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Thank you Brunomarcs for your informative post about why power cables make a system sound better. I understand now. When I purchased my Monster transformer, I did think the system sounded "sharper." Which is not to say more shrill. Just more in focus, but that was at least twenty years ago and I was twenty years younger. Eager to get on my knees and listen for subtle differences. When I get a chance, though, I will play around with the better power cables I have and see if they make a difference on components with stock cables. |
I have a treated studio room and demo'd many power cables including a $2000 nordost power cable to my Odyssey kismet power amp. I tried several brands, a few nordost, cards, shunyata. Imo the Cardas Parsec beat all of them. Lucky for me it was a fraction of the price of the nordost. Nordost cables seemed to make the sound thin comparatively. I like a meaty sound with lots of detail and to me, the mark of a good component is one that makes your system sound more realistic (drums sound like a drum is being played in the room with you) I agree with all the members in here that say you MUST demo them in your own system. I highly recommend at least demoing one of these Cardas Parsec cables against the nordost or AQ stuff you find. Don't buy a cable blindly. Make sure you have four or five cables from different price points and manufacturers. Also have heard good things about Veritas cables but have yet to try them myself. My experience: more expensive does not always mean better. Synergy of components and room is key! |
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Well, looking at his history all of the posts are the same- not a person of many words. :) But his first discussion post was over 15 years ago, and sleuthing the patterns it appears to be legit. But yes @conrads1 without a follow up post confirming you have read the responses some of us feel like we are wasting out time- any reflections? |
@macg19 yeah looks like the OP went on vacation |
@wesheadley 👍 applies to components as well. Bad mistake to jump to conclusions too quickly…been there dine that! I’ve tried a number of power cables and interconnects and I’m using Nordost now. It is all subjective and system dependent. There’s no perfect set of cables that would work for everyone in every system. |
@wesheadley I agree with you. Not sure the OP cares though. As others alluded to another cable post to rattle the cages. Works every time, sadly. |
When you first change out a single cable on your system you may hear some immediate differences, or, you may think you're hearing differences. It depends upon you and your susceptibility to placebo effect and confirmation bias. This is why you need to live that change for a while. At the very least a few weeks. Then after that time's elapsed, remove the cable and replace it with the original. If there was any real improvement you should notice its absence right away. If you do, then keep it. What you will never discover is whether or not a pricier cable sounds better than a well crafted one that costs less-- because, beyond a certain level of build and materials quality, more money does NOT equal better sound quality -- despite the very questionable claims made by many of the companies that sell cables at stupid money prices -- what you'll hear in reality, at best, are differences. You have to decide whether or not those differences add up to better sound or not. BTW, if your room acoustics are daff, you'll get far better value and better sound by dealing with those problems first. I'm starting to believe that many tweaks appeal to people because they are simple plug and play, whereas fixing room acoustic issues is more work. |
No one can tell you whether/how your system, room and/or ears will respond to some new addition. There are simply too many variables. LIKEWISE: no one can possibly know whether a new addition (ie: some kind of disc, crystal, fuse, interconnect, speaker cable, etc) will make a difference, in their system and room, with their media and to their ears, without trying them for themselves. Some companies offer a 30 Day Satisfaction Guarantee, so- those that are actually interested, have absolutely nothing to lose by trying (experimenting with) such. Anyone that knows anything about the sciences, realizes that something like 96% of what makes up this universe, remains a mystery. For centuries; humanity’s seen, heard, felt and otherwise witnessed phenomena that none of the best minds could fathom, UNTIL they developed a science or measurement that could explain it. The Naysayer Church wants you to trust their antiquated science (1800’s electrical theory) and faith-based, religious doctrine, BLINDLY (their credo: "Trust ME!"). Theories have never proven or disproven anything. It’s INVARIABLY testing and experimentation that proves or disproves theories/hypotheses. IF you’re interested in the possibility of improving your system’s presentation, have a shred of confidence in your capacity for perceiving reality and trust your own senses: actually TRY whatever whets your aural appetite, or- piques the curiosity, FOR YOURSELF. The Naysayer Church HATES it, when THAT happens! |
@conrads1 - neither... I just bought a $3K Shunyata, Anaconda CX for $1499 over on the other site. It might be longer than you want (3M/9') but it's exactly what I needed. I have purchased shorter runs of this cord that I spent significantly more on. Amazing deal. Just my opinion. |
@bishop148 nope, that is not all that matters. Everything can matter to power cable performance from the type and configuration of the conductors to the dielectric or insulation material to the connector design and materials used, to the gear being connected and the configuration of that gear and all the cables in the room to how good the power is out of the wall and if or what kind of power conditioning is employed. Many audiophiles hear differences between power cables and often find some power cables improve the overall sound of their systems when connected to certain gear. But it is hard for anyone to tell you how a particular brand or model of power cable will sound to you with your own gear. Best to do as suggested above and try some different cables in your system and see if any float your boat. There are pages and pages on this and other sites of posts on this topic. I suggest you do some searching and learn to sort marketing hype from empirical experience and results. For me, the differences I hear between different power cables in my systems are often not subtle. But if you can’t hear a difference between different power cables, then it doesn’t matter to you in your room with your system, and you return them or sell them and save some or all your outlay and chalk it up to experience. YMMV kn |
