power cable tryout High fidelity cables has me wondering..... need suggestions now

I know the feeling. I remember long ago I had completed an upgrade cycle and was really happy. I was at the $3K each for component cost… about $4 for speakers. My audio dealer called me so excited I could barely understand him… he said I absolutely had to try these new cables… they were $2K. I could not believe there was a chance these ridiculously expensive interconnects could be worth it… especially in my system.

Darn, the moment I heard them, I was shocked and depressed at the same time. Interconnects costing 2/3 of the component cost. But I had heard the competing components. So, well I ended up with three sets.

For power cords I recommend Audio Quest Hurricane and Cardas Clear Beyond. These are both outstanding, but very different. If your equipment is really dead quiet and very musical and warm… sounding exactly like you want… then the Hurricane… if it needs a nudge toward warmer / musical… then the Cardas.

Typically the difference will be twice as large on the amp as on the preamp and components. But both typically really have a big impact.

If you are able to buy before trying… these cords probably fit in your budget… but, the preferred length is 2 meters… 2 meters will sound better than one. I have tried it. But don’t drop down a tier to get 2 meters… if you can’t afford two meters just get one.

The last Mcintosh pre and power system I listened to and tried to put some different (better) cables on led me to believe Mcintosh gear was rather unyielding to cable changes, and this was with $40,000 speakers. I still have no idea why any difference was hard to notice. Mind you the power cables were not worth 5k, but then more than 1 of them were swapped. Every system is different I suppose.

I recall reading PS Audio stopped making cables, and the only cables I see on PS Audio's website are Audioquest.

If you are in the US thecablecompany is your friend.

edit: was this it?

signalcable.com makes very good sounding power cables, and they have been around for quite a while. The Magic power cord is not expensive so you'll have to get over that part. :-)  P.S. order 1 foot Xtra on each end, these cables are thick and heavy and don't bend well.

A thread from 2012 to 2021 - 74 pages long - High Fidelity cables.

I've tried all the cables in the Perfect wave line up and the AC5 was my least favorite due to the top end , I found it to  bright. I run 2 AC12's for conditioner and amp with two AC10  for pre and source. I won't be giving them up due to there top to bottom coherence, they both use solid core PCOCC and that alone says enough. look for an used Ac10 and hear what I mean.

I recently had Duncan Taylor of YG Acoustics and the HiFi Podcast build me a 20 amp power cable for my D’Agostino power amp.  I was floored by the improvement in almost all aspects of sound.  Especially the noise floor.  His cables range from $1500-$2500.  They are hand made and he is very detail oriented.  I’d encourage you to reach out to him.  

I would take a serious look at RSA (Rick Schultz Audio) cables here on Audiogon, the man behind High Fidelity Cable Designs.. I think his new line exceeds the old HFC especially in terms of Musicality!

On the used market you should be able to find a variety of the High Fidelity AC cables at very reduced prices. You don't have to pay $5000. Do your research.

One thing I leaned in experimenting with cables is that the cables that sounded best to me in my amps and preamps were not the same that sounded best in my source components.

Im using cables made by Triode Lab for my Triode Lab monoblocks and for my preamp but for my DAC and Streamer, I’m using anticables power, which seem to provide a higher level of noise filtering; but to my ears, colored/resticted the sound on my amps. Maybe if I were using additional power conditioning the results would be different. And I am very happy with the combination now.

Addionally,
Triode Lab recommended as an upgrade to their custom cables, specifically the Cardas Clear Beyond; but that’s for their amp and also out of my price range for now)

Are you familiar with expectation bias?

And there they are like flies on 💩💩

Are you familiar with expectation bias?

I kept a High Fidelity powercord, which is open and a little lean, and a cord that was thick sounding and accented the lows for years to show people powercord differences.

OP, keep in mind you can have too much of a good thing. As I added more of Ricks cables it got, to me, a little edgy in the highs.

By all means try to find HF reveal power cable . I bet they are selling low now? And you will get a taste of that 5k HF pc .The sound that you heard that’s the typical character of HF cables.if I were you I will stay on HF first because that’s what your system like. Hurricane is excellent. I have one.

Acman3 agree +1

A Snake River Audio Signature pc is similar in nature to the High Fidelity - perhaps even better. A 30 day trial period is offered.   Chat with Jonny, the owner.

+1 @steakster  Snake River Audio gets really nice reviews and well within your budget, and with a free trial period, why not?

A couple years ago I auditioned PS Audio’s top-of-the-line power cables and was extremely disappointed in them considering PS Audio’s extremely positive reputation in other areas of high end audio. First and foremost, buy used so that you can get the most for your money. Now, before settling on the three power cables that get my highest recommendations, I did extensive and exhaustive home auditioning of multiple power cables. My #1 power cable recommendation would be for Audioquest’s Firebird source power cable, which I use on my DAC. The Audioquest Firebird power cable literally transformed and elevated the sound quality of my audio system to all new heights. I also highly recommend the JPS Labs Aluminata power cable. I use an Aluminata on my integrated amp. I believe that the JPS Labs Aluminata power cable is one of high end audio’s best kept secrets. The JPS Labs Aluminata power cable is absolutely superb on my integrated amp. I also highly recommend the Audioquest Hurricane High Current power cable. I tried a Hurricane high current, and a Hurricane source power cable in my system, and really didn’t care for either of them on any of my components. However, I absolutely loved the AQ Hurricane on my AQ Niagara 3000 power conditioner. So, there you have it. The power cables that worked the best in my end-game, off into the sunset, audio system that you should definitely take into consideration. Happy listening.

     No one can tell you whether/how your system, room and/or ears will respond to new interconnects/PCs.   There are simply too many variables.

     The only way you’ll know for certain, is try them for yourself.

     The least expensive way: contact the guys at The Cable Company and take advantage of their lending library.

     For a pittance, you can try a few of their offerings and the rental fees are applied to any purchase made.

                       Whether to explore/spend further: up to you!

https://www.usedcable.com/interconnect-cables.html?dir=asc&order=price

                        https://www.thecableco.com/lending-library

Thanks for the recommendations everyone.  seems there are some things to do some reasearch on thanks. 

"Are you familiar with expectation bias?"   

I really do not think that is the case here I had no idea what cable he brought with him he just stuck it in when I was in my kitchen making a drink for us, It was quite obvious from the kitchen after he started the first song with the cable installed. For clarity my kitchen and listening room are one room 14"x22" so I was behind the listening position in my kitchen only a few feet behind. I was never a power cable believer, I think my friend was just pushing me into something i didn’t want or believe I needed. His system is worth more than my little house is lol.