Cable Synergy


I'm hoping to purchase a Ps Audio power plant. Is a Ps Audio power cord a must, or would Signal Cable be just fine. I love the prices on Frank's products and have been satisfied with them as well. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
zar

Showing 3 responses by tplavas

The xstream statement is an okay cable for before the power plant, but I'd look into something smaller in gauge with more resolution for connecting your components to the power plant. Keep in mind that 6 gauge is way beyond the internal capacity of any of the power plants, so it's mostly wasted capacity getting in the way of your musical dynamics.
As always, IMO. Your mileage may vary.
Zar, how powerful is your amp? Unless it's 500wpc or more, and your speakers are very inefficient, I can't recommend the lab for it. While these mega-gauge pc's do help mitigate the damage done by powerline filters; they really do unbalance the natural dynamic relationships of the music when used 'straight to the wall'. They can sound quite alluring in your typical high-end system, which tends to be quite forward in the upper-bass and mids, but once you've sacrificed organic dynamics, there's no retrieving them.
Power cables are the first 'link in the chain', so any damage done there is very hard to correct.
If it were I, I'd look at pc's no heavier than 10 gauge for your amp, and maybe closer to 11-12 gauge if it's under 200 wpc.
Of course and as always; IMO.
I should be clear that when I talk about natural, organic dynamic relationships with power cables, I'm referring to musical dynamics; both macro and micro, although I really don't much care for those terms. You certainly don't lose 'macro' dynamics when using a mega-gauge pc, but you do (in my experience) lose the natural sounding link between musical fundamentals and harmonics.
Although it's not a perfect analogy, the change in sound reminds me of an old analog 70's 'Dynamic Range Expander'. By pushing the obvious dynamics to the front, and relegating the smaller dynamics to the back, it made for a 'weird' musical presentation.
The reason I say this often sounds alluring in a typical high-end system, is because this dynamic 'expansion' if you will, mimics an increase in bass and treble by pushing the 'punchier' bass and percussion to the fore. This tends to offset the midrange emphasis that most high-end systems are designed with (to bring out 'detail').
That's my speech, now feel free to completely ignore me, everyone else does. :)