Think fancy power cables boost your amp’s sound? Think again! Our engineer dives into the myths of audiophile accessories, explains real amplifier design, and shows why proper architecture matters way more than a pricey cord. Curious how power really flows? Watch now for some engineering truth bombs!
Don't forget to subscribe and tell us in the comments what surprised you most! #engineering #amplifier #audiophile #mythbusting #technology
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@premiumhifichannel
0:00 - Engineers and Marketing Skills
0:57 - First Encounter with Audiophile Claims
2:39 - Investigating Audiophile Power Cables
4:33 - Debunking Audiophile Cable Myths
7:04 - Engineering Principles of Amplifiers
9:55 - Case Study: Modern Amplifier Architecture
12:23 - System Design and Real Performance
20:02 - Advice for Buyers and Final Thoughts
Don't forget to subscribe and tell us in the comments what surprised you most! #engineering #amplifier #audiophile #mythbusting #technology
👉 This channel was created in collaboration with https://www.youtube.com/@premiumhifichannel
0:00 - Engineers and Marketing Skills
0:57 - First Encounter with Audiophile Claims
2:39 - Investigating Audiophile Power Cables
4:33 - Debunking Audiophile Cable Myths
7:04 - Engineering Principles of Amplifiers
9:55 - Case Study: Modern Amplifier Architecture
12:23 - System Design and Real Performance
20:02 - Advice for Buyers and Final Thoughts
Category
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Although I am mainly an engineer, the modern world still requires even engineers to understand marketing and how products are
00:08developed.
00:09Overall, this gives you the opportunity to start a business or manage a business.
00:15The foundation is still engineering knowledge, but you also need to have pretty good knowledge in marketing and even in
00:23sales.
00:24That's why I often listen to different channels in different languages to see how people sell, how they present, how
00:32they do reviews and so on, including channels in Russian as well.
00:37In different countries, there are good bloggers, truly top class specialists who present and sell different things.
00:44And I came across a very interesting conversation. There was a big discussion, good equipment, they were talking about how
00:52things are bought, which foreign brands, local brands and so on.
00:56And in the middle of this discussion, suddenly I hear a statement that there is a very good brand, a
01:02Japanese one, AccuFace, which really makes exceptionally good equipment.
01:08It's expensive, but there are no shortcomings. Every button, everything will work well, last a long time, everything is high
01:16quality.
01:17And suddenly they say that the power cable that comes with this expensive amplifier is just for testing, it's not
01:24for actual use.
01:26And that's when I woke up. Something about that statement was wrong, I thought.
01:31In the audiophile industry, in marketing, there is a unique power cable, an expensive one.
01:39And then my engineering knowledge really woke up, and I listened very carefully to how they were explaining all this.
01:46It turns out it's not just the power cable, there's also a fuse.
01:50I listened to the whole discussion and the arguments and so on.
01:54But from an engineering point of view, a power amplifier just doesn't work like that.
02:00All these arguments made for this exclusive cable, it does all kinds of things.
02:06If you don't use this cable, nothing will work at all.
02:09And how you're supposed to clean the mains power, which is dirty and affects the sound.
02:14But the thing is, a power amplifier doesn't work like that.
02:18So let's take a look, let's see how a power amplifier actually works, and why I don't agree with that
02:24argument.
02:24And of course, just out of curiosity, I did a little review to see how much these audiophile connecting cables
02:32cost,
02:33what they look like, how many are being sold, and what people write about them.
02:39This is a new area for me, so I found this kind of audiophile power cable.
02:43Well, if a standard cable costs about 1.5 euro, this one costs 32, that's 20 times more.
02:52As I understand, that's not the price limit.
02:54Some are even more expensive.
02:56But if you take a careful look at this cable, well, it's just a cable with a pretty large cross
03:02-section.
03:04But if you take this mass of cable and all these connections, it's kind of bulky.
03:09From my point of view, from an engineering point of view, this is not a very good cable, clearly.
03:16It's too big.
03:17Also the question here, is the plastic right, is it heat resistant, and so on.
03:22In general, it breaks your socket, in my opinion.
03:26Well, okay, that's my subjective opinion, but this one is even worse.
03:31Look, the fuse is more expensive than the cable.
