Holo May KTE Power Cord

More Holo May DAC enthusiasm here. My L2 is powered with a Pangea AC-14 power cord and under your $1000 used price barrier. No complaints to be heard in my system. YMMV.

+1 Pangea AC-14

Great products http://signalcable.com/digitalpowerHC.html

I think they have better build quality than the Pangea cable and are flexible, that is nice for May DAC and Innuos Streamers where you may need to snake the PC into your rack system. I have 2 of them and they work well.

You probably like the sound of your Audience Forte F3 cord because of the large sized (10awg) copper conductors and noise rejecting geometry (usually means twisted conductors). The literature does not mention shielding. The specs are more in line with a cord that would be used for power amps (i.e., an unshielded, high-current cord) but if Holo Audio includes it they must like the sound.

The Pangea cord recommended by @yakbob offers shielding, gold plated connectors, and smaller (but probably adequate) 14awg copper wires.   The Pangea cord is probably more aligned with what most would use on a source component.

Assuming the power supply in the May is adequate and you do not have EMI/RFI noise issues, I would be surprised if you heard much difference between the cords. The only way to know is to try.  OTOH, if you don’t have a problem, why go looking for one?

Audience Forte F3 PowerChord

The Forte f3 powerChord is a high current 10 AWG design made with high purity stranded copper wire so it is flexible and user friendly. It’s geometry is a proprietary design that rejects noise while balancing energy flow for lowest eddy current resistance. The brass contacts have been cryogenically treated at the Audience cryogenic laboratory.

Pangea AC-14 power cord

Pangea Audio’s AC-14 power cable is specifically designed for source components, which do not require the same large amounts of current as receivers and amps. The AC-14 provides more than enough current while offering multiple shielding and other features that facilitate extremely clean and noise-free power.

Triode Wire Labs Digital American II is what I use on the May KTE and all other DACs and streamers. Starting at $549 new for 5 feet. 

https://triodewirelabs.com/product/digital-american-2-series/

I have the Pangea AC-9 power cord and did try that on the May KTE and liked the Forte F3 better.  The May KTE actually generates a fair amount of heat so I don't think a smaller gauge cord like the AC-14 is necessarily appropriate.

@mitch2 I bought the DAC used.  The seller simply included the Forte F3 cord.  

@jackd I have the Triode Wire Labs Obsession 20 amp cord connecting my Puritan PSM-156 to the outlet and thought it was a nice improvement over the stock cord so I'll take the Digital American II under advisement. 

@jackd I use the same power cord on my May KTE. Use other TWL cords on the rest of my equipment. Also own the PSM-156.

F3 is a decent cable. Go up the Audience line to AU24se or newer StudioOne. Great cables and Audience always worked great on all DACs I used to own. StudioOne will be more refined than the F3. It’s an improvement top to bottom plus you will improve soundstage. 

@audphile1 I do have the original Audience PowerChord.  That does provide a slightly more refined, detailed and larger soundstage.  The downside is it doesn't have the rich tonality and timbre that the Forte F3 is giving me.  Acoustic guitar or a single drum stroke or bass pluck have a kind of plumpness with the Forte F3 that I am in love with.  And the Forte F3 also strikes me as a bit more dynamic.  Perhaps they are contradictory goals but I would like to find a cable that gives me both of those positive qualities.  Do you think the higher end Audience cables offer that?

I have found in several of are Audio shootouts the AQ  Tornado - Source power cord is excellent it’s active 72v  shield really helps lowering the noise floor and excels in naturalness 

I bought 2 from Perrotta Consultants and got a very good deal.

@pinwa 

the rich tonality and timbre that the Forte F3 is giving me.  Acoustic guitar or a single drum stroke or bass pluck have a kind of plumpness with the Forte F3 that I am in love with.  And the Forte F3 also strikes me as a bit more dynamic.

and

To my surprise the inexpensive Forte F3 has outperformed the other cords I have tried.

Maybe, just take the win.

Hope I do not offend Pangea fans.  I had them for years. Excellent entry level power cord.  However, I recommend WyWires Platinum Digital Power Cord.  New will be in your $1000 budget.  I think they are having a sale.  Check out www.wywires.com.  Read the pro reviews as well.  I use a full loom of WyWires platinum cables, interconnects and cords. The SQ is detailed without being harsh, smooth, excellent reproduction of micro and macro  dynamics, retrieval of secondary harmonics, decay, and hall ambience, natural timbre, and detailed and powerful bass.  Excellent build quality, value and customer service.  They look great.  Alex Sventitsky, the owner, will offer all the assistance you need.   

@mitch2 I'm not sure if you have ever had the opportunity to listen to truly high end systems, or what your goals are for your own sound, but in my experience there is no win, no endpoint to this ridiculous hobby.  There is always somewhere between a little bit to a lot more improvement to be had.  Clearly, you bump up against diminishing returns and poor returns on investment, and where those limits are is very individual, but I know I am not at them yet.  So sorry, but I'm not interested in just settling.

@pinwa I would not even attempt to compare Audience powerChord to StudioOne. They are worlds apart and sound completely different. 
I had powerChord, AU24se-i, f3 and auditioned StudioOne just days ago. 
The f3 is better than stock but it isn’t what you think it is. 
 

Another power cable if you’re looking for details, separation and speed is Nordost Frey 2. It might be a good match with your R2R DAC.

@pinwa - I am not suggesting you settle.  By your own words, the sonic attributes you value are displayed through your current DAC and PC.  Many around here never get that far.   You have tried other PCs but none yet have sounded better to you.  We all travel our own paths so if you want to chase a potentially better sound through a different PC, then you should.   In that case, I suggest you consider contacting The Cable Company and taking advantage of their lending library so that you can listen to a variety of power cables in your own system.

Or just face the fact that a person is at the will of manufacturers to charge whatever they want and they expect stupid people will pay ! 
And of course who cares what either party does with or without their money. 

Cheers