Ok take two, with gracious assistance from Chis Venhaus, Furutech FP-S032N with gold FI-11 connectors! Well within my budget, sub $500, and still very excited!
I just wanted to say how awesome Chris Venhaus has been to deal with. I made a mistake as I mentioned on my initial order, Chris got back to me the very next day and refunded my money same day. He gave me advice on what cord matched my budget which I took. Emailed me the day it was in the build queue, asked my preference on which end the shield should be connected, and is burning my cable in for 800 hours before shipping. Truly exceptional communication and service thus far!
Hi Jond, 800 hours? Well you’ll be the recipient of a thoroughly burned in power cable 😊. I get the preamp "heart of the system" idea but I’d try it on both the preamp and your tube Audio Note DAC. Most DACs are generally quite responsive to better power cables. Curious to know where the cable will have the greater impact in your fine audio system. Charles
Charles yes indeed he said the nano-liquid coating needs a lot of burn in so he said >800 hours before he ships it out. And I plan to try it on both and see what sounds best. I have good cords now Cerious Nano Signature I hope this is a nice improvement.
More great service from Chris I chose free UPS ground shipping instead the cable shipped yesterday USPS 2-day Priority Mail should be here tomorrow. Needless to say very excited to hear it!
That's cool, jond. Looking forward to your impressions. I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new power cord as well. Waiting is part of the fun I guess.😀
I haven’t posted here before, though I often come and read to inform me. It is an interesting forum.
I can’t help but post though to express utter bewilderment at why some people want to expend so much time and energy telling other hifi enthusiasts that they are wrong and that mains cables has no effect. What are they trying to achieve and what is their motivation for doing so? I just don’t get it. I’m trying to understand.
Is it that they feel that they are genuine moral protectors of consumer rights? That their mission is to therefore point out that all these people buying power cables and hearing a difference are being very misled, that they are hearing things which don’t exist? And by implication therefore questioning the integrity of these people? Aside from this moral crusade reason I really fail to understand what motivates someone to tell someone else they are so wrong and misled. Why spend your time doing this?
I have recently completely changed my system and have been testing everything. A change of power cord, particularly to a Shunyata, actually changed the sound significantly, and I mean significantly, so much so it was the equivalent of a change in CDP or amp. I can switch power cables and my wife (not an audio person) instantly notices a difference even when she is concentrating on something else, without any care or interest in what I am doing and without being asked for an opinion.
I know when I hear a difference and I actually expect NOT to hear a difference as that is often my experience. For example I recently tried a mains Grounding Cable, one which has been discussed on this forum in a couple of threads recently, which many say noticeably improves the sound. I head zero difference. Nothing. But I’m not going to go around saying it doesn’t work. I’ll tell you of my experience with it and that I found no change to the sound at all, but that is all I can report.
And with my mindset, one that needs to hear the proof and frequently doesn’t hear the proof, I can 100% tell you that Mains Cables make a difference. A big difference.
One day I should write up my notes from my comparisons on cables, amps & speakers as it may be of interest to others.
duckworp welcome and a very thoughtful first post thank you. I agree with what you say and I wish we could all get along a bit better. And one comment on comparing mains cables, as I plan to do it tonight, what a pain in the a**! Ever looked behind most racks? It really mitigates my desire to go back and forth between two different cables comparing.
@jond I look forward to reading what you have to say about your new Furutech FP-S032N with gold FI-11 connectors on your power cord. I've read so many posts on the various Furutech wire that I don't remember if you have tried any of the other Furutech wire? Should sound quite nice on your preamp or Dac!
@lak This is a first Furutech for me! I really only dabbled a bit with power cords, Signal cable a less expensive model from Stealth the HAC. Neither made a difference I could hear. Picked up a Cerious Nano-Signature cord a few years back was blown away. I'm hoping that my system has evolved to the point that differences between the Furutech and Cerious cables are readily apparent. I will be reporting back!