03:34And in that conversation, where marketing approached this with a certain enthusiasm,
03:40like, people bought such expensive equipment, but they don't invest in things that improve the sound,
03:46for example, the power cable and this fuse.
03:49Well, so, these marketing guys want about 100 extra for this sale, which isn't really that expensive.
03:57Well, considering that every morning I drink coffee with a cookie, which costs 5 euros in my country,
04:05that's 25 euros a week.
04:07So, basically, that's a power cable.
04:09I could skip coffee for a week and buy such a power cable.
04:13But there's something wrong with this marketing, because the amplifier works differently.
04:18Let's look at the amplifier's architecture and see why all these things don't actually affect how it sounds,
04:26and why Aquiface supplies their very expensive amplifiers with a simple power cord.
04:33These Japanese engineers, they're not fools, believe me.
04:37If it was necessary, they would have put in the best possible cable to make sure their equipment sounds exclusive.
04:42It's not that expensive compared to the cost of this amplifier.
04:47Actually, I got really interested in the fuse,
04:50and as an engineer, I didn't know what these audiophile fuses were,
04:54or how they promote this product.
04:57Well, basically, here's a standard fuse,
05:00and this is a standard fuse is made of zinc,
05:03or tin-plated solder, nickel-plated brass,
05:07glass or ceramic, air or sand.
05:10Well, if there are high voltages, that's not our case,
05:14so that there's no fire or sparks.
05:18Audiophile?
05:19Well, a special one.
05:20Not for professionals, I'd say.
05:22Silver gold or copper with a rhodium coating?
05:25My god, silver gold exactly.
05:27This is a piece of jewelry, dense ceramic, quartz and carbon fiber.
05:33Silicon anti-resonance gel, or...
05:38Beeswax?
05:39Well, that's from the realm of fantasy.
05:41There's nothing rational here, believe me.
05:44So, what are the keywords used to justify the price of this expensive fuse?
05:52Cryogenic treatment, so we cool it and heat it there.
05:55But, in principle, that's not bad,
05:58because if there's some real defect when we cool and heat it,
06:01it definitely shows up.
06:03Actually, this is also used for very reliable designs
06:08that operate in different temperature conditions in the automotive industry.
06:13When we made this board, it really does get cooled and heated.
06:18All these temperature deformations, thermal expansions and contractions
06:23reveal any soldering defects.
06:25This is basically normal.
06:27Well, there's no cryogenic treatment here,
06:29just thermal processing, thermal testing.
06:33The directionality here, I don't understand.
06:35I need to study more.
06:37Generally, there shouldn't be any directionality.
06:39Maybe there's something I don't know.
06:43Choosing damping.
06:44Well, that's also a bit of a mystery to me.
06:46I won't argue.
06:47Maybe there's something I don't know.
06:49But the first one, yes, the first one is the right approach.
06:53I think everything is fine here, to be honest.
06:56Well, in general, there's a big debate between engineers and audiophiles,
07:00and basically, everyone can stick to their own opinion.
07:04I agree here.
07:05Everyone has the right to their own opinion.
07:08I'm not going to argue about that.
07:10And there's one theoretical thing we need to understand.
07:13So, a large inductor and a large capacitor.
07:16And in this case, the large inductor is important to us.
07:20So, an inductor is also an energy storage device.
07:25And the inductor has
07:30resistance that depends on frequency.
07:32And here is the formula for calculating it.
07:35Where L is the inductance of the coil, measured in Henry's, but mostly we use millihenry's or microhenry's.
07:45A millihenry is already a lot.
07:47A henry is a very large value.
07:49Frequency.
07:53So, in this formula, if we have, for example, a power transformer, that's a large inductance,
08:00we only have a changing frequency.
08:02And the higher the frequency, the higher this resistance.
08:08A classic power transformer is a large inductance on a steel core, and basically it filters by two parameters.
08:16It filters by inductance, and this steel core doesn't let high frequencies through at all.
08:22That's why you can't make a better filter than a power transformer.
08:26The filters we see with capacitors and various other things on specialized filter boards
08:32can't compete with the filtering qualities that a large power transformer has.
08:38And all classic class AB amplifiers have such a power transformer.
