Electraglide Epiphany , Upgrade or Downgrade?

As a steady user of Electraglide power cords I must say - people who state that the Epiphany X is tending to be unmusical are talking bullshit. There are for sure components like Nagra where EG Ex dóesn´t work and PAD is better - right! But for some brands like Audio Aero, Convergent, BelCanto or Ayre you won´t find a better match. On some components I needed to shift from EG to eg. Shunyata Helix series (Wadia cd-player) and Virtual Dynamics Revelation Signature Series (power plant) but generally spoken: the Epiphany X is a mighty fine power cord and excells 95% of all power cords I´ve heard in terms of transparency and detail retrieval as well as musical flow.

disclaimer:

The response and post I have written above (yesterday) stands true and accurate.

I have just received an email about why I am now selling my Electraglides after posting such a nice blurb about the Electraglides.

That was not a shill post, and you can read my prior discussions about my thoughts on the Electraglide cables in my history.

Truth be told of the current situation - little did I know that unfortunately the credit card bill would arrive today that had my new speakers as well as much of the room renovation purchases on it. Dumbass (<- me) here, promised the wife I would have the money to pay for the speakers by time the bill came. (I was hoping to A/B the regular Epiphany, the Epiphany X, and another cable or two... to find the best overall system synergy and then sell the remaining power cords)

However, at this time I am up a certain creek with the wife and I must liquidate something to pay the credit card.

In my mind - power cords are safer to ship than large components, and hopefully will be easier to find on the market in the future to re-purchase, once said credit card and wife are back in good standing...

I believe the thread that Lak refers to is this.

My house was the first of three places where this power cable shootout occured. All three of us were mightily impressed with the Epiphany X but it was really the Kubala-Sosna Emotion that was the overall winner.

The retail price of the Epiphany X is simply ridiculous. Come on, $6k for a power cable? Isn't $1k already crazy enough?

Over the last few months, Jadem6 and I have tried various Purist Dominus PCs in our systems. These exceed the K-S Emotion in terms of dynamics, low-end extension and textures; this is not subtle. The Epiphany X did not excel over the K-S in any of these ways. Only a little more detail on the top was where the Ephipany X excelled. I could see how too much of this would be overpowering. This is not the case with a system fully loaded with the K-S.

So before you go off and pay these ridiculous Epiphany X prices, try a Dominus. It has a typial used market price in the $800-900 range. It will handily destroy the standard Epiphany and X. The Dominus-B tends to be more rich in the mids and soft on the top. The Dominus-C has more life on the top being more like the K-S Emotion. I strongly suggest you also try the K-S Emotion as it is the most tonally neutral cable in the business that I have yet tried.

John

FYI:
There is a post in the archives in Audiogon where there was a listening session attended by several audiophiles and a number of PC's were auditioned. It was stated that the Epiphany X was supposed to sound better than the Epiphany. I also think that some stated that they preferred a different brand to the Epiphany X.

I own Epiphany X, Elrod statement, Kubala-Sosna Emotion, Jena Model One, and Pranawire Maha-Samadhi power cords and have had time to closely evaluate them all. I find the Epiphany X cord fine for my solid state amps in my HT system, but too unrefined for any of the components in my mostly tubed 2CH system. In my preferred/more used 2ch system, the X was close to being unmusical , no matter where I put it, except for the power conditioner. The Kubala Sosna is about the same price and IMS/IME/IMO a much more versatile pc and sounds better on my digital and amps compared to the X. Currently in my 2ch system I use a combination of Elrod Statements (monoblock amps) and Jena Model One pcs (digital sources) and Pranawire (analog source).

Try Purist Dominus, it absolutely destroyed my epiphany x in my RSL.

Audiofankj, the pictures of your setup look awsome. Please if you don't mind share your feedback after you have a chance to A/B with the X. Thanks for your input.

TVAD, Grant I have heard you have had problem getting your cord back. I am sorry to hear that there is still no resolution. It has been too long - I just don't understand.

I have owned Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler, Absolute Reference AC, Shunyata Taipan, Audience AU24 AC, Harmonix X-DC Studio Masters, Electraglide Fatman, Electraglide Mini Khan Plus, Electraglide Ultra Khan II. All of which are (mostly) much lower price point than the Epiphany's.

I now run all Epiphanys. I had the unfortunate experience of a friend bringing over an Epiphany and swapping it out with my Ultra Khan II (Electraglide) and I thought "how much difference could it possibly make?" Then began the exodus of other power cords as another and another Epiphany made it into my system.

I have just recently gotten two Epiphany X's which I am told are to be designed for higher current applications. They also sell for more, thus should be an upgrade. They are breaking in on my new speakers. I will also be trying the Epiphany X versus the regular Epiphany soon. If they are superior, I would imagine I will be putting some Epiphany's up for sale. The Epiphany hands down beat all other power cords I have tried. They have the speed and dynamics of the best, without losing some of the "organic" nature that most do when they have the speed and transparency. If the X improves upon that a bit, I would consider it an upgrade. However, looking at the used market, if the X is 10% better (no idea just a figure) and sells for a few hundred dollars more, it depends on what it is worth to the buyer.

I am thinking I may end up with a mix of both Epiphany and Epiphany X's.

Again, everything is very system dependant. From my experience new Epiphany's take about 2 full weeks to fully flesh out. Most of the frequency range is there in a few days. Again for the midrange to "flesh out" and become liquid in my system took about 2 weeks of play.

Feel free to ask or email me in a couple of weeks, I am sure I will have done some A/B between the two by that time.