2. cables
  3. 183326-178782

An interesting experience with power cable.

I’ve read a lot about power cables throughout the years and finally took a leap of faith and bought 1 silver-plated power cable. Of course I immediately plugged it in my amp and turn on everything for a listen. I could hear a tiny improvement but honestly was underwhelmed. I plugged the basic cable back into the amp. I plug the upgraded cable into my DAC for fun.

 

WOW, immediate and significant improvements. I gained a substantial amount of smoothness and sweetness and perceived clarity was also improved. I have alternate the upgraded power cable into the amp a few times, each time I get the same results, underwhelming, not as dramatic as if the cable went into the DAC.

 

So that was unexpected, I’m not saying power cable for amps are not significant. What I’m saying is, if you have only 1 upgraded power cable, the rest being stock basic, then plug it in your DAC, you might be surprised as well. Thanks for reading fellas.

 

Very curious to get a 2nd cable for the amp now.

128x128samureyex

Showing 3 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,445 posts
 

OP,

 

Happy to hear that you got improvement using your new power cord.

Power cords to the amp can make a huge difference. These days power cords are customized to either low current components or high current. The low current ones emphasize noise rejection and the high current one’s emphasis low resistance for maximum power transmission.

I have been dedicated to high end audio for fifty years. I have a jaw dropping experience about a digital interconnect, analog interconnect, speaker cable, power cord, and Ethernet. The biggest over that time has been the digital and amp power cord. But all this is dependent on your components.

I spent over a year trying to get the power cord right on my amps. I tried many… WireWorld, DHLabs, JVS, Transparent, others, and Cardas Clear… pretty good, but ever so slightly impeded detail and overly warmed the tonal balance. Then my audio guy dropped off an Audio Quest Hurricane. Holy cow… what an incredible difference. I ordered one instantly.

FYI, I also optimized my component power cords (and of course interconnects). And the Transparent interconnects and power cords on my DAC, preamp, and phonostage have had a profound positive impact on my system.

Typically, a high end power cord and speaker wires can be the biggest improvements in one’s system. It would be really helpful to see your system. We can be of much greater help if we can see your components and venue. I might be able to recommend a power cord for your amp… but need to know what it is… if I have enough knowledge to make a suggestion.

 

ghdprentice
6,445 posts
 

OP,

 

Thanks for the additional info. All cables must be taken in the context of your components. It seldom makes sense to spend 50% of the value of a component on a power cord, for instance… because that money applied to a component upgrade is typically better spent.

My amps cost $34K, so spending $4K on two Hurricanes makes sense. But spending that on a $5K amp would not make sense. This is why all decisions are so system dependent.

 

ghdprentice
6,445 posts
 

I have an extra refrigerator in the basement. I got a converter plug so I can use a power cord as an extension cord and let it power the refrigerator to break in a new power cords. 

More to discover