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!
@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 |
@sns Thanks for the further clarification about your system. It is elaborate and it sounds incredible. Based on what you've described -- plus, I think your ability to hear differences, which may be physiological or may come from your system -- I am sure that I would not be able to hear half the differences you do from an expensive PC. I have many more useful places to improve my system, first! After that, I'll try again. For now, it would be like dropping Waygu beef into cheap marinara sauce. Thanks for a look into an Olympian system. By the way, a long time ago, I had a look at Robert Arrington's system...it was amazing, too. |
I use upgraded cables on all the subwoofers I set up and use. The sub in my main system has a 400W class D amp. It’s what I would call high end lifestyle gear, and is pretty good sounding. It came stock with a consumer grade 18 gauge cord with a figure 8 connector. Because of the way the cord enters from the bottom, stiffer and larger gauge cables were not an immediate option. After figuring out how to put the sub on spikes (which improved performance) I built a 14 gauge cable with Furutech parts. With the new cable, the sub sounds better, cleaner, more defined, with improvements in overall soundstage. It is possible that an even bigger gauge cable would be better, but I am satisfied for now, and my experience suggests that a sub with a class D amp can benefit from a better cable. kn |
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 |
@jrareform Indeed, you may find relatively unknown cables to be real value, or perhaps not. The diy recipe I use today replaced much more expensive cables from well known manufacturers, depending on materials and length these cable cost between aprox. $350-$700. For anyone interested in diy these are Double Helix @williewonka design, many threads on Audiogon. |