So the Furutech arrived a little while ago put it on my DAC. Three tracks into Bill Evans Trio "Live at Shelly's Manne-Hole" I feel like I'm hearing more overall transparency. Getting more of a sense of Bill's fingers hitting the piano keys and Chuck Isreal's fingering his bass. Bass itself seems a tad deeper and more resolved. Highs seem the slightest bit softened, perhaps more natural or perhaps a tiny bit rolled off? I think more auditioning as well as further break-in will tell the difference. I did get the gold plated plugs which are supposed to be a bit warmer. Plus I'm being incredibly unfair and premature even posting, the cable was literally still cold from the outside temps when I dropped it in the system. So far I like what I'm hearing and the cable itself looks great very well finished understated and serious. More to come. And thanks to Chris Venhaus and VH audio for a great overall experience I very highly recommend them.
Jond, Good early impression for a brand new and "cold" power cable. Like your choice of test recording. Jon we are both jazz afficianos, here is one for you that I’m listening to as I type. "Minus Oh Yeah" Charles Mingus is a different flavor from Bill Evans but I think you may enjoy it. Minus is as you know a bassist but plays piano on this recording. Track 5 is a beautiful blues.
"Minus In Wonderland" is a bit more typical Mingus and he is back on bass. Okay back to the thread topic😊. Charles
Charles, Thanks for the recs working through Everbody Digs Bill Evans now but Mingus Oh Yeah is queued up next. I will admit I never really got into Ah Um which is considered an all-time classic. Lets see if Oh Yeah grabs me! Cheers, Jon
Jon, I understand, Mingus could definitely go in different directions and you certainly may prefer some directions over others😊. That’s why I offered 2 recommendations, I like both butt different styles from this jazz icon."Mingus In Wonderland" is more "straight ahead". Charles
Charles I love Mingus Oh Yeah! It's really swinging with a super bluesy feel to it great music as I'm here cooking! Wonderland is queued up next, and what are your thoughts on Tijuana Moods?
Hi Jon, I’m happy that you like it. An interesting mix of, blues and a a touch of the Avant-garde yet they definitely swing! Top notch musicians every single one of them. Wonderland is an earlier live recording from the late 1950s and is more "Hard Bop" and ballads, beautiful musicianship. I hope that you like this one as well. Jon, track 4 is beautiful. Charles
Charles I loved it just so much fun to listen to creative swinging and fun. And Wonderland is nice too much more straight ahead bop and very well done. Tijuana Moods is next as it's supposed to be another classic recording will report back>
Jon, Yes please give your listening impression of that "Tijuana Moods" recording. I’ve owned "Mingus In Wonderland " for about 20 years and still enjoy it as much as ever. Charles
Charles, I only lasted three tracks into Tijuana Moods it seemed more like Ah Um a choreographed concept album not my cup of tea. And to the original thread:
I was totally wrong about the Furutech being rolled off it's fully extended at both frequency extremes. What seemed perhaps rolled off to me was a bit more emphasis on the sustain and harmonic overtones and less leading edge. Generally due to a greater degree of transparency. I noticed this especially on piano notes, piano is what I listen to most when assessing changes to my system. Still breaking in but I hear no downside and hoping things get even better.
The cable has really opened up on the frequency extremes, deeper more powerful bass, highs are extended but not bright and the midrange more transparent. Just a fantastic cable all around especially for the price. Will be ordering another for my preamp!
Charles, Unfortunately I am lazy and hate climbing behind my rack I left what it did for my DAC, and I left it there. I may have to give my audiophile club card back.:) Cheers, Jon
Thanks so much for turning me/us onto these Furutech bulk power cables as they make wonderful power cords. I am still using the $39 per set carbon fiber barreled, rhodium plated connectors from China. Superb, reasonably priced power cable!
