Signal cable makes good power cables for a very good price. I have a 5,000.00 power amp so ........... How much to spend for a cable ??
200 to 300 seems about right......
200 to 300 seems about right......
Power Cords
I currently have Wireworld Silver Electra power cords with upgraded Platinum plugs. I had two 1M Wireworld Platinum power cords, but rearranged my system and required longer cords. Yesterday I borrowed two Shunyata Sigma NR power cords. On the first note my wife softly said, "that sounds better". She said it was clearer. I listened for a couple hours, changing the power cords a couple of times. In my system and to my ears this is my conclusion:
The Sigma's are cleaner, definitely has more bass, a dead silent and completely black background. The Wireworld cords are more detailed, with a wider soundstage and better spacing/separation of instruments. All things considered I'll keep my Wireworld, but I'm curious to listen to other power cords.
After inserting the Sigma's I just don't understand how anyone that listened to different power cords could conclude that they can't hear a difference. There is a difference, but like any other component the individual has to decide if the change is worth it. $6K for two power cords is relatively expensive. Expensive, but oddly maybe a good value? In my system there was a definite improvement with better bass impact and articulation. Would spending $6K or just changing amplifiers yield similar results? As with most components there are trade-offs...is there a power cord out there that has the benefits of the Sigma's and Wireworld Silver Electra's? If so, at what cost?
The Sigma's are cleaner, definitely has more bass, a dead silent and completely black background. The Wireworld cords are more detailed, with a wider soundstage and better spacing/separation of instruments. All things considered I'll keep my Wireworld, but I'm curious to listen to other power cords.
After inserting the Sigma's I just don't understand how anyone that listened to different power cords could conclude that they can't hear a difference. There is a difference, but like any other component the individual has to decide if the change is worth it. $6K for two power cords is relatively expensive. Expensive, but oddly maybe a good value? In my system there was a definite improvement with better bass impact and articulation. Would spending $6K or just changing amplifiers yield similar results? As with most components there are trade-offs...is there a power cord out there that has the benefits of the Sigma's and Wireworld Silver Electra's? If so, at what cost?
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ricred1 > I listened for a couple hours, changing the power cords a couple of times. > After inserting the Sigma's I just don't understand how anyone that listened to different power cords could conclude that they can't hear a difference. > Would spending $6K or just changing amplifiers yield similar results? > is there a power cord out there that has the benefits of the Sigma's and Wireworld Silver Electra's? Blindjim > Hi. Sigmas. Very cool. I have 2 questions.. What made you feel the Sigmas were the answer for your apparently desired performance gains? … and why put them onto only the amps? Wires and tubes will often hide what they are reallly all about upon first listen. Both need several hours of play before they begin to completely unfurl. This is of course once they have been settled into the arrangement for some time. I’m thinking this is why so many wire makers and cable lenders offer a minimum of ten days to as much as 60 for in home auditions. If wires were more readily able to perform, I’d think the time frames would be far far less extensive. Right? I doubt seriously you had the Shunyata PCs in the rig long enough to fully hear what they can do if only a couple hours of intermittent play was the case. My EXP with Shunyata is definitely not the last word at all, but as with most any highly resolving cables, inserting one, and extracting it, and reinserting it again a bit later on and so forth is not really giving it/them a real shot at revealing their actual influences. Put ‘em in. leave ‘em lay. Listen lightly the first 24 hours, then get more picky about their performance over the next few days. I’d not be confident giving any appraisals before any PC had been sitting in the rig for a week or so. Other questions could be like, Brand New PCs? Well used? The latter situation would be able to more quickly aid your decision making, if it was allowed to lay up in there undisturbed for a goodly while.. I bought IEC to NEMA adapters so I could keep PCs energized and well warmed up, usually stuck on the refrigerator or a fan. Still bending and twisting it about caused it to require being left alone in the system for at least a day. I always took notes when I compared cables. . … how can’t one hear a diff and ignore it? Indeed. It has always amazed me and I can only surmise folks haven’t fully allowed the cable to get well settled in, or never actually heard it once it was. Its mystifying. > $6K on wires, or new amp? Hmmm. A big recurring quandary. Assuming these Sigmas do get fully integrated into the rig and let run a more adequate time frame so a more educated account can be made, I’d opt for a new amp. Lol sorry. 