sounded much improved with the 'stock cable', esp. since I did not have proper AC line conditioning at the time. Perhaps I can share the brand's name after I dispose of it on Audiogon. No sense running the price down while I'm still long. Finally you say: "Yet by your logic, since many premium aftermarket power cables actually improve the performance of Pass gear, there must be something intrinsically wrong with Nelson's designs. Very bad logic. The reality is quite different." Uhm, no, that would be your twisted interpretation. By following my thought process - I hesitate to call it logic - I would investigate whether proper AC circuit tuning would be appropriate in those instances given that poor quality of AC will likely affect any amplifier. I simply happen to believe that expensive power cords are not a cost-effective solution, although admittedly a dealer motivated by profits might feel otherwise. Probably the last thing I would infer from an environment in which Nelson's amps were affected by power cords would be to assume something was intrinsically wrong with Nelson's designs. That you did says a lot about you and nothing about that which you lash out at. clay
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