Without a doubt - the Synergistic Research Master Coupler. I have a VT200 and it made a nice difference for me! Can find a used one on the net for $150! |
Essence Pro-Flo $300.00 added to my CAT pre was like one notch up in performance. Almost as good as their $500. cord. The CAT people love this cord for the cost and sound. They used it at the last show in their demo room. |
shunyata-powersnakes. ther're the best on everything.the only cable that you actually hear more detail in every frequency range.look on the net and you'll see all these other high dollar cables for sale[cheap]that's because they have powersnakes now.email the sellers of these cables and you'll see. |
I have tried twelve different power cords on both my amplifiers and CD player and I advise you to not believe that anyone else can tell you what is absolutely best for your application and tastes. I was astounded at both how much difference the after- market cords improve the sound vs. stock cords, and how much difference there is between different brands. Personally, I'm hooked on shunyata research powersnakes. Check out the new sidewinder, which will be available late next week. It should be a great performer. Call my friend Paul at The Cable Company- you can borrow different cords from the lending library, and you'll love the professional, friendly, service. Good luck. |
I am sold on the powersnakes. The black mamba is very good and an incrediable improvement for the money but the cobra is a several magnitudes better. I'm afraid to hear the king cobra. |
Tjreed is correct. They do all sound different. You will do yourself a disservice if you do not try a Powersnake in your system. It's rare to see a used one here @ the Audiogon because they are magnificent. The only time you see one is when someone is upgrading to a higher snake. Good luck in your search. Shunyata is the only way to go... |
Tjreed and Jaguar are right! Or you buy King Cobra or nothing....... I use this power cord on Cec TL-0 Mk2 Transport and stock power cord on my mono amps M1.1. i don't like after market power cords on amps.They will change the sound ( except for KC).I have selled all my after power cords. Marco from italy |
...with others on a Krell amplifier? I've tried a ton of different ones, and still haven't found what I want. I hope to try the Shunyatas soon, but it's tough waiting for them (kinda like buying gasoline last Thursday...what a bunch of bullcrap!). Someone ought to let me audition their Shunyatas. Mikela? |
And I agree with "Bozo". The ESP Pro Flo is such a good value, it's spooky. A used one for around $150 would be impossible to pass up for the budget conscious. It beat the hell out of the Harmonic Technology cord when I compared them on my Krell amp. The only one I've heard so far that got better treble from my amp than the ESP (made CD's literally equal analog, in the treble) was the Magnan Signature. It wasn't dynamic enough, though. |
MIT zipcord II works great on my Classe - took the soundstage way behind the front wall. Synergistic Master not as good as the MIT on the amp but outstanding on my digital front end. |
I ALREADY USED SYNG.ds.sq.ref-NBS stetament II-Purist dominus and now all my AC cords are SHUNYATA king kobra.ı can easyly say that shunyata[BLACKmamba-kobra or king kobra] cables are very BEST.... |
Wait a minute !! This looks like a KING COBRA website, does the world revolve around a KC ? OK, just kidding now, I own cobra and a KC, the KC is used on my CD source. The KC is a revolutionary product. It's like EG's Fatman coupled with PS Audio's Power plant. The KC might be worth cashing in a few dot-com stocks. What I need to know is, what is "star dust" ?? Does anyone have a clue. |
Hi Kuro..; I recently auditioned 5 power cords from The Sanctuary of Sound in Seattle, WA, including a prototype of Shunyata's new "Sidewinder". (Note: right now my system is tilted to the bright side of neutral because of recent installation of dedicated AC system). The Sidewinder is very smooth, detailed, has wide soundstage, and is subjectively fast with good bass, ie pace and rhythm are well served. I think the Sidewinder is tonally neutral, but my system is presently a bit bright so I did not purchase it. Rather, I opted for the Syn. Res. Master coupler which is slightly on the dark, mellow side of neutral-- to help tame my system brightness. The Sidewinder I had was the 20 amp IEC plug version to fit my big McCormack amp. The SR-MC was the more standard 15 amp version, that I put on my pre-amp. I feel sure that if I had not put in the dedicated AC system, I certainly would have purchased the Shunyata Sidewinder, and I predict that at $375. (list) Shunyata is going