6K is six freakin thousand frogskins man! Wow. Well, not really. If I loved what the amp and system were already doing, and the after PC results improved upon it in areas I truly enjoyed… I’d be forced to do the $6K PC dance. However… there is another solution you alluded to. Try different pcs. Talking with Shunyata recently on this series of power cords (and I would advise you to do the same thing) a point was made that two Alphas could well be the better option than doing one sigma… or for you, two sigmas. Possibly. Shunyata feels as do I, putting a high performing cable on either end of the rig is another way to audio heaven. Here is where everything gets really hariy. Which PC will be next? My EXP says, call whomever. Talk to them explaingin what you seek and or just ask what this or that model usually provides as its normal attributes. Probably not the most insightful or original theory but its better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick… and has helped me in the past. Some. One last thing I’ll input, many cables, power or ICs do well from mid bass up. Gaining improvements way down the bandwidth is not so common. Each Shunyata pc I’ve tried thru the years has shown itself quite adept at improving things in the bass… and extending things up top. It did not take using the top tier Shunyata pc everytime to satisfy either. Nor did adding in a great pc just on an amp (s) alone, always yielf the desired or best results. Ty putting a Sigma onto the source. Very good luck in your journey. |
I only had one day to evaluate the power cords and I've already returned them. He loaned me two cords. I used one on my amp and the other on my DAC. Both cords were to short to use on my power conditioner. The dealer agreed to allow me to try them again next Friday for three days. Why did I try new power cords? My components are set for now; however I want to tweak my system. Out of all of my cables, my humble opinion is my power cords are the weak link. Although not the ideal evaluation, it provides a window into the effects of changing power cords. |
I have a hard time with power cords, honestly I do... that is where I fall short in this hobby I suppose. The goal with a power cord is to provide current. I may upgrade to these in the future: http://www.decware.com/newsite/powercords.htm but right now I use the power cords that come with my equipment. |
I tested and compared Shunyata powercables. I also test each powercable on all the properties they own. Shunyata powercables are all limited in individual focus of voices and instruments. When you compare them with Purist Audio powercables you will directly hear that voices and instruments become bigger in size and are also less tangible. I started to test powercables in 2002 and have done many tests with them. They can make a huge difference and are more important than most people think. I tested all the Audioquest powercables. They were not bad, but not good enough either. Recently they brought out new powercables. 3 weeks ago I received 3 Hurricane powercables. And they are of a totally different quality than they ever made. And are 3 times as thick than in the past. I am not allowed to talk about them in details yet. But for the money they cost they are the best I tested sofar. I would give them a try. They are superior to all the Shunyata I auditioned. |
New AQ cables are out http://www.audioquest.com/power-cables/dragon-high-current and available from the usual sources http://www.needledoctor.com/Audioquest-Dragon-High-Current-AC-Power-Cable the Hurricane would suit the OPs needs and price range http://www.needledoctor.com/Audioquest-Hurricane-High-Current-AC-Power-Cable |
We are AQ dealer in Europe and we are told not to give details untill the official release will be given. I respect that. Most people have no ideas what the properties are of each brand and even cable. Differences are huge. When you have no idea what the properties are of each single part in your audio system you never will understand which properties they own. And why the stage and sound of your audio system is what you hear. Shunyata is incomplete based on the fact that sound owns more different properties. We have ideas to demonstrate audio to a new and superior level. Then we can proof based on facts what is missing. We want to use and compare real music and sound vs audiosystems. The way how we work and think we can get a lot more closer to how music sounds in real. There is so much more information and diversity in recordings than most audio systems can reveal. This information what is often missing creates a much higher emotional experience during listening to music. When an audio system is able to let you hear this extra information. For example the new AQ conditioners are also found incomplete during my tests. This means that I was missing essential parts on which sound is founded. In the past we tested the Anaconda and Phyton. The Purist Audio Limited Edition were superior to these cables. For the first time I think I found a good competitor to the Purist Audio powercables and that are the new AQ powercables. In 2010 I already said to AQ that they need to use more AWG. I am glad they changed it. Their technique and material were already good, but they were much too thin. |
Hi Richard, as mentioned in my PM to you, Shunyata wires tend to take from 300 to 450 hours to breakin, stabilize, and give their best. Unless they are broken in, there is no telling where you catch them in the semi-random cycle of performance peaks and dips... And if you try to compare them to PCs that are also kind of new, the quick comparison has even less meaning. If your dealer is not in a position to loaning you Sigmas for sufficient time, contact the Cable Company... THey are used sending out wires for evaluation for a meaningful amount of time. Having said the above, I am not implying that the Sigmas will end up being your cables of choice... I am saying only that if you really want to discover what might work best in your system, you will reach more reliable results by running patient and thorough tests. Saluti, G. G.
