@pastorbob is always right :)
I ordered the AE power cord 2P and have been playing it since yesterday. Wow, what a difference! It's like everything opened up a bit further. More details even at whisper low volumes, guitars have more bite, piano has more weight.
However, I will add that the Curios Cable USB chord didn't really improve the sound anyways. I can't hear much of a different between it and the AudioQuest Forest cable I had before. |
@mesch You can also email them. They were pretty quick to reply. |
@pastorbob -- did you mean to say 2P is safe for any application, or were you referring to 3P? Based on what I read on the website, it looks like 2P is a better choice for DACs, but I'll certainly reach out to the AE.
So for Curious Cable, right now I don't notice any differences apart from a maybe a bit more bass. Unfortunately, I have been super busy lately and have not been able to burn in the cable yet. It'll probably be a couple of weeks for me to put on 50+ hours, at which point I will share my impressions. But right now, I honestly cannot hear any differences.
BTW, I have never had a power conditioner in any of my systems -- headphone or 2 channel. That's another avenue I still need to explore. Maybe after upgrading ATM3. |
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Thanks ... most likely I will order the 2p for the DAC in a day or two. Appreciate your advice. |
@jjss49 Thanks for the reply. Actually I was thinking about silver ic's. Since both my DAC and amp are tubes, I wouldn't mind a wee bit of sparkle as long as it doesn't sound harsh or bright. Any thoughts on power cord?
My AMT3 is still breaking in, but already sounds miles better than previous DACs. It does such a great job of reducing digital harshness but not at the expense of details or resolutions. Just right, for my tastes at least.
I'm planning to upgrade to SE in a few months. Hopefully it'll be worth it. |
Great advice! I agree that the best path is to get my AMT upgraded first before spending money on ic's and power cords. I'll stay put for the time being.
@pastorbob -- I ordered the Curious cable (reg version) and received it yesterday. I'm keeping my mouth shut tight until I've put at least 50 hours on it... lol! I reached out to Jaguar Designs who are the US distributors for Curious to ask if it's worth paying extra for the Evolved. They told me that unless my DAC is over $4000, Evolved might be overkill.
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@yyzsantabarbara IIRC your headphones are Meze Empyrean right? What kind of improvement did you notice with the Wywire cables? I have Hifiman Arya and Focal Clears, not as high end as yours but still considered reasonably good performers. I do wonder if it's worth spending extra for non-stock cables. |
Audio Envy seems to offer two PCs - 2p which is ungrounded, and 3p which is grounded. It sounds like 2p is what they are recommending for DACs, but I'm not sure what all that means or if there's risk involved. |
@yyzsantabarbara Thanks for your detailed response. Once I'm done with upgrading the DAC in my 2 channel rig, I might refocus on my headphone system. I really like the R2R sound, so I might be getting a similar DAC for the headphones too. Although, I've heard great things about RME. Or maybe a used Benchmark. |
BTW, have you tried using Roon's DSP for your headphones? When I first got the Focal Clear, I really did not like the sound at all. But I set the bands based on rotary 1990's published settings and it made a world of difference. |
@jayctoy I'm using the P2 with my DAC |
@snopro Thanks for the recommendation. I'm really enjoying the tubadour and do plan to upgrade to SE in a few months.
Appreciate your recommendation for Triod Wire PC but I already purchased the Audio Envy 2P and it made a noticeable improvement. |
@pastorbob -- looks like the upgrade will have to wait for a little bit. I ended up buying speakers for my media room, and still looking for an integrated amp to drive them. the AM DAC upgrade will probably happen after 6 months or so, after my wallet gets a chance to regain its self esteem :) |