As most have said, cables are going to be different in everyone's system. Nordost good stuff really does start at the Heimdall and above. Audioquest PC start at Thunder and above. For my system, I had Nordost Red dawn and Blue Heaven for all of my components. I made a single upgrade on my amp to an Audioquest Tornado HC PC. After that, I upgraded most of my components to Audioquest Tornado's, they just sounded better. To be fair, the Audioquest cables were 2x the price of the Nordost cables I had. |
Not a bad read and some of the cable summaries I can actually agree with from experience. https://audiobacon.net/2019/08/17/27-audiophile-power-cables-reviewed/ |
I have some upgraded power cords going to my amp and CD player. I never could hear the difference, but I had them around so I use them. Most of my system is plugged into an old Monster AVS 2000 Transformer. I have no idea how much that helps make my system sound better. I bought it many years ago and did A/B tests then, but have forgotten the results. (So, they didn't realy matter that much.) My amp is plugged into the wall, as advised by people who say amps need to draw a lot of power sometimes and transformers and such can act as a bottleneck when the amp needs that rush of power. Good amps have internal power supplies, however, where they store the power they need. So, I don't exactly understand what an expensive power cord buys you. Yes, I can see that it would provide cleaner power through better metals, but the power is going to get stored inside the amps power supply. Will the amp really know if that power came through a better pipe? Isn't it all just power once it enters an amps power supply? Forgive my ignorance of electronics. |
Hello, (this is an update to my previous response on power cable options. I've added another source for raw cable/connectors. A few other responses suggest "...build your own...". I prefer to add a few source websites to that suggestion so that you can further research the diy option). I'm a DIY'er and prefer to assemble my own cables. Using this option allows one to assemble high end audiophile cables at a 50/70% savings vs the same ready made cable(s). Another benefit is making them the length that is needed. Here are my primary sources for raw cable and various terminal ends.
If you have not yet diy'd cables there are several videos that serve as tutorials/guides. No special tools or soldering needed, just good quality wire cutters, wire strippers, Phillips screwdriver, heat shrink tubing (various colors to give the cables your "signature"look) and a heat gun. Take your time and you will produce cables you can be proud of. Oh and the bank that you save can be invested toward other elements of your rig. Enjoy |
Please don't waste your money on Nordost power cords at that price level you will not hear any difference, Nordost begins at Vahalla 2 and through the Odin line which is not in the same price range. I have personally demo'd every Nordost cable on my system. Also I agree with a lot of the others if you can the best way is to borrow them from a an authorized audio store and hear them yourself on your system, listening to them in stores is a waste. You need to hear it yourself on your system not components that are not yours, in rooms that are not yours.
Good luck if you find the right cable power cords can make a huge difference but you must find the right cable.
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What the heck is Gummy’s? Anyways take a deep breath - we’re done here.
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Apparently it’s you that has to learn to read. My original post wasn’t directed at any individual. You chose to tell me to shut up and stay out of politics which I said nothing about in the first place. Perhaps knots in your panties ? With regards to threats, wouldn’t take much of a Lawyer to realize there is no direct threat Implied. Sounds to me as others I’m sure, you take pleasure in your pontification. So buddy we’ll move on from this, I’ll shut up you should eat a few Gummy’s Find a bag of chips and a friend. |
Clearly you either didn’t have enough time to think about it or you didn’t think about it enough. Not very smart of you to threaten anyone in a public forum. Keep your politics, your threats and your baseless statements to yourself. Try’s to think about that a bit…may be you will get along even better with everyone if you re-evaluate your manners. Have a good night, very big and very trained amigo |
Dear audphile 1, Not nice to tell people to shut up.. especially when their conversation or comments weren’t directed towards you personally. This is a public form and I’m not privy to your location nor do I care, I will say this is also good for you !! I’m a very big very well trained individual that try’s to get along with even the simplest folk with or without manners. I’ve had time to think about that, so let’s stick to audio…and stay healthy. |
@unclewilbur I’m sure people at Furutech are much more qualified to answer your inquiry than anyone on these forums. Let us know what they respond with. |
@1971gto455ho stick to audio and stay out of politics. And stay on topic. Do you have any experience with $1500 AQ and Nordost power cord? If not, shut up. |
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Someone suggested Furutech NCF power cords and I was curious. So I investigated. Information from their website is pasted below, which can only be believed by the most gullible, faith based, snake oil believers. If I am wrong please explain the science of nano-crystals, carbon powder, conversion of thermal energy into far infrared, etc. 😜
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@pinwa DPS 4.1 is $100 per meter less than it was previously @480.00 per meter from Douglas connection and elsewhere! This suggest to me that Furetech hasn't been selling much of this stuff and wants it gone more than likely, probably had a bad review! The plugs are also $20 less than previously. We all take a hit. |
Hey. I started this thread sometime ago. I hope that it helps some. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/a-noob-asking-about-power-cables |
@brunomarcs I sure would like to know where you are seeing DPS 4.1 power cable for $100 a meter. VH Audio lists them for $394/meter. |
Have you auditioned both and arrived at these two brands as your final choice? Of the two at your price point I would choose AQ. If you have not auditioned, add WyWires Platinum. I preferred them over similarly priced AQ. Very neutral, spacious and detailed SQ without being cool and analytical (like how I find Nordost). Personal preference. Read pro reviews and add to your audition list. The designer, Alex, is a pleasure to work with. |