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I would suggest taking a look at Silnote Audio power cables. I recently purchased three of them and am very pleased with their performance. Full disclosure: I have no ties to the company whatsoever. http://www.mcssl.com/store/silnoteaudio/power-cables |
If uou truly want a power cord that will truly mske uour systrm Try a Verastarr Copper, silver if you can afford it . These awg12,or awg9 high purity foils ,not only hand built precision but put one on your digital to start. They come with a full money back satisfaction guarantee. Mike stands behind every product. How msny companies will do that ? These cables make As much if not more impact than Any component in your system. I have heard them in other systems and compared they are exceptional. I have a power cord on the way I just bought their Sig interconnects And the naturalness and detail makes me wonder why these guys Don't advertise more ,not a commercial product but if you call and Buy more then one thing you can get a break on pricing . I had Synergistic element ,and Cardas cables these are in another league compared . Don't take my word for it .just try them I guarantee you Will be impressed.. |
To each his own and some may hear an audible difference but I believe The Knowledgeable Gordon Holt said it best: (IMO as it refers to cables) Audio as a hobby is dying, largely by its own hand. As far as the real world is concerned, high-end audio lost its credibility during the 1980s, when it flatly refused to submit to the kind of basic honesty controls (double-blind testing, for example) that had legitimized every other serious scientific endeavor since Pascal. [This refusal] is a source of endless derisive amusement among rational people and of perpetual embarrassment for me- Gordon Holt |
@ricred1 - it's too bad that you don't live close to me (central California). I would love to see how some of my "built" power cables stack up. Usually, when cable companies move up in their models, they always go to silver / silver-plated components. I have tested many items with silver content and it just doesn't sound right to me. The audio always has a push in the upper mids and also puts forth an artificial flavor to the sound. It just does not sound natural/real to me. Even a tiny silver fuse is too much silver content in my system. I always use Furutech rhodium male/IEC plugs with one of the following configurations: - braided 20awg solid-core OCC copper Teflon coated. (6 braids for 12awg, 8 braids for 11awg) - Audioquest NRG-4 (best audioquest cable without their DBS system). Chopped with furutech rhodium connectors. Granted the Audioquest is light at 13 awg (so if you want more, I would just double up the cables -- the Furutech plugs are large enough to accept them). However, this is the only UL rated cable that uses solid-core conductors of the proper gauge (19awg for hot, 21awg for neutral/ground). There are some other offerings out there which use 18awg or 16awg conductors. In my experience, those conductors are too large and will roll-off high frequencies. These cables are going to be less than $500 to build. I'm not sure how they will stack up to something like $3,000-6,000, but I am not willing to find out., And the fact that they are probably not going to be solid core and that they will likely use silver is a turn-off for me. The Wire World is still stranded cables. Granted, they are putting the strands into small bundles, but it's still stranded. Though, this is much better than high-stranded stuff like Furutech OCC copper, but it's still stranded. I've tested the Alpha-OCC stranded cords and they sound like low-fidelity equipment. It causes a bright "solid-state" cheapness type of sound. It just doesn't sound right, even though it's OCC and expensive. |
Would you list your equipment, speakers and cables? Without knowing it the talk is meaningless. What is not right, what do you wish to improve? Often but not always, if you like the speaker cables power cords from the same manufacturer have a good chance to work well too. New power cords, especially good ones, may require 300-500 hours of burn-in time, not just stand-by time - play time, unless they are 'cooked' in those 'cable cooking' machines. But even then I would play them for a hundred hours or so to be sure. I will mention only brands that are almost universally considered top level: Purist Audio, Echole, Stage III, HB. Shunyata is popular. |
ricred1 > Out of all of my cables, my humble opinion is my power cords are the weak link. >> I want to tweak my system Blindjim > definitely. Fairly well understood. I feel PCs are where it all gets defined. Saying one should begin there is sort of arbitrary input as many outfits are likely far from being set, as you say your’s is now. Good. The caveat which looms over the process going forward is that different PCs being injected into the rig will produce new changes in the audio presentation, so one should as well be prepared to at least consider. Changing other wires could be required to get the blend ‘just right’, or more audiophiliac correct, ‘optomized’.. As for a long weekend of trials, I’m not keen on that idea especially given two facts as has been said here by more than me, cords take time once input into the affair, and secondly, the costs. Not for nothing, but even with a little discount which should be in order on that size of a ticket, its too brief a period to make a decision given the amounts or for the wires to really bloom. That’s not a knock on shunyata. Its my EXP with literally a dozen or more Pcs from various brands and their various models. My ‘left over’ sort of keeper PCs are from five different brands, and two or three models in a couple of them. Consequently I’m not much of a ‘fan boy’ on anything. If it performs to my satisfaction or better said, as it should I buy it if possible. No regrets. Its why I’ve not said much as to what this or that PC brings to the table. I found bringing back in formerly enjoyed PCs into a somewhat new rig were not quite the fit they once were in a previous system. 