08:42So, you don't have any problems with interference at all with the amplifier's transformer in high-end, good, powerful amplifiers.
08:52There's a huge transformer there.
08:54I don't know.
08:55It weighs about five to seven kilos like a dumbbell.
08:59Basically, there's a lot of inductance there, and everything gets filtered.
09:03Everything gets filtered.
09:04So, the argument that you need the wire to filter the mains voltage just doesn't hold up according to physics.
09:11The mains transformer filters much better than your expensive wire.
09:16The second argument is that the wire should have a huge cross-section.
09:21I don't know, like four millimeters.
09:24The key parameter of a good power amplifier is peak power.
09:28For example, when a drummer hits, it immediately delivers a lot of energy,
09:33and for that, we need a very thick power cord.
09:37But the thing is, it doesn't work like that.
09:39The principle of how a power amplifier gets this peak power is completely different.
09:44And let's look at an example of a good engineer and his flagship design,
09:49how the peak power is achieved there,
09:51and why this cable doesn't affect this parameter at all.
09:55Here we have a modern power amplifier.
09:58It's Class D.
09:59It's flagship from a good manufacturer.
10:02Ice Power.
10:03I made special kit for this one.
10:05Basically, I sell this box worldwide,
10:08and people can buy it themselves.
10:10This unit is available at retail.
10:13So, it comes with a local warranty and my own design.
10:16It's selling well.
10:17I've sold it in 42 countries, basically.
10:21It's doing well.
10:23And you can get very good amplifier for a reasonable price.
10:27And to position myself in the market.
10:31I have a relatively simple box,
10:34but it's made specifically for this particular unit,
10:38so everything is optimal.
10:41As you can see, there are short wires, outputs.
10:45Here's a fan that pulls the air out.
10:47And at low speeds, you can't hear it at all,
10:50but it cools it very, very well and efficiently.
10:53And basically, this is a system that can work for a long time
10:57and reliably in different countries.
10:59And when someone buys and assembles this amplifier,
11:02they write a lot of thank you letters about how good that sounds.
11:08Yes, because it has a classic good amplifier here
11:11that meets all modern requirements.
11:15And its peak power is 600 watts per channel at 8 ohms and at 4 ohms.
11:21That means at 4 ohms, it is current limited,
11:25while at 8 ohms, it is limited by the power supply of the amplifier.
11:30Let's see how it's made, because this is a flagship,
11:33a specific company, a good Danish developer.
11:36And how did they achieve this exclusive high peak power?
11:41Why does everyone write thank you letters?
11:44Because as a power amplifier, it works very well.
11:47It can drive any speaker, both large and small,
11:50and it has low noise.
11:53But that's another story.
11:54Let's take a closer look, just at the unit itself,
11:57so everything is visible.
11:59So how is it built?
12:02Yes, well, of course, there's the power connection,
12:05then a simple ceramic fuse.
12:07And believe me, the guys who worked on this unit,
12:10they're not stupid at all.
12:12If it needed an audiophile-grade component here,
12:15they would have installed one.
12:17Trust me, this is a flagship model.
12:19It has to sound better than anything else
12:21and be both excellent and stable.
12:23That means the original power supply
12:26goes through an additional filter,
12:29a mains filter,
12:30and it's more so that the unit doesn't send anything back.
12:36But it also filters everything that comes through the line,
12:39though very little actually comes through the line.
12:43There's a good mains filter here.
12:45It already filters.
12:46Then there's a rectifier,
12:48and then we have it here under this construction.
12:51There's a large inductor here
12:53for the power factor corrector,
12:54and then an even larger inductor.
12:57Again, the filter is huge.
12:59A huge filter,
13:00but it has a different purpose.
13:02This large inductor stores energy.
13:05This is the first storage unit,
13:08because for such an amplifier,
13:10we can't just suddenly draw the required current
13:13from the mains in any way.
13:15It will sag there,
13:17so we've made a whole series of storage devices
13:20where we accumulate energy
13:22or that surge for the drum.
13:24It's a short pulse,
13:26so once a second there's a big hit,
13:28a sharp edge.
13:30This sharp edge is a high frequency signal,
13:33almost 4 kHz,
13:35and we have to deliver that sharp edge instantly.
