01-05-12: Mapman
If it sounds good it is good. Yes - and stands a chance of getting better with a consistent cable loom. |
hi doug as to method of selecting cables, it was more of a trial and error. i would just listen to whatever i could obtain, substituting one cable from another. i'm probably not yet finished. although i'm not sure.
as i said i have owned and reviewed many sets of cables, but have found the sound of one brand, throughout unsatisfactory.
i guess you could call me an alchemist without a method. |
i should add that at present, my stereo system is represented by four manufacturers:
power cords by mojo audio, fusion audio, soundstring audio and ear to ear.
interconnects are represented by the aforementioned , but i am using ear to ear speaker cable. |
Mrtennis, as you say, "... you could call me an alchemist without a method." Fair enough. :) |
Mrtennis, could you please list your entire system?
" If it sounds good it is good ". That may be but it doesn't mean that it can't be improved. We are not only talking about big difference but also about fine-tuning, if I got it right.
In any case, stable and clean current from the wall or battery is far more important than all the power cords in the world. When the current is really bad, my stereo sounds like a good very expensive boombox, and when it is good - well, it sounds very good. |
here is my stereo system:
speakers: quaf esl and magnepan 1.6
digital: audionote cd2, pw audio pwt and pwd, eastern electric minimax dac
preamp: bent tvc
amplifier; VTL deluxw 120
turntable: sota sapphire, with audioquest arm and grado (least expensive ) cartridge
cables: mojo audio, sound string, ear to ear, fusion audio
accessories, ps audio power plant, noise harvesters, room tunes, sound fusion sound boosters, juice bar, bpt power strip, alan maher passive line filters, and egg crate mattressses suitably placed.
i will admit that my room is , perhaps over damped, creating a soft presentation. naturally, the sound changes with the digital source. when i use the ps audio front end, there is more extension and resolution. when i use the audionote there is some attenuation in the treble and bass. |
Your system may not have enough resolution to hear subtle differences so the results of your experiments with power cords, all same brand or mixture would probably be inconclusive. I may be wrong but that's how it seems. |
hi inaa:
are you basing your conjecture on my statement regarding the damping material i use, or the comment i made regarding the audionote cd2 being on the soft side.
by the way, i omitted interconnects, namley soundstring audio, fusion audio, mojo audio and ear to ear.
i would say that it would be counter intuitive if i selected specific brands of power cords, if i could not detect differences between them.
in addition, if you read my reviews, you will note differences in my perceptions of the sound of my stereo sytem related to the components reviewed.
perhaps there is another reason for your intimation.
i realize that you used the word may, but i am curious as to your reasoning.
certainly, with the ps audio transport and dac, i believe there is sufficient resolution to detect diferences in other components. |
I missed this thread because of Christmas vacation. It's because of threads like this and the kind of members we have here that I love the Audiogon forums over all others. |
How does one chose a power cord logically?
Are there power cords for reasonable cost that are always a safe bet?
Or does one try to tweak the best power cord to match a particular device somehow? How could one even attempt to do that other than by trail and error? IS it worth it? I'd rather just buy a good cord at a fair price and be done with it. Spending time and money tweaking a power cord is not something that has any appeal to me, but I would consider getting a good one in general and being done with it. |
Mapman,
Most of your questions are what I had in mind when I was looking for some good pc's. My search has happily ended with 2 brands: DH Labs Power Plus and Audio Art Power 1 (with the Furutech options). They both run around 250 for 2m. AA is sheided, the DH is not.
They gave me fairly universal results in application in that I use them (8 total) on: 300b SET monos, 2a3 SET stereo, 300b pp stereo, 845/211 SET monos, and Pass's solid state 30.5 and 100.5's.
Several different types of amps, same result: in each case they made the sound better. This is coming from the stock black ones that came with the equipment but for reference, I have tried a some more expensive cables and have not liked the result.
I wasn't looking for anything euphoric or hyper-detailed, just something that would "get out of the way" as I believe the stock black ones are there just to get you up and running. |
let's look at this issue logically.
if you assume that each designer can be ascribed by having its cables exhibit a sonic personality, can one find a manufacture which satisfies your taste.
i say one manufacturer's product will not do it and so it is advisable to combine the products from different companies. |
I run PC's in series. The right combinations are head and shoulders above single cables in my system. |
Onemug,
Thanks. That is useful information that I will consider! |
Mapman, there may be some logical way to do this but I don't know exactly which course to take. I'm thinking of trying one brand of pc from a small designer who sells at somewhat reasonable prices (reasonable for this crowd) and replacing all the ones I have with this brand in order to hear the affects. For sure it won't be any cords that cost more than about $300. I am simply not willing to spend the money some fellows here spend for power cords. When you total, even at that price, re-cabling each component with a new pc still comes to a hefty price tag in my opinion, but I recently have some extra cash and I'm curious. I will start with a cord on my amp and see how that goes and then likely will add another of the same brand but different gauge on another component and so on and so on. I think that's where I'm headed. |