@grannyring, yes the Furutech SO22N (14 gauge) wire, when built properly along with the $39 per set carbon fiber barreled, rhodium plated connectors from China, does sound quite good on front-end components. I preferred the sound of the 14 gauge Furutech vs the larger gauges on the front-end. I realize that mileage may vary in different systems.
From your circuit box to your wall outlet, you have cheap 16-18ga or thinner, depending on your builder , electrician, how does connecting a 8 ga of wire from already 200ft or whatever the run is, make it sound more powerful, or put the biggest stretch I have ever heard, the air around instruments?......really :)
snake oil, if you have a nice 220 dedicated, with 10-12ga runs to your outlets, it may make a difference, but I doubt it.
"
From your circuit box to your wall outlet, you have cheap 16-18ga or thinner, depending on your builder , electrician, "
It is my understanding minimum gauge size is 14 for Romex. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "how does connecting a 8 ga of wire from already 200ft or whatever the run is, make it sound more powerful, or put the biggest stretch I have ever heard, the air around instruments?......really :)"
Try it, you will be surprised. ---------------------------------------------
"if you have a nice 220 dedicated, with 10-12ga runs to your outlets, it may make a difference, but I doubt it." ------------------------------------------------
Oh, it does, I did that when I had a dedicated listening room. I used 10ga. Romex, a bear to work with, but one of the best upgrades I ever did.
Damn, you guys don’t mess around! Very good idea, expensive, out of my league, but for audio, it is an excellent++ idea. Wish I had the deep pocket for it.
Jealous!
i would try to use a power cord, but I can n to justify 200 dollars for a 3 foot piece of rubber, flexible cloth, and a small copper wire in it. I just stick with what the mfgr supplies.
I use tube amplifiers and did not hear any difference in power cords. The power cord is far away electrically from the DC power supply. In fact the power cord is not directly connected due to the power transformer is magnetically coupled. An electrically noisy mains may cause some issues. But, with sufficient filtering in the power supply design even electrical noise on the power distribution can be filtered out.
Perhaps expecting an improvement may cause the listener to hear an improvement. The human brain is amazing. So, perhaps you can hear an improvement due to expecting it with a positive mood in your brain.
@fisher_400, although I don't disagree totally with your comments, I will agree that amps seem to be the least affected by power cords as long as the power cord one is using is of the correct gauge. The differences with power cords and my amps weither thay are solid state, tube, or class D is very challenging for me to her.
Aftermarket cables can make a difference and have in most of my projects. I suggest you find a price range you are comfortable with (I suggest used) and purchase one. Install and listen for a week or so and see if there are differences in the sound. If so are they good or bad? If you decide the original sounds better to, fine sell the aftermarket cable and enjoy your system.
No. This is a scam. Think of what is between the wall socket and the generator plant.
I use tube amplifiers and did not hear any difference in power cords.
A lot depends on the equipment used, but it is possible to not only hear differences in power cords, but they can be measured as well.
A variac is required. Run the amp up to full power and measure the power output. Measure the voltage drop across the length of the cord. Reset the variac to compensate for the voltage loss on the cord. Measure the output power again. What is the difference? I have seen power cords rob an amplifier of 30% of its output power. Is there anyone saying that such is not audible?
There are two aspects of power cord performance- the overall voltage drop and the ability to pass high current at high frequencies. The latter is a requirement as power transformers, rectifiers and filter capacitors are used in amps. Power rectifiers only turn on for brief periods of time when the cap voltage is less than the transformer voltage- IOW at the peak of the incoming AC waveform. If the cord can pass current during this brief spike, performance is impaired.
Willemj asks us to think about what's in the wall and beyond- well, ROMEX is pretty high performance, good for in the wall but illegal for use outside of it. That's why we have flexible power cords, but they don't perform as well and that's why there is a power cord market.
I have two words for you. Control the Directionality! Since all wire is directional even the teeny tiny stranded wires in power cords must be controlled for directionality, you know, like Audioquest does for their power cords. Hel-loo!
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