13:38So how is it done here?
13:39So, here we have the first energy storage,
13:43and first we accumulate this energy,
13:46and then we boost it up to 400 volts,
13:49where the second converter operates at high frequency.
13:52And at high frequency,
13:54this transformer can handle about 5 kW.
13:58Based on its size,
13:59at high frequency,
14:01you can run 5 kW through it.
14:03It receives 400 volts at the input,
14:07which is converted into pulses,
14:08and it operates here.
14:10This is the primary side,
14:12this is the secondary side.
14:13Here it steps down
14:15and charges this capacitor bank,
14:17accumulating energy,
14:19secondary energy storage.
14:21The first one is here,
14:23energy is stored here,
14:24then we make 400 volts,
14:27and then more energy is accumulated here.
14:30And if you look more closely,
14:32see these large storage capacitors here,
14:35which are 10,000 microfarads,
14:38they also have these small storage capacitors
14:41connected in parallel for the first volt,
14:44for the initial, biggest current output,
14:47for that initial surge.
14:48And they're connected in parallel,
14:511, 2, 3, 4,
14:52also in parallel.
14:54And they have very low output resistance.
14:57If a current is needed,
14:59they deliver it instantly.
15:00And when they drop,
15:02then the big bank takes over.
15:04And when this big bank starts to deplete,
15:06the transformer has time to recharge it again.
15:10Why is this architecture used?
15:12Because any inductive element responds with a delay.
15:16If you request a large current from a big transformer right away,
15:21it can't do it.
15:22By its nature, it's slow.
15:24It accumulates energy,
15:25but it can't release it instantly.
15:27It can only release it after a short period.
15:31And capacitor, on the other hand,
15:33can release energy immediately,
15:36if you ask for it,
15:37almost instantly.
15:39That's why these inductive elements
15:41store energy
15:43and then release it after a delay.
15:45The initial demand is met here.
15:48And then our whole converter,
15:50the entire power supply,
15:52wakes up and we recharge these capacitors again.
15:55And what kind of music pattern do we have there?
15:58It's like thump, thump, thump, thump.
15:59Those are the biggest bass hits.
16:01When it comes to the mids,
16:03like the snare that goes at a high frequency,
16:06the power consumption is small.
16:07But with those first thump, thump, thump hits,
16:10we have to deliver a big woofer.
16:12A big woofer.
16:13And the whole architecture here is extremely precise.
16:17It's the same with classic amplifiers AB,
16:20where they have a big, big transformer.
16:22It has the same problem.
16:24It's big.
16:24It can constantly pass a lot of energy.
16:27But if you ask for sharp changes,
16:29it can't do it.
16:30It's always lagging.
16:32That's why, at the output,
16:34they have filters.
16:35The storage filter capacitors are also big.
16:38They're bigger for higher power.
16:40Sometimes it's 20,000.
16:42Sometimes up to 60,000.
16:45The more you store,
16:46the more you can instantly deliver for that hit.
16:49Yes, that's the immediate response to the impact,
16:53which is very important.
16:55Otherwise, the bass sounds smeared,
16:57but this way, it's sharp and precise.
17:01And that's why the power cord
17:03doesn't solve these problems in any way.
17:05It doesn't affect it at all.
17:07If you measure it on the power cord,
17:09well, this, well.
17:10The total power of this amplifier, yes.
17:13Two channels at 600 each.
17:15That's 1,200 watts.
17:171.2 kilowatts.
17:19But the average power consumption
17:21doesn't exceed 180.
17:23Because a music signal is like that.
17:25It has a crest factor of about 8
17:27compared to a sine wave.
17:29Yes, it has a lot of peaks.
17:30And then there's a little la-la-la-la-la-la.
17:33Then a big hit.
17:34And it will hit you in the stomach
17:36if there's a big speaker.
17:37Yes, you'll feel it with your whole body.
17:40So, the power cable doesn't solve this problem.
17:43It's solved at the architecture level.
17:45If the architecture is too simplified,
17:48then you can't get good bass.
17:50If the architecture is correct,
17:52then you'll have that kind of bass.
17:54And even a simple cable will handle everything.
17:58So, the engineers at Aquaface
17:59and the engineers at IcePower,
18:01they know how this works.
