Do I need upgraded power cables?

I’m looking into the acoustic zens. Just wondering why you suggested them. And if you don’t mind - what do you think about about Cardas Persecs?

Thanks @mclinnguy.  I recommended them because you think the Kimbers are bright sounding and the AZs are not, and if they don’t work out you can turn around and sell them for little/no loss so very low risk to try. They walk that rare line of being nicely detailed in the treble but in a very refined way such that they don’t sound bright nor rolled off, and they offer excellent tonality, imaging, and 3D soundstage. If I were to sum them up I’d call them effortlessly natural sounding where nothing stands out. I’ve been using them in my system for about 20 years and they have held off all comers at or near their price, and I have recommended them to several people here over the years and all have been very happy/impressed with their performance. I don’t know anything about the Parsecs and couldn’t find any reputable reviews of them so unfortunately have no useful info there. In the past the more entry level Cardas offerings have tended to be on the warm side with a polite treble balance that I found to be rolled off with the ones I tried years ago (Ultralink or Quadlink I think — can’t remember), but I have no idea if the Parsecs have that quality or not.  All I know is that the AZ cables/interconnects are all-around excellent performers and an outstanding value especially when buying used. Read some reviews for more perspectives, and hope this helps.

You have gotten quite a few measured responses regarding power cables, which I think is great.  Too often these types of threads devolve to the cables do/don't make any difference and "anyone who thinks that they make a difference is deluded."  I am firmly in the "everything makes a difference" camp, and in my system cables definitely do make a difference.  You first have to understand that when most people say that something "makes a difference" or "improves the sound quality,"  they are talking about incremental differences, not "my system sucked and now its great."

In my system, I first tried an Audience Power Chord on my Plinius amp at the time.  I immediately noticed better bass.  I realized then that there was something to this PC thing to my surprise.  An excellent PC BTW.  Over the years I upgraded my system and now I have all Shunyata Sigma power cables, speaker cables and a Shunyata Everest power conditioner.

First, the Shunyata power cables are simply excellent.  You can get a pair of Alpha's used at "reasonable" prices.  I found that upgrading the power cable from stock on my ARC REF 6 preamp was a surprisingly good improvement.  The Shunyata over the Pass stock cable was also a decent but not as great improvement.  I found the power cable on my MSB DAC over stock made a minor improvement -- the least of the three.  And bringing up the rear, putting a new power cable on my REL s/510 was a complete waste of money.  No audible difference at all (to me).  So yes, I think that good power cables will improve the sound of your system.

But the biggest surprise to me was when I decided to stop reading all of the hype about power conditioners and bought a Shunyata Everest with a Sigma power cable.  That literally brought my system to a new level of soundstage, clarity, and dynamics.  The improvement was not small.  Again, not a new system, but it really refined it.  I have my Pass 250.8 plugged into one of the Everest's high current outlets and it sings.  The Everest HC outlasts are designed to handle power amps.  I am very very happy with my Everest.  Highly recommended!  

@mclinnguy Thank you

@bzawa the important part of your question is that you’re asking other people what you "need", and in my experience, that’s just never the way to go.

fear of missing out means you’re already in fear ... so you’re not in a position to listen critically or to enjoy

Having said that ...

AC cables have a very real effect on the sound, and there are so many options out there, but it’s only something that you consider at the very end when you are happy with what you have and are looking for something to take it over the top without buying new equipment

when you get to that stage, I strongly recommend Shunyata Research. Not only is it very audible, what they sell, but it’s backed by science, and the pricing is incredibly reasonable for the quality… I believe they have the top quality products in the world

No bad artifacts. Great value  

So the question is, what are you going for, and they have a number of options each with different flavors and different price points, but you can never go wrong buying anything from Shunyata

my three favorite cable products from Shunyata are the Theta, the Sigma X, and the new Omega QR, three very different price points

the Gemini 8 is a nice product for very reasonable money, and you can go up from there into Denali and Everest

@bzawa

You got your answer right away from @bigtwin. Order three or four from one of the online sellers that offer trial periods/refunds and audition them for yourself. Audio Advisor is one example.

Personally, I favor The Cable Co. You can borrow burned-in cables from them, listen and decide for yourself. This has become my go-to approach to cable upgrades. I just completed a power cable comparison using their cable lending library and opted to stay with my current brand but move up their line. If you’re interested, PM me and I’ll give you the name of the guy I always work with, there. Very knowledgeable, patient and no hard-sell tactics.

Good luck!