Thanks everyone for the responses. Varying answers which I always appreciate. I have noticed power conditioning has helped my subs sound more tight and controlled so I figure a solid power cord may able to help as well. But I agree that going for a super high end cable is probably unnecessary and money would be better spend elsewhere. May have to try a few cables from my local hifi shop and report back compared to basic cables!
Are upgraded power cables for subwoofers worth it?
I recently have been filling in all of the holes in my secondary system. Recently picked up a shunyata power conditioner, upgraded speaker cables, and power cable for my amplifier.
My question is, is it worth running higher end audiophile power cables with subwoofers, considering distortion is not as apparent to the human ear in the sub bass range? I use a high end receiver for my DAC in this system with a normal power cable as well. Would I get better performance increase from upgrading sub cables or my DAC(receiver w pre outs) power cable?
Any specific suggestions for sub power cables, or DAC power cables that are inexpensive (sub 200 or even $100)
Thanks for your time!
Showing 7 responses by jrareform
@stereo5 - you had thousands of dollars worth of cabling and power conditioning "just laying around" haha - must be nice @docknow - interesting situation with the class D sub amps. I run a high end class D for my mains in my second setup with an XC power cord. Wonder if an NR would be more beneficial? I really am in love with those Cardas Parsec power cables for low priced power cabling for amps though. Seem to just punch way above their price point or just synergize extremely well with my system. Tried against a $2000 Nordost cable and I preferred it by a mile. My rhythmik subs have A/B amps so I probably will run XC with them or just some beefy amazon ones. Right now it's partially just a distance requirement that I've come to need new cables. The servo subs are working fantastically, although I've learned over the years that "better" can always be achieved if one is willing to pay the cost of entry and the time and effort to test various equipment in a similar price tier. @sns My studio setup is similar but I still saw a pretty massive improvement using a Shunyata Gemini-8 with a Theta C19 power cable. I know it seems like the book is closed for you on power conditioning, but if you have anyone near you that has Shunyata gear, may be worth a try again? I'm noticing the opposite - improved transients and it's not a preference thing. I'm an audio engineer and recording engineer so I live on my system and am well aware of how transients are incredibly important for realism on a system and can make or break a good mix when layered properly. Your setup from your breaker may be superior to mine though? Interesting how components can be world shatteringly amazing in one system and not work at all in another |
@stereo5 yea I know the feeling. Plenty of gear I need to list as well I think I'm going to go with some of these well reviewed Amazon chi-fi ones and see what happens. Hard to justify nice 3 or 4 meter sub cables when I'm extremely pleased with my system with stock cables. I don't doubt that it could make a difference but feel like there's probably other things I should be saving for. That T&A D200 calls my name... one day |
This is what I wound up going with. Well reviewed, thick gauge. I’ve also heard people say their isolation feet for speakers are real good for the price. If these offer an audible benefit on my second system, this may behoove me to install higher end power cabling on my studio subwoofers and in that case I’ll probably look at more Cardas Parsec cables. Tertullus HiFi Audiophile Power Cord with US Rhodium Plated Connector Plug+ IEC 320 C15 Female Connector Audio AC Power Cable 125V 15A for Speaker, Subwoofer, Turntable, AMP(3M / 9.89FT)… https://a.co/d/hvrktng @knownothing thanks for your input. Makes me think these beefy chi-fi Amazon cables may be an improvement even if theyre not name brand audiophile cables |
@sns thanks for the detailed instructions. One of my best friends is a tinkerer that does all my soldering work so I may see if he's up for the job. If you are saying you're getting high end results at a fraction of the cost, I'm all ears. The runs would be fairly short for my studio subs so they may be not as time consuming as my second setup where they need 3 meters each. I'll let you know if I go through with it and the results! |
@sns that looks like a solid option. What do materials cost on those typically for you and how difficult are they to create? @knownothing good call on that. I figure these were at least OFC but my shunyata stuff is all OCC which is definitely superior. Was a little skeptical of chi fi stuff actually using OCC but if youve had good results with these I'll have to check them out! |