to sell a LOT of them. But for MY system, I returned the Sidewinder, and ordered a 2nd SR-MC (in 20 amp IEC) for my amp. The SR-MC + Sidewinder was almost an excellent combo. Note: I also have Syn. Res. ICs and speaker cables, so there may have been some synergy with their PCs in my system. The other cords: Electraglide-- little difference from stock OEM; Orchard Bay-- same; Essense ESP-- too much of everything with a forward, aggressive midrange that some may like, but I didn't. I would never buy a power cord without auditioning it-- unless you buy it cheap and can resell it if you don't like it. As Michael Bush (1st post) recommended, I would not overlook the Synergistic Research Master Couplers or maybe their more expensive Reference model. |
I also tried the Master Coupler. Too filtered, too dark, very tubby bass. The Reference is probably much better, but these Shunyatas are supposed to be great. Mine are taking a while getting to me. |
Tjreed's post of 04/08/00 is RIGHT ON-- audition and choose what works best for you. That said, I WANNA try more Power Snakes. |
has anyone tried the cardas golden powercord if so is it any good . I have been told that it is very smooth. |
Chucky: I use a Cardas Golden Power Cord (which I purchased thru Audiogon from a dealer in New Jersey-mint demo-he gave me a great price-same as or less than used Goldens) which I use on my integrated amp (all these posters are super high-end guys so I'd be embarrased to say what it is!). My amp has a reputation for being a little on the analytical side and I believe the Cardas has fleshed it out a bit and the improvement has definitely been worthwhile-more info, very musical, much more bass extension etc. The dealer I bought from also suggested I "float the ground" so I removed the ground prong and this did indeed improve the sound further. I have been very happy with the cord. One drawback to the Golden is that it is very stiff. Something else you (or anyone) might consider are the BMI cords being sold on Audiogon auction-I recently purchased two of the "Edge" cords (got them for $50 each-I know-everyone's laughing!). These are outstanding cords for the money, and the guy that's selling them has a new upgraded cord out that is supposedly even better going at still fabulous prices. I put the two cords I bought onto my CD player and line conditioner and the improvement was phenomenal-I would place it in the same category as a major component upgrade, and if I wanted to buy another power cord, I would probably buy his new model; if you don't like it, you can switch it to your TV to get a better picture and not feel like you've lost a fortune! He has a ton of positive feedback postings, and some of the buyers of these cords have posted that they have since sold their Magnan, Harmonic Tech etc. "high end" cords to use these budget wonders on equpipment much more expensive than mine. Anyway-if you want more info on the Cardas dealer with the hot deal (don't think he has any right now, but you might ask him to keep you posted) you can e-mail me and I'll let you know who it is. Blake (palmerblake@hotmail.com) |
After reading Carl's post of 5/2/00 essentially "trashing" the Synergistic Research Master Coupler (SR-MC), I decided to critically listen last night for the negative characteristics he noted. I have the SR-MC on my Line 2 pre-amp. 1) too filtered (I took this to mean "veiled" as STPH and TAS use the term)-- not at all, in fact music quality/character was transparent, natural and inviting. 2) Too dark: slightly on the rich, mellow side of neutral (which I prefer, and my system presently needs) but certainly not too dark. 3) very tubby bass-- this was the most difficult criticism to assess. In certain rock, pop, and jazz songs where electric bass and kick drum reinforce each other, SOME songs on some CDs had bass that might be described as somewhat "tubby". But please note that both the electric bass and typical kick drum have "tubbiness" as an inherent musical characteristic-- IMHO, and I've had personal experience playing alongside both of these. But to really assess the bass of this power cord, I had to get into CDs with serious mid and upper bass. Both Enigma #1, and #4 CDS feature the mid-bass to upper bass with a variety of drums and other percussion instruments, and on both of these, bass was taut, articulate, and musical. I enjoyed both CDs a lot. The same with L. McKennitt's "Book of Secrets" which features a variety of percussive instruments on several of the tracks-- overall, very musical without a hint of "tubbiness". Conclusion: in my system, the SR-MC is an excellent performer, and I'm looking forward to getting the same cord for my amp-- it's on order. In the course of doing this testing, I periodically switched to the stock cord for comparison, and in the bass the two cords are similar. It's in the mid-range and above where the SR-MC is clearly superior. I rather did enjoy this challenge; it made me dig deeper, listen more carefully, and assess more rigorously. Thanks, Craig |
