I agree with all you've said..... and I act exactly the same way..... but I
DO question the logic of acting that way under some circumstances.
For example, if it turned out that your system sounded good when the humidity was between 50% and 60%, and not as good when the humidity was lower.... then wouldn't it make sense to invest in a humidifier as a "room treatment"? After all, the humidity is something that you
can control - at least indoors, where most of us do most of our listening. And a fancy HVAC system, where you can actually dial up the humidity you like, costs a lot less than a lot of expensive stereo gear does.
The main thing that annoys me is that many people get taken advantage of because they don't understand the situation.... and the whole question about "line power quality" and "power conditioners" is a good example.
Let's assume you start with a power grid that is of average quality - the voltage remains more or less correct, but there is a significant amount of noise on the line. First off, most equipment
SHOULD have been designed to work on regular power lines. Therefore, the power supply in the equipment should be able to take "typical line power" and convert it into just what that particular piece of equipment needs to run well - and on spec. We may forgive a very cheap piece of equipment for cutting corners, so buying a $50 power filter for a $100 amplifier isn't unreasonable. However, as far as I'm concerned, a $20k amplifier has no excuse for needing outside help. I assume part of what I'm paying for is really excellent design.... and that really excellent design should include whatever power filtering it needs to work correctly. A good engineer designs his or her equipment to work well under the conditions in which it is expected to operate. A piece of audio gear that only works properly in a lab is
NOT well designed. Of course, if the power in your area is atypically poor in quality, then we may excuse a piece of equipment for seeing a benefit from a little outside help.
Now.... power conditioners and power filters.... These are devices which do specifically improve the quality of the power by various methods, which
MAY include stabilizing the voltage, or filtering out various types of noise. And it makes perfect sense that they may improve the sound of some equipment under some circumstances (see above). Note that there are legitimate power filters and conditioners, and there are ones which are purest snake oil... and you sometimes need to know a bit of engineering to tell them apart. It's also worth remembering that power filters and conditioners are designed to solve specific problems. (It's funny how so many manufacturers spend so much effort convincing you of a problem you never knew you had - so they can sell you something to presumably fix it.)
Now.... power
CABLES. First off, assuming you do have a power conditioner or filter, power that has passed through it should in fact have less noise, or less variations, than unfiltered power. Therefore, it really is "better" than what came out of the wall from off the grid. As such, it makes sense that a shielded or otherwise special power cord on your equipment
MIGHT do a better job of protecting the power on its short trip from the power conditioner to your equipment - and preventing it from re-acquiring some noise radiated through the air. Therefore, it
MIGHT improve things. (Again, a little engineering knowledge will tell you that some of the claims may be true, while others are totally absurd.) Likewise, a shielded power cable might prevent noise from the piece of equipment it's used with from being radiated back into the air by the cord itself, where it might cause interference with some other nearby equipment, perhaps by entering it through
IT's unshielded cable. So, again, it might actually be useful. (And, of course, a power cable that is too thin might prevent a powerful amplifier from drawing enough power from the line... which may compromise performance. However, in engineering terms, using that too-thin cable in the first place counts as an actual design error.) The tricky part is separating the legitimate claims from the hype. (Note that the cheapest power cable you could buy for an amplifier might cost $1, while the highest quality shielded 14/3 power cable costs $2 - $5 a foot. Anything that costs more than that is selling you something that... to be tactful... has no technical justification for its claims. There is no legitimate requirement of a piece of audio equipment that a high-quality $5 a foot power cable won't exceed - by a truly spectacular performance margin... really.)
But, how about using a fancy power cable
WITHOUT a good line filter or conditioner? How about those claims that certain power cables can themselves act as line conditioners or somehow otherwise alter the sound? In general those are the purest of the pure reptile lubricant. The power grid supplies power with a certain amount of variation and noise to your wall outlet - through arguably low quality wires - and very long ones at that. Along the way it is subject to all sorts of noise sources which reduce its quality. Claiming that adding a fancy six foot power cable between your equipment and that wall outlet would make an audible difference would be analogous to shipping unfiltered swamp water cross country in a rusty used 55 gallon oil drum, then claiming you could improve the taste by carrying it the last ten feet to the table in a crystal goblet.... it just doesn't make sense. (Note that this is entirely different than using a good cord between a good power conditioner and your amplifier because, in that case, the power has already been significantly improved - hopefully - by the line conditioner.... so it is
NOT "plain old line power" that fancy cable is carrying.... now it's - hopefully "well filtered line power". After all, it
WOULD make sense to keep that water in a crystal goblet to prevent it from becoming re-contaminated
AFTER passing it through a high-quality water purification plant. However, using the crystal goblet without purifying the water first would be a waste of effort and money.)
Have noticed the change in sound quality as well at different times. Humidity can be a major physical factor. Sound waves will break up faster in dry air, since it is more dense than water vapor. If the sound happens to be "thin" - and if the humidity is low, this may be a significant contributing factor.
As far as quality of power from the grid goes, who knows? Am using two Blue Circle Thingee power conditioners on two dedicated lines for my solid state gear. Neither the dedicated lines nor the conditioners have prevented this variation in sound quality.
The bottom line is always what to do about it. Am not going to care what the humidity is or anything else before I listen to music. Don't care if it sounds merely very good or great - am still going to enjoy it.
It is important to recognize this does occur - whether the causes are physical or psychological. A recurring mistake I've made is jumping to conclusions about audio quality from a single listening test. This occurred for me especially when visiting a dealer. Can see the wisdom of trying out gear in your own home first before committing to finally owning it.
Walt
