You know that AC line filters in series with the line are always dangerous. The best ones are “shunt filters” (in parallel with the line) and isolation transformers that are in series but very healthy!
Antipodes reacts to different power cords, as well!
Gianluca
Hi Gianluca,
AC line filtering is an interesting topic (sorry it is getting off-topic). I read discussions in the past about putting small shunt caps (parallel) over the big caps in a power supply and that even the wires to them have impact and have to be accounted for. Well, Antipodes knows all about this stuff.
I don’t understand why power cords ‘do’ something besides that they have a shield to earth. I would like to learn the science why a power cord changes the sound, while it is electrically situated before the big power supply caps (and even the transformer). Here they count for a 50 Ohm impedance from a wall socket to the power plant (!) and in between there is a lot of other copper wire.
But there must be something, I hear too many people being very wild about them. I had a demo once from Siltech but couldn’t hear a difference between the cords, other people in the room did hear it though.
Arjan, just consider the power cord as a part of the power supply of your component. Does it make more sense this way? Materials (copper, silver, mix of them, quality of them), capacitante, resistance and inductance, rejection to noise thanks to shielding and internal geometry…everything interacts with the power supply (transformer, rectifier, caps and more) of your component. There are good and bad couplings. As said : it’s a part of your component, not a junction from the wall to the component 
It makes difference and you hear it if your system is just a bit revealing and if you’re concentrated on the sound!
Gianluca
I’ve read that and I’ve read it before. They state some basic facts but don’t explain why their cables make a difference, only that “everybody hears the difference”. I’ve read a lot from the Shunyata website with genuine curiosity but found no explanation at all.
My understanding is that power conditioning/regulation happens inside. Why presume noise gets through everything? LD regulators do that after the fact.
People who’ve bought into this will have owners bias, I believe- everyone else should. Personally, I believe in isolation and a number of other things where the theory and hearing add up but that doesn’t include power cords. They deliver potential difference. There is great uncertainty about how electricity is actually conducted, let alone enough certainty to make better power cords.
Ask an EE, they’re going to say no. All IMHO after a long day…
With all due respect, you are speaking from ignorance because you lack hands-on experience with really good power cords. They bring one of the easiest to hear improvements of any cable. Heck their benefits are even easy to see in an AV system.
We are way off topic as far as this thread goes so I won’t post on this again. Also because I do think Shunyata provides a thorough explanation on their pages of what their designs aim to achieve and why. If that’s not enough for you there’s little more I could add.
That’s a leap to say I’ve no experience, how on earth would you know that? I have some very esoteric cables. Even made some myself. Presumably you’ve bought in.
It’s so easy to hear that most EEs laugh at it?
Where in the article does it say what they do that improves the performance? Genuinely interested, curious, have experimented. I’ve not found they make a difference.
I wouldn’t generally butt in but people can get mislead when told things on the basis of it’s a given. From what I know, it’s a controversial topics.
A can of worms, predictable sequences of posts. OP - try on a return basis.
If folks want to continue discussion on cables, and specifically power cables, I do suggest a new topic thread be started for this. I believe Antipodes had previously sold cables, though I do not know what types. A separate thread might then get some response from Mark on Antipodes thoughts on this.
That’s not a meaningful argument. It’s the logical fallacy of appealing to an authority as described here. This is necessary for their opinions to matter:
“Legitimate appeals to authority involve testimony from individuals who are truly experts in their fields and are giving advice that is within the realm of their expertise”
I must admit I do believe cables make a difference. The best I’ve heard to date are made by EWA in the UK.
They are a small bespoke company who sell direct to market.
The designer is very same person who designed ALL the first and second gen TerruliumQ products.
I suggested that you have no hands-on experience with “really good” power cords. If someone were to say, for example, that they are not all that impressed with 4K TV, then I think it’s logical to assume that they haven’t seen “really good” 4K. If the esoteric power cords you’ve used (including the ones you made) left you saying that you’ve “not found they make a difference” then how can these be considered “really good”?
I’d suggest electronic engineers understand electricity, the topic under discussion. Any demonstration of the Shunyata mantra would be well documented (it isn’t).
So, because I disagree, I haven’t used the right cable. Your basis for discussion is that you’re and I’m wrong. Until I agree, I need to keep trying. Fair enough. I’ll keep trying.
No, that is not the topic. The topic is the reproduction of music at the highest fidelity.
Have you read the patents they’ve been awarded? These don’t give away their most closely-guarded secrets, but I mention them only to suggest that maybe you haven’t judged them fairly. Here’s a handy list: Caelin Gabriel Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search
Also have you read about the benefits their technologies provide to the medical industry? The technologies they developed for high end audio are so effective at reducing noise that they are helping cardiologists improve health outcomes for their patients. What these two fields both have in common is use of ultra-sensitive electronics. I’m not sure how the “Shunyata mantra” could be any better documented than this.
Yup, read those too, a few years ago. Have you? Totally unconvincing. Marketing, nothing to see there.
I think we better leave it there.
Yeah let’s leave its there. I must mention though that, yes, I have ready that stuff. I do have a engineering degree so that’s a big part of why their approach appeals to me. I’ve found their arguments very convincing. But it’s the results they’ve achieved for the price that matter most to me.
I’m likely to get some of these cables on a sale or return basis. I’m hoping the basic model is good enough. I run active speakers as well so… I think DC counts more and is less influenced by AC problems if designed well and believe DC cables are very important FWIW.
done