3 days is just truly not fair to you, or the dealer. I definitely do not have a dog in this hunt. Whatever works for you is gonna be based on a proper trial, and your own budget and preffs. Period. I’d forget about any subjective accounts from others who do have a dog on the trail when they’re speaking on other or former bgrands. I’ve sat next to other’s listening to the exact same system and recording and thereafter heard them say things about the presentation that were extordinary. A gulf of disparity lay between what they said was heard and what I experienced, at times. Although, there is or was usually one person who was hearing something thin or strident or as is most often reported, bright sounding. There’s no accounting for ears, or telling them they’re quite wrong. Big mistake. lol Results, not brands, or popularity floats my boat. As you sure appear to be dedicated on doing the right thing here eyeing $6K just in wires, I’d suggest before you begin your sojourn into the PC wrestling ring you get: 1. note book or voice recorder. 2. IEC to NEMA (male to female) adapters $3 to $15 ea. Go cheap here. 3. IEC to NEMA (male to female) adapters get the cryo type here 4. male IEC to twin Female NEMA adapter 5. Either make or pick out your fav auditioning playlist. Hope you love it, ‘cause you’re gonna memorize the thing eventually. Probably get sick of hearing it too. But its due diligence, or so I understand. Figure out a number system you like, being incredibly anal I went with 1 – 10 including decimal points. Outline the categories that appeal to you to assign points to. The biggest one on my lists is always ‘naturalness’. Organic. Alive. Wet. The idea is to be consistent account each cable the same way in which ever areas. I’ve listed tons of reviews on these pages in the past and the fun part stops faster than one would think. its indeed a job. The results however are well worth the doing.. These IEC adapters prolong the system life by cooking the pc outside of it on a home appliance instead. Freezer and refrigerators are best IMO. Fans are good too. If ya gotta use low power stuff like modems, pcs, clock radios, get a multi NEMA plug and put all three into that one demo PC. Plug everything in and forget about it or them for 10 days or so, more if brand new, a week if used. Then insert into system. Put the extracted {PC onto the adapter and appliance you just used for the latest contestant. After several days of system play, run that ‘playlist’ and begin taking notes and be critical. Objectively critical. Not harsh though. Save the notes. When it is all said and done, you’ll pick a lot more winners this way than any other way I’ve yet to find. I would begin with that PLC you like. Although I looked for your arrangement, I could not find what all was in it so I’m unsure of what your PLC feeds. An undeniable truth is that a power cord, no matter where it is set, shows its ‘voice’ throughout the affair. One PC on a PLC that feed the entire system can be the beginning point and possibly its ending point too as its immediate authority will be widespread. If I want only one area to improve if possible, and I like what is going on there another method which in fact does work is to stick two PCs together using one of those fancy ‘cryo’ adapters you already bought. Yeah. Its not in the ‘audiophilia nervosa ‘break glass in case of emergency pamphlet but by golly it works reall well. Exact same conversation as connecting a PC to a PLC. Scant little diffs. This also helps out with at times a loved but too short PC in some areas. Look at either end of your audio setup initially. Sources and amps seem to be where the money should go or where one ought to launch the pilgrimage. Preamps? Not so much, but they do like a decent PC on them, and I’m talking $5 to $11K line stage preamps I’ve had or have. Maybe less expensive ones need better PCs. Dunno. My Integra and Onkyo HT procs and receiver seem to like upscale PCs more so, responding much better with them than did the upscale preamps. RWV. If a maker or seller can’t or won’t allow for a qualified demo period, there’s the Cable Co.. I’ve used it to great effect over the years. It used to be that they would keep your rental fees on tap. You could later cash them in on whatever they sold. Dunno if this is still a feature set or not. The very best part of all this? Once you’re done with PCs, you can do the same thing with isolation gear, room treatments, and racks or stands. If necessary. It would be outstanding if you continued posting your trials and tribulations as you roll down PC boulevard. All the best…. |
Ricred1 If you have a Raidho dealer nearby you should check out Ansuz. There is a new V2 that has just been released for the Aluminum/Ceramic/Diamond line. The Aluminum V2 is pretty much in your price range. BTW there is no aluminum in the cables. They’re copper. Also the V2’s are a huge step up from the originals. Per my local dealer ’list’ price for 2M Aluminum V2 $3150 Ceramic V2 $5850 Diamond V2 $15900 D-TC $20000 I am not a dealer just a happy owner Bo you should check out Ansuz |
Blindjim, Thanks so much very taking the time to provide such a detailed to response. My plans are to get a home audition of Audioquest, Audience, and the Shunyata Alpha NR. Although only for one day, inserting the Shunyata Sigma NR erased any doubt on the impact of changing power cords. The improvement in bass articulation was outstanding. Inserting the Sigma's gave me a better understanding of what is meant by a totally black background. All that being said, in my brief audition the Sigma's are on the dark side of neutral. Its not about what's better, but what power cord I prefer in the context of my system, within my budget. I will keep the list price at $3K and below. Thanks to everyone for having a constructive conversation!!! |
