How can you "know" that the wire in the wall is not important? I have a suggestion: Get a really long version of your favorite $500 a foot power cord (maybe 50 feet or so) and snake your AC connection down the halls and down the stairs to the AC outlet closest to your incoming AC power box, thus eliminating as much "in the wall" AC wiring as possible and connect the AC power to the audio equipment there, and listen again.
I think the vendors of after market power cords are really missing the boat. They should be teaming up with electrical contractors to rewire the homes of audiophiles all the way back to the 7.2KV transformers on the power pole in your backyard. Ah the opportunities to make lots and lots of money.
I bet none of you have done a true double blind wire test.
Oh, I have! A number of times. A friend who wants an honest answer to cable and tube rolls has put in cables and ask me which ones I like best while we are just hanging around nice and relaxed - just bullshitting. I can hear when he changes the cable, I hear it immediately! Quite honestly, I thick the power cords have a larger impact then interconnects.
He’ll not tell me what he puts in or even when he changes it. At some point I’ll notice and say, I like this one or not. He’s commented many times that I had picked such and such cable each time and/or I always seem to NOT like such and such. Again, the difference in sound is obvious!! Once is brighter, another has a much more pronounced midrange, yet another has loads of bass or none at all in comparison. I’m sorry Frank, that’s not placebo – it’s an distinctive difference.
I’ve had people try the fake cable roll on me and I always point out that the sound didn’t change. I understand that the mind can fabricate things and it usually does so when its excepting or anticipating something. Maybe your editor friends were just overly anxious, I mean they drove hundreds of miles to let you hear a wire, I’d never do that! Also, and take this for what’s it worth, I’ve been a magazine publisher for 15+ years and have worked with many editors. Who ever said that an editor actually knows anything about the subject of the magazine he/she edits?! They mostly don’t, finding a competent editor that can edit, write and manage people ‘AND’ actually have a strong personal interest in the subject of the publication they work on is rare, few and far between!
In regards to the wire in the wall, it definitely makes a sonic difference but you have to draw the line somewhere. I know people that have changes the wire in the wall from the utility box to their listening room and even added LARGE AC chokes to the line. The difference is dramatic but costly. Many do it, you make it sound like it would be a ridiculous task, it’s not for some. JPS Labs, PS Audio, MIT and such all sell in-the-wall wire, high quality receptacles and even breakers.
Also, $500 per foot, that’s $1500/meter. Way more then what I listed as reasonable for the level of AVA gear. The cables I listed (and own) are between $70 and $120 per foot retail and I paid way less then that used ($30 to $70/foot) and less considering the cost of the connectors. Your $500/foot cable is 10-x’s that and yes, quite ridiculous – I agree.
No, I am not going to aid the cause of voodoo by putting removeable power cord sockets on our equipment.
Well that’s too bad. Again, Frank, I really like the sound of the T7. Its clear, has the drive I like for my amp which aids in its overall volume and dynamics, it responds well enough to tube rolls to allow me to find the tube that best suites the system and my taste and its fairly full featured with both phone and headphone sections.
However, I was VERY disappointed in its build quality. Not that its bad but rather that its ugly! It’s the ugliest piece in my system, so much so that I have a hard time with. And it doesn’t have an IEC connector.