I wasn't trying to challenge you, Craig. Different cords will work for different systems, but what I heard in mine, is what I heard. And that was comparing six different cords (all with healthy break-in and settling time). Sam Tellig always says your mileage may vary, and I should have said that. I wasn't out to diminish anyone else's experience. |
Hi Garfish. This may be bad news, but then again it may be helpful. When running a dedicated AC, it is useful to have first identified which direction of the AC feed sounds best. I discovered this the hard way. I ran the dedicated AC and got a mixture of good and bad. Specifically, there was a brightness that was difficult to deal with. Then I was told about the directionality of the TPC AC feeder. To check, I just ran another AC link through the house to the stereo (ie. not putting it in the wall), but with the direction reversed. This proved Murphy's Law once again and I had to redo the dedicated AC with the cable in the right direction. I hope there is some simpler explanation in your case, because I was not terribly pleased. But the removal of brightness was not the only benefit. Depth and bass punch were considerably improved. |
Hi Redkiwi, and thanks for the input. In my professional career there was a saying a close friend used to use a lot that I think applies here; "I wish I understood all that I know about this". That said, what does TPC AC feeder mean? Are you referring to switching the power cable from the main supply panel to the sub-main end for end or side to side? To tell the truth, I was expecting nothing but good things with this dedicated power supply-- and it has dramatically lowered the noise floor, but as noted, the mid-range on up is overly bright, and I suspect it also has had an affect on the lower frequencies; it's just not as noticeable because I'm focused on the brightness. Would you mind if I email you privately-- through Audiogon to discuss this a bit more? As I don't suppose most are very interested in such a mundane topic. Thanks. Craig. |
Hi Carl, I too enjoy the musings of Sam Tellig. As noted, I did sort of enjoy "re-visiting" my decision to go with the Syn. Res. BTW, I got the 2nd one today and am looking forward to getting it broken in. And I know, that you know, that power cords are really system dependent-- so much so that it could drive you crazy auditioning them. Craig. |
Yes, and I thought that went without saying. |
ATTENTION ALL YOU POWER SNAKE LOVERS!! CALL ARTISTIC AUDIO TO GET YOUR SNAKES AT: (949)362-6080, WE ALSO EXCEPT CREDIT CARDS. ALSO VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: aaudio.com |
Hi Garfish. You can email me at "mark.jenkins@telecom.co.nz". TPC stands for Tough Pitch Copper, but means the stuff your electrician puts in the wall. To run a dedicated AC feed, TPC is fine in my opinion since the key issues are very tight connections and very low resistance. It is only the last 6 feet or so that you need a good quality audio AC cable. That said, it appears Albertporter has used a higher quality cable for his AC feeds - not a high-end AC cable, but a high purity conductor in his feeder. I put it badly in my previous post, but I just meant that the TPC feeder cable is just as directional as all your other cables, if not more so. When I did my dedicated feed I put it in the wrong way and got a flat and bright presentation. When I put it in the right way things improved quite a bit. I just thought you should check this before you start voicing your system to overcome the brightness. Other things to do are to replace any fuses in the feeder with ceramic types, and check, clean and tighten every connection right back as far as you can go. |
You guys are all nuts. How the cord carrying 60 Hz 120 volts alternating current that then passes through a transformer and then rectified into direct current can affect sound to the degree claimed is amazing. I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! Maybe you guys should think about upgrading your rectifiers and getting more pure DC? Get real! |
Hi Rfj; Try some and you'll be amazed. Awhile ago I didn't believe it either, then I auditioned six. They all sounded different from each other-- some good, some bad, some little difference. Dealers will often let you audition broken in demos for free. Go hunting, and good luck. Craig |