You need to be sure that the powercables you get are burned in. It doesn't make sense at all to listen to brand new cables. The Hurrican were good even brand new. But when they were burned in they were playing at a much higher level. You need to focus on the individual focus of instruments and voices. There are many American brands in powercables who have no F. idea hoiw smaal and direct voices and instruments are. That is a main reason why we want to give demos at shows with real music and instruments to make people aware of how small and direct they are in real. The AMT tweeter of the Pl-500 is abel to create a stunning level in diversity in height of voices and instruments. But most audio products and even cables are not precise enough to create this. |
bo1972, I honestly appreciate your input, NOW A BIG BUT. As much as I love my Monitor Audio PL-500's, there are speakers that I prefer over them. They are more expensive than the PL-500's, but my point is I don't want to get into this what you recommend is the "best" and everything else is crap. I know you don't want to hear this, but everyone hears differently and we can't isolate components, we are hearing them in the context of a system. Based on my brief listening of the Sigma's, if it had the same effect on another system and that system required more bass articulation and they valued a dark background, I submit the Sigma would be great. I will audition the Audioquest power cords and post my thoughts. |
Blindjim, your words are not only Golden, but they are jewel-encrusted! Amongst other things... Fabulous idea of daisy-chaining PCs with proper adapters to break-in multiple cords at the same time. BO1972, How would you compare the new AQ Hurricanes versus the older WAL, and members of the trees product family? G. |
@ricred1 - I don't know that the older Audioquest power cords were that bad. The cord itself (such as NRG-4) is very good, but a significant amount of the sonic signature is also determined by the terminations, which were typically gold-plated. An excellent high end cord terminated with gold-plated plugs will sound very nice - it will hit with authority and weight, but it will just not have as much attack and detail as a rhodium connector. Silver clad (like the Wire World) can help things. But once you get into silver / silver-plated stuff it will push the sonic signature towards the "silver" character. There are definitely some exotic designs out there (High Fidelity, Verrastar), but I still focus on what they use for terminations. |
Innocent question. As Audioquest is an outspoken proponent of wire directionality one feels obliged to ask, does Audioquest ensure their power cords are constructed such that when they are plugged in the correct direction of the conductors is maintained? In other words do they track the directionality of the wires during the construction process, albeit stranded wires? They obviously do for speaker cables and interconnects. |
First of all I never wrote that the Pl-500 is the best loudspeaker. Because it is not. The thing about audio is that most people are only able to use a very small part of the quality it is able to deliver. Electricity is the fuel to your system. You even can describe it as the oxygene to all your parts in yoyr system. It makes a huge difference. But a powercable is only a part in the whole system. First you need a separate audio group for the electricity. What kind of conditioner do you use? The things most people have no idea about are: SMOG, HIGH FREQENY NOISE AND MAGNETISM. And mann they have a huge negative influence on your system. I see you use a Marantz for surround. We did recently did test a 8801 pre map. And mannnn it was extremely poor in all parts. Marantz is for 100% a 2D product. No one can change that. The other part in which Marantz is very poor is the quality of their videoscaler inside. We use the best and most expensive Calman 2017 software and the new 2017 tools to calibrate screens and beamers. Even the LG Oled 2017 topmodels gave a very poor result even with the 8801. It lacked 3D image, the colours were not that natural. And the details were rather poor as well. The best AQ HDMI cables were not able to solve it. When you take a look inside the Marantz products you see the cheap parts. This proofs how limited they are. The company who does the technical support of Marantz in my country told me how poor the parts are they use. Onkyo in 2017 do it even the same way. it shows how low quality you get for the money you want to spend. The reviews are often paid. So Ricred what would you like to hear? The truth or the thing you would like to hear? |
Since 2010 I said to Audioquest that competitors are better in powercables. For a perfectionist like me there is only one which counts. And that is the best one. 2nd best is for born losers in our world. We protect all our clients to the max. And we want them to receive the best quality possible. We don't care about a name. I tested the Wel and Wild as well and they were not good enough. Based on 2 facts. They were to thin and silver soed not work that well for powercables. They only cable I liked was the NRG-1000 with the new plugs. But I only used it for some powersupplies. But the Hurricane is the same material as the NRG-1000. But it is 3 times as thick. And mann that creates a different league. I also tested the new AQ conditioners, I don't like them. There are others which are better. When you compare the conditioners to the cables there is a difference in properties. I am only interested in products which are able to reveal all details on which sound is being formed. They are not good in individual focus, Shunyata products show exactly these kind of limitations. Most people who have audio as a hobby have no idea on which parts sound is being founded. Then it is easy to buy products which are incomplete. Most audio products are incomplete based on facts. We can proof this and demonstrate it very easily. We work by Tru-Fi and make all the systems of new clienst complete. The first time when we audition an audiosystem of a new client it is always incomplete. I invite them or I send then to clienst who also own an audio system who can reveal all 8 parts of Tru-Fi. It is very easy to understand what the differences are with your system. The level in emotion and intensity of each Tru-Fi audio system outperforms any audio system which is being created by trial and error. Each single person on this planet prefers any sytem what can reveal more details and emotion compared to any incomplete system. |
