Do I need upgraded power cables?


Hello and Good Day

I'm wondering about power conditioners and power cords. Here's my equipment:

Cronus Magnum lll Integrated Tube Amp / Focal Aria 948 DW Speakers / Kimber Kable 8TC Speaker Cables / 2 SVS SB2000 Pro A Subwoofers with SVS Sound Path Subwoofer Cables / Grado Sonata Cartridge / Pro-Ject 2 Xperience SB DC Turntable using the included interconnects / Denon DCD 1700NE CD Player using Kimber Sliver Streak Interconnect / Panamax MR4300 Power Line conditioner and surge protection 

Upgrade the Panamax?  - is it providing anything besides surge protection? Upgrade the power cords for which component? Or do nothing? Maybe my components aren't audiophile enough to justify purchasing upgraded power cords. 

Any advise or recommendations would be appreciated.

Thank you

Bill

 

bzawa

You could borrow AC cables from the Cable Company and try different brands that way.  The rental fee is 10% of the value of the cables, and you can apply that to the cost of any cables you buy from them. They discount some of their cables. I have been very pleased with their customer service, and other Audiogoners have also praised their customer service.

I have been pleased with Cardas AC cables on my preamp and amps.

Based upon the recommendations from @erik_squires (very knowledgeable), I recently purchased a Furman P-2400 AR (the 20A version of his above recommendation) and the Furman PSD 8D, with very good results. 

The 2400 provides voltage regulation, conditioning, surge protection & isolated banks for analog & digital (6 each). I use it for my main components & is full. 

The 8D does everything except voltage regulation, with 4 each isolated banks. I use it for my secondary components (6 of 8 outlets). 
I purchased both for less than $1,000 ($3,800 retail). Highly recommended. 

On upgraded PC’s, never A/B’d, but just bought them… Audioquest NRG Z3 for amp, Y3 for remaining components. Reasonably priced & look good. Don’t know if they improved SQ, but did once buy a Pangea PC that actually degraded sound, so reasonable to assume one would see improvement with the right PC’s. 

One more thing, IMHO isolated banks for your analog & digital components is critical, unless you run two dedicated power lines & 2 separate power conditioners.
When installing my 2400, I accidentally plugged my turntable into the bank I was using for digital, and a digital component into the analog side. It sounded terrible, so I can personally attest to the recommendation to separate analog & digital.

If you’re primarily source is vinyl - did apro do your TT set up? This might be the best value if not.

You are like me when it comes to power cables. I can't say for certain if they are worth the upgrade or price but I contemplate trying cables more often these days. Living in Florida I do use a Surge protector. I bought a somewhat expensive Panamax myself a few years ago. It was like a $800 unit I got for under half price for being an open box & the original owner scratched the poop out of the top of it. At some point a buddy of mine brought his outlet noise reading gizmo over. Half the outlets on the Panamax were good..the other half was nosier than coming straight out of the wall. I bought a cheap Furman (under $100). No extra noise added. 

For power cables I've made my own from Gotham power cables. Shielded & extremely flexible. Gotham 85025 to be exact. They have a heavier cable that is well liked in the 85055 but it's hard to find these days. Their newest hi-end series 86215 is supposed to be their best. All I can say about all of Gotham cables is that they are legit quality good. I don't know if they are adding or degrading to the sound. 

I purchased 2nd hand a very heavy  high percentage Silver material 10 gauge power cable for a power amp just a few years ago. My subjective perception was everything sounded brighter. I don't know if thats because the Silver = Bright bias was in my head but that is legitimately what I perceived over a couple months. I eventually put that cable on a subwoofer..doesn't sound bright there lol.  

Like so many others have said..you really gotta try it. Building your own from quality power cables & connectors is Always a good option. I think the main thing is to just have quality copper cables & good connectors..shielded or not shielded.  I'm good with copper wire. I really like these shielded Gotham cables. Pine Tree audio is a US cable maker that makes quality cables for normal prices. Ice Audio was a site I recently came across that seemed to have inexpensive (in comparison) cables that looked legit. But obviously there are hundreds to thousands of cable makers out there. DIY is always an option too...places like Parts Connexion or VH-Audio to name a couple. 

If you end up trying something let us know your experience. I've always wanted to try the Shunyata NR cables..the ones actually listed as Noise Reduction.