18:05People, salesmen, generally speaking,
18:07they chose the wrong arguments.
18:11Neither filtration nor instantaneous current
18:13has any effect on these cables.
18:15They say, we connected this cable
18:17and the bass started sounding better.
18:18But from a physics standpoint,
18:20that's simply impossible.
18:22So, so, they're a little susceptible to that.
18:25And those who didn't buy a very expensive cable
18:28but bought a good amplifier,
18:31sleep well.
18:32The stock cord that comes from the manufacturer
18:35is good enough.
18:37And those who didn't install
18:39such a super cool fuse for 40 euros,
18:42well, come on,
18:43it doesn't matter either.
18:45It's just a different architecture.
18:48So, I agree with the sellers
18:50that Aquaface is a wonderful amplifier
18:53and it's a great manufacturer,
18:55both the old and the new,
18:57and everything there is top-notch.
19:01But, as for the extra sales,
19:05like this cable
19:06and some other super filtering devices
19:09for the power amplifier,
19:11I don't know.
19:12It doesn't make sense
19:13because everything is filtered very well
19:15at the level of proper engineering architecture.
19:19If we're talking about pre-amplifiers,
19:21well, there are also different solutions there.
19:24If the electricity is really bad,
19:27then what?
19:27In the computer industry,
19:30there are uninterruptible power supplies
19:32with 100% regeneration
19:34and a sine wave signal.
19:37Well, buy one of those,
19:39put it on your pre-amplifiers,
19:41DACs, and so on and so on.
19:43Well, the power amplifier
19:44is connected to the main power supply,
19:46so in general,
19:47the fewer elements there are,
19:48if it's made correctly.
19:50Yes, any additional element
19:52you put in there,
19:53some kind of filter,
19:55will just reduce the performance quality
19:58of your amplifier.
19:59Putting different ones in there is harmful.
20:02So, if we're talking about modern marketing,
20:06well, there are things that I think
20:07shouldn't be done
20:08because they just ruin your reputation.
20:11Well, for example,
20:13if you have a good client
20:14who actually has a lot of money
20:16and no limitations,
20:17then we sell him a good amplifier
20:20and explain it,
20:21we sell him a good speaker.
20:23He'll save on those pseudo cables
20:26and maybe buy some more important things,
20:29like a next level speaker, for example.
20:32Or, if he's planning,
20:34he might use that money
20:35to buy several services,
20:37try them out,
20:39choose the best ones,
20:40and so on and so on.
20:41In general,
20:43the money saved from pseudoscience
20:45should be invested
20:46either in a speaker
20:48or in various experiments,
20:50in things that make us happy.
20:52And for all those
20:54who think that their amplifier
20:55doesn't sound good
20:57because they don't have
20:58a good power cable
20:59or an exclusive power cable,
21:02rest easy,
21:03you have the right,
21:05good cable.
21:06So, what conclusions
21:08can we draw from this?
21:09So, what's important for you
21:12are high-quality reservoir capacitors
21:14with low internal resistance.
21:17We need a proper,
21:18good, correct architecture
21:20and here it is proper and good.
21:22We need a sufficiently
21:24powerful power supply.
21:25If you look at this whole setup,
21:28we talk a lot about the amplifier.
21:29It's just this much, right?
21:31But the power supply is this much.
21:34It's everything.
21:35The power supply.
21:36And the quality of the power supply
21:39determines the quality
21:40of your modern audio system
21:42because this part
21:43with modern semiconductors
21:45we can build very well
21:47but here it's expensive.
21:50Yes, this part is more expensive
21:52than this part.
21:54There's a lot of know-how here,
21:55a lot of science,
21:56but once it's been refined,
21:58it's not expensive
21:59while this part is always expensive.
22:01If you have a class AB amplifier,
22:04a big one,
22:05you need a transformer
22:06and you need good storage capacitors,
22:09very good ones.
22:10Yes, that's important.
22:13You can save a lot on this.
22:15Yes, competition is tight,
22:16but here, here,
22:17it's impossible to save.
22:19This part costs almost nothing.
22:21Yes, but this one is expensive.
22:23So, when buying new modern power amplifiers,
22:26we pay attention to the power supply unit.
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