I would highly caution everyone reading something like this to not automatically take this comment as a "fact". For example, I have looked at the internals of the AV8802 processor and I have not seen any "cheap" components. The Marantz does use a very slow op amp for I/V in the DAC section of the AV8802, which definitely contributes to the Marantz warm voicing. However, the layout and design of the DAC board is excellent with a large number of localized power supply filter caps. Of course, the caps could be upgraded to something like Nichicon Muse or Polymer (for digital), but you have to realize that this would significantly increased the retail cost of the product. All the components I have seen are pretty good components. It is certainly not cheap components like Emotiva. As you go up in the Marantz models, the more expensive units will use better components, but they are always voiced as "warm", which may or may not be what you are looking for. It doesn't mean that Marantz is cheap or bad. It is just the "Marantz voice". As far as Calman 2017 goes, it is software used as a tool to help calibrate video displays. The "calibration adjustments" are dependent on what is used to modify the video signal to make the display show proper colors. The adjustment capability depends on the device. The Marantz AVR may have some color adjustments available (hugh / saturation / white balance). The display itself may have some. These adjustment are usually not enough to give as good results as something like a Radiance video processor or another color cube correction device. |
Thanks G. Too kind. I guess even a blind acorn will eventually find a squrrel . Although I've done the stringing biz, you are the one who said it. When I hear something briefly the usual suspects are extension and how close or far apart from naturalness it sounds. If the sound is sufficiently enticing I’ll be more attentive. To test drive a new car I wanna buy I’m gonna want to do more than lolly gag around the parking lot, or circle the block with it. Almost 100% of the time, a second or even third test drive over different roads or at higher speeds, will show me something new, very likely. I’ve yet to meet the newly introduced system component that never chages its voice after the first day of operation. Its like dating in some respects. Perfect behavior on date one. More relaxed on Date two and a tad more familiar. By the tenth date, all bets are off and farting is allowed. Could be sooner than the tenth date, depends on if your’re dating a relative or not. Its best here to think ‘royalty’ not ‘red necks’. But whatever works for ya. Yeah Rick, its all about what you enjoy. Always. I can’t see it another way actually. Wires are components, and they are gonna change thru the course of several weeks as to how they sound. Unquestionably. The only things I’ve found which do not seem to change at all are Isolation gear and room treatments. Neither of which passes electricity oddly enough. Having the errant and quite annoying desire to buy speakers brand new when able, I can truthfully say if at all possible, DON’T DO THAT!!!! Ever! Lol Some were very nice out of the box. Then demons infested them. Several weeks or months of prayer and fasting exorcised the demons and the speakers finally atoned for their sinful and sinfilled manners. Read G’s accounts of his former amps and or speakers, or my own likewise reviews, or those who admit those items are not world class immediately upon connection. I feel better now. An advisement has been made about the metamorphisis things passing AC DC or low voltage signals will ALL undergo. The hot soundihng new prospect might be hot at first, until you later find out it was all foundation garments and spanks. We gotta wait till the make up and well, whatever else comes off before handing them a ring, or kicking them to the curb. Remember, merely stringing two different PCs together with a nice adapter will decidedly incorporate the attributes of both PCs into the mix. Guaranteed. It also saves from buying a custom quite lengthy and certainly pricey cord as well. Perhaps. Looking forward to your notes and a satisfying quest. Why not list your system in this post? |
My 2-channel system: Monitor Audio PL 500 speakers, Jeff Rowland 625 S2 amplifier, Jeff Rowland Corus preamp, Antipodes DS GT music server, Chord Dave DAC , JL Audio F112 V2. All inter-connect cables are Wireworld Platinum. Speaker cable is Wireworld Silver Electra. With the exception of my sub, I have everything plugged into the Torus RM20 power conditioner. I use Shunyata wall outlets and my room is treated with GIK products. Everything sits on Stillpoints. |
