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Importance of power cable for Turntable?

Just purchased a Gryphon Diablo 300 integrated with the optional phono stage and DAC module.  I purchased AudioQuest Hurricanes for both the amp and my digital source.  How important would it be to do the same for a high end turntable (which I don’t have just yet)?  Would an AudioQuest Hurricane Source be a good choice for a high end turntable as well? Or is it even needed?  I do notice subtle improvements with my amp and digital source.

Thanks
nyev

Showing 5 responses by bdp24

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 
Good point @lewm. It is not a symmetrical situation; if a difference between two competing components---in this instance power cords---is heard, the system is then ipso facto transparent enough to reveal that difference. On the other hand, if a difference in NOT heard, that does not necessarily prove a lack of transparency, for, as you imply, there may in actuality be no difference to be heard.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 
@folkfreak, I was speaking specifically about the reproduction of the very highest frequencies, where a super tweeter usually operates, where bad recordings are their worst, and our ears most sensitive to any nastiness. At frequencies below that, I don't think any degree of transparency is excessive! I do require high frequency reproduction capable of doing justice to the "sizzle" cymbals (those fitted with rivets) in my music collection. One of my favorite drum sounds, a sizzle cymbal has been in my kit setup for many years.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 

@folkfreak, "over energized the top end". Now THAT is a good way to put it. So it was the super tweeter than was responsible for that sound, not the old Magico? I had heard Magicos before (I don't remember which model---it was at Brooks Berdan Ltd. a number of years back), but in a bigger room (the shop's main listening space, built to Cardas specs, I believe) and at a greater listening distance (and of course without your super tweeter).

I prefer a more "relaxed" high end than a hyper-detailed one, especially since much of my favorite music isn't in the best recorded sound quality. Of course, I don't want a too "forgiving" sound either. That's the balancing act we all are faced with; a musical reproduction system transparent enough to let the best recordings reach their full potential, yet not so ruthlessly revealing as to make lower sound quality recordings be unlistenable! 

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 

Thanks @folkfreak, I’ll take you up on that offer! I found your recent comments (in Audiogon's Virtual Systems) about the changes in the sound of your system to be both interesting and encouraging. I’m used to a different sort of speaker sound (planars), and found your now-gone Magico speakers (replaced by a different model of theirs) to be more "unrelenting" than the sound I'm accustomed to. Your comments about the sound of your new system leads me to believe that you may now feel similarly about your previous one vs. your new. True? Extremely resolving, transparent, and uncolored, but more "bracing" (a splash of ice cold water on one’s face ;-) than I’m comfortable with.

There are two schools of thought about loudspeaker frequency response characteristics in relation to high frequency balance: one school is of the opinion that a speaker’s response should remain flat all the way out past audibility; the other considers the above to result in a "tipped up" balance not found in live music, that a speaker should instead slowly roll off above a "certain" frequency, at say 2-3dB/octave starting at perhaps 5kHz. Your old Magico’s sounded as if they were designed as per the former, your new model Magico’s perhaps less so? Just a guess on my part.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,096 posts
 
@nyev, remember, the difference heard between two power cords (or any other component) is highly dependent on the resolving power and transparency of the entire system. Folkfreak's comments should be considered in light of the fact that his system is EXTREMELY revealing, perhaps the most highly so of any I have ever heard. You don't mention your loudspeakers, and they are of course a major factor in the ability of your system to reveal differences between pc's.
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