The distributer of Monitor Audio in my country now does Torus as well. It is a brand I never auditioned. It looks like you have the right tools to get the maximum out of powercables. I started to test powercables in 2002. We were NBS dealer at that time and I had the opportunity to test them. I was amazed by the impact of it. But.........I didn't like the fact that instruments and voices became out of proportion. But it was the opener to test many powercables. It was always a great experience to test powercables. Most people have no idea how big the importancy is of these cables. From 2004-2006 I sold Nordost Valhalla powercabels as sandwiches that time. But....they were incomplete and I was already aware of that in 2004. When you have no idea on which parts sound is being formed it is impossible to choose the right and best option. I used 3 AQ NRG-1000 powercables for each a separate powersupply. When I replaced them by the Hurricane it brought me to a new level in sound and quality. When AQ does the official release I will write a review in details what makes them different and superior to the old ones. Soon we will talk with different manufacturers about surround. We can bring cinemas as well to a new and mich higher level in real 3D sound. We reached a level where we can proof that the stage is at a new holographic 3D stage. The stage is 4 metres behind the center en front loudspeakers. With Avatar we are able to create a height at 2.5m on the rearspeakers. These speakers are at about 1.1 metre. You only can create real 3D sound when the loudspeakers, amps and sources own the DNA to create it. Our Strealth low frequency will bring the subwoofer to a much more important level in both stereo and surround. In surround mode it can bring the energy where is it at the recording. From our seat there are movies where you can feel that the energy of the low frequencies can be felt at about 2 metres high. We want to show the world what real 3D sound is. And with vision we can do the same. We invited the people of LG to our place. They never auditioned the level in details and 3D image ever. Also in Korea at LG they didn't experience the level we demoed to them. We create both sound and vision, based on the fact that we use all the properties on which they are being formed. This creates a superior level in realism of both sound&vision. |
Hi BlindJim, your non-PC dating metaphores are delightfully refreshing. BO1972: Your observations on Hurricane wires are food for thought, although I was hoping for a sober discussion of relative differences in audible properties, rather than an acrimonius disquisition of metallurgies and wire gages. Regardless, unalloyed brand-bashing is unattractive... Furthermore, the messianic leaves me cold. G. |
I did a lot of research in many brands and products. I know of most of them the DNA. All Marantz products proof to be 2D. I can proof this on facts. I sold many Monitor Audio loudspeakers to Maranzt owners. But after a 3D demo they all wanted to get rid of their Marantz. Each person in the world will always choose directly for 3D sound. In both stereo and surround. This is based on how our emotion works. Soon I will place many reviews of clienst who went from 2D to 3D image. They all use their systems so much more and longer at the same time compared to the past. That is why I will never sell any kind of 2D audio again in this life. Over 99% of all audiosystems sold over the world are 2D. I think it is time for only 3D image. Because it will bring people to a more realistic level in sound. And they will be much more happy with their systems. |
When AQ gives me access I will write the review. And I will describe in details why it is that good and so much better than the old AQ powercables. The older ones were in our world not good enough. I am not sure if the more expensive ones are better than competitors. Because AQ use silver inside. All my tests with the Wel were not that good. I think I will prefer other brands more who also make expensive powercables with only the use of copper. We work by facts and we are not here to be polite. We protect all our clients. For them we work this precise and hard. |
@guidocorona @ricred1 I whole heartedly concur with a couple of your statements on being objective. The idea of someone pushing a statement as the be-all-end-all "fact" and then continuing on a rant to try to force this idea without offering any objective statements on how a characteristic sounds in comparison to something else is to be avoided in my opinion. I have read other threads from this poster and statements such as "Monitor Audio is the best speaker period and B&W is garbage" tells me the poster has some sort of agenda. For example, I recently was looking to upgrade my speakers and both Monitor Audio Platinum II and B&W D3 were on my short list. This was until I read a review the Monitor Platinum had highs that were somewhat lacked excitement. This prompted me on to further research which indicated that ribbon tweeters tended to have more of a laid back sound, where conventional tweeters such as diamond/beryllium had a more exciting sound/impact. Now I have no doubt that Monitor Audio is a fine speaker. However, I could not find a local place to listen to them and the "laid back ribbon tweeter" sound was not my preference. I ended up going with B&W D3 and have no regrets. I love the resolution and excitement this speaker brings me. My point is that the choices are all relative to the type of sound somebody wants to hear. The new Audioquest cables could be very good indeed, but I have yet to see a full technical description on Audioquest’s website. It’s obvious that they are tripling the cords to make larger awg. They are also documenting the wire conductor material (such as solid PSC copper or solid PSS silver). But I have yet to see their description of termination plugs (whether they are gold-plated, silver-plated, or whatever). I hesitate to believe an outside source for this if Audioquest themselves have not published these specifications. |
auxinput, I submit Monitor Audio series II speakers are neutral compared to their series I. To my "ears", in my room, with my equipment, I find the PL500s chameleon like. Several people from Audiogon have been to my house to listen to my system. I recall at least one saying, "they had bite", meaning some excitement in the tweeter. I say they reveal the recording. No speaker can be for everyone. I think so many of us struggle choosing the right components to get the most out of what ever speakers we have. Not that my components are perfect, but I submit they have synergy. I have other priorities in life and my spending habits must change. The final touch for me will be a couple power cords. |
A- Regarding Shunyata Sigma NR, looking at the specs., A1- they claim having some Noise Reducing scheme. This is actually RFI suppression capacitor place on X shape at IEC side. The CPCC (Custom Power Cord Company) power cords were the pioneer of this kind of filtering. These Caps could be found on ebay for $1-2. Some drawback is that it could push back the noise toward the main distributer:/conditioner and eventually sharing the ground noise with other devices in network! I use some of these RFI Caps on my DIY power cords with careful measurement regarding each cord. A2- AC plugs at these cables are Nickel (!) plated over Tellurium Copper or Copper. No need to say Nickel plating on AC plugs ($2) used on these Power cords, is one the worse plating compared to Rhodium, Silver, Gold. Perhaps they are saving money. ----> at $3000 for PC, they could use at least some good AC plugs! Shunyata uses a lot of none-sense abbreviations/words in their product's specs in order to foll people. One concrete example is their Hydra PC which has nothing but a couple of RFI capacitors and some Levitan outlets: http://www.10audio.com/diy_power_conditioner.htm B- Audioquest Power cords are usually very good for their price. I use a Audioquest NRG-2 (for Einstein The Turtable Choice phono preamp) where I cut the AC plugs and changed them with Furutech Fi-25 and Fi-15plus. Audioquest cables uses Solid Core Pure Copper as conductors which is fantastic. In my testing bench and system, AQ power cords (NRG-100, 1000) perform much better than High Fidelity CT-1 power cords (with their BS technology which makes no-sens for any engineer/physicist!!!) , Dynamic Design Challenger, Transparent Audion XL and ... I think new AQ power cords would be a very good choice for high current Amps. As for Audioquest AC plugs, on their early NRG-100 PCs, they were using some Oyaide Ac plugs. Now they use some other vendor to make them pure copper connector with direct Silver (NRG-1000) or Gold (NRG-500) plating. I use a couple of their 20AMP NRG-1000 plug which is phenomenal. hope that would help... cheers |
The Hurricane is of a different league compared to the NRG-1000. The thing what I will aks AQ today is what the material of the new plugs is. Because this cannot be found. I think it will be similar compared to the 1000 plugs like the ones of the NRG-1000. These are silver plated (over pure red copper) You need to be aware of the DNA of each product before you are able to us them maximum. The AMT tweeter (totally different than a ribbon tweeter) needs the right cables and equipment. The facts proof that most people have no idea and all made the same mistakes. The shows proved these mistakes. And I saw often the same kind of mistakes on photos. This proves over and over again that people have no idea about properties. Because when they would have understand this, they would never had made those faults. I visited different 800D3 demoes. The facts proof that they are still 2D. We will give demoes in 2018 and will proof that they are 2D. My 800S had the same limitations. As the 800D1 and 800D2 had. These are properties no one can change until B&W will hire new people who can create better crossovers and faster materials. For example: Playing Miles Davis on the 800D3 proved that Miles was nog standing 2 metres behind the front line. Beside this the trumpet was on the same height of the tweeter. What proves that the speaker cannot create diversity in height. We create a superior level in stage depth, width and height. This makes music a totally different experience. It only can be created when you understand all the properties each part in your system owns. Trial and error is like audiogambling. I discussed this with several people who own an audio shop and all agreed. The sound and stage always proofs the truth and the quality of each audio system. When the stage is wider, deeper and higher you will hear more details tangible and free for eachother. This makes a huge difference compared to any stage what is more compressed. And the most common limitation at this moment is the lack in diversity. At shows most demoes proof that there is alsmost no diversity (layering) in sound. When you would have known how voices and instruments can create diversity you would be aware of what you do wrong. That is why we will use real voices and instruments to proof that music is 3D and that it is very tangible and direct/ And that you can hear many layers. We want all people to get closer to the truth and real music. I can garantee for 100% that each single person will prefer it. We have done this hundreds of times and the results are always the same. The best and most convincing sound and stage will always be choosen! |
Breaking News! This just in! I must be a Mind Reader! Audioquest controls wire directionality for its power cords. From the Audioquest Hurricane power cord web page: "Dielectric-Bias System (DBS; US Pat #7,126,055): By creating a constant dielectric field for the cable’s primary capacitance field or dielectric, DBS assures extended bandwidth and more evenly filtered noise dissipation, eliminating the distortions and ringing that plague other cables even after years of use and so called “run-in time.” In addition, DBS assures that the RF Noise-Dissipation System works as linearly as possible. Controlled for Correct Directionality: All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical, and therefore directional, grain structure. AudioQuest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it will cause distortion." Cheers |
I second the previous comment about Signal Cable power cables. I've owned 4-5 of these, from top to bottom of the line--all sound great & are built like tanks. Mine is a very good desktop system, not a full-blown audiophile system in living room, so maybe I'm missing something. But I've been more than satisfied w/everything I get from Signal Cable (that includes 1/2 a dozen interconnects, all excellent). |