Power Cords

Huh? They asked you not to write the details of the Hurricane power cord? That’s pretty funny since the details are provided on the Audioquest web page for the Hurricane. Don’t believe me?

http://www.audioquest.com/power-cables/hurricane-high-current

" It ain’t going to be easy.......:) "

Find a way

Man, I kew better than to ask bo a question, but he'd been so reasonable here lately. 

Audioquest is not able to describe in detail over their cables. It is very simple to explain why. Most systems they use for presentation are incomplete.

They only talk a little about technical details, but this does not say anything about the real properties and what it does in your system.

I know exactley the difference between many Audioquest cables. When you test by Tru-Fi it gives you a very detailed insight of all the different parts in sound.

That makes is so much easier to understand what the cable does in your system. When you would like to change the sound and stage of your system you need to know exactly which properties you take out and which you bring in.

But people do audio by trail and error. But this does not give you any information about the properties you took out and brought in with another cable, amp, source, loudspeaker etc.

This is why it is one big F. gambling. You never can control and guide your system to the sound and stage you want. Even when I aks to people; do you have any idea how voices and instruments sound and how they are projected into space?

Most say that they have no idea. When I aks how they want to adjust and control their system they often start to laugh. And say: you are fully right that we don’t know what we are doing.

When you create audio by properties a cable becomes a lot more important than how all other shops and companies in audio sell and use them. For them it is often some extra money and they will say: it wil improve the sound and quality.

They cannot work and think in properties, it will be one big gamble for them. In our way of creating a system cables are equal important than other parts in our system. When you use a cable by Tru-Fi the level of effectiveness becomes so much greater.

Very simple to explain; we can use more different properties out of any Audioquest cable. Because most brands and products in audio are incomplete in properties based on facts. I can and will proof this.

Most loudspeakers are incomplete again based on facts, so you never can use the full potential of an Audioquest cable. You are limited by the fact that you use different parts which are incomplete.

It is very easy to explain. Because what is missing will never be there. Audio has nothing to do with brands, products or price. All these parts does not garantee you anything at all.

Music and sound are based and founded on different properties. This is what you need to understand and build the sound and stage you want. There is no other way to do it correctly.

All the other ways of doing it are pure gambling.

I’ve read thru this thread and am somewhat astonished the most at the claim about Shunyata, specifically it has a "2-D" sound. WHAT?!?!?!?

One listen with ASL Hurricanes, which are the most "real"-sounding amplifiers I’ve EVER had and that notion goes straight to Hell. They have the best mid bass reproduction I’ve yet heard. My amps have been Jadis JA-200, Jadis Defy 7, Goldmund Mimesis 9, VTL 300s, and Bel 1001, CJ Classic Sixty, Simaudio, Hegel, and Odyssey Khartago amps,  and VAC Renaissance 70/70 and 30/30 integrated, along with many NAD BEEs.  That does NOT include the ones I’ve reviewed.

Nothing comes close to the Hurricanes for sounding "right-there-right-now" and my opera singer friends and my conductor friend agree. So, on that one point: NO. A trombone is so completely physically "there" that you literally WATCH IT. That can only happen if the other components can do what the Hurricane can, which is why I’ve had the Hurricanes for 14 years, longer - by far - than any other amp listed above. It is 3D incarnate, and, aided by Shunyata cords ’n cables, it gives the kind of presentation that makes you laugh out loud, so "real" is the Hurricane in this regard. (I reviewed them for Ultraaudio.com back in 2004. Review online.) When I removed the Shunyata power cords on the Hurricanes and put back on the stock cords, the 3D was still there (I always do this first, as a control, so that I don’t attribute a component’s ability to the power cords. First the stock, and after 300 hours, I’ll put on whatever’s lying around (mostly Shunyata). I don’t know what the poster was listening "though" (his other components), but I hear live music daily, so I’m not using a component to assess what’s "good" or "bad."

My friends (and listening panel) are a couple of opera singers, one conductor and two musicians. Without exception, they find the Shunyata power cords (I’ve had every generation) to be uncannily lifelike. Of course, the rest of the system (whatever it is at the time) contributes, but the 3D effect is consistent. (Unless the Hurricane blows a resistor, which it does occasionally.) And then it’s CJ or NAD, neither of which is remotely as 3D as the Hurricanes, athough both are "good" in this regard (the CJ much more than the NAD, of course, but the NAD can focus a voice EXTREMELY well!).

But what I notice the MOST on nearly every forum is that very few people rarely mention that they go to symphonies, which are (nearly) the only music played without amplification. People compare cable A to cable B, speaker A to speaker B, etc. Rarely does anyone say they play an instrument, hear live music played in their home or a friend’s home. Even the manufacturers themselves rarely admit to actual attendance at concerts.
Given that we are talking about reproducing music, shouldn’t there be more discussion about how a cord or speaker diverges from the concert hall? If you don’t care, that’s fine, and if you want system synergy, that’s fine (what good would it be to have to change your entire system to suit your power cord? [Does ANYONE do that?!?]). But no need to bash other products. Stick with what you know, and what you’ve had for longer than a week. No, make that 6 months. You have to live with a product to truly know it. I’ve missed traits in components because I was so enthralled (back in the beginning, not so much now) by how GREAT!!!!!! the bass was, how SPECTACULAR the imaging was, etc. None of this has to do with music (but I love great imaging and sound staging). Mostly I value tonal purity. Disinclined towards lean-sounding anything; give me at least a little warmth, or else "neutral." (I’d rather have warmth, strictly speaking, but I’ve yet to hear dead-center neutral. (Not saying it doesn’t exist, just that I haven’t heard it. Too many products out there to declare that I am the world’s foremost genius...wait, isn’t that what our illustrious leader proclaims????).

ANY-hoo, I’ve had Transparent cords, MIT cords, Nordost cords, Synergistic cords and Shunyata cords (when I say cords, I mean speaker cable, interconnects and power cords). I eventually settled on Shunyata’s power cords (and for a while, their speaker cable, but also had Nordost Valhalla (1st generation) power cords, interconnects and speaker cables. Loved the Nordost’s transparency and detail, but the upper bass/lower midrange suckout wasn’t quite to my liking, so I went back to Shunyata. But then, NOTHING is flawless. Just wait five years until everyone comes out with their NEXT generation and you’ll know that for yourself.

Aside from starting out with MIT interconnects and speaker cables in 1987, I eventually went to Transparent speaker cable for several generations, starting when I was a reviewer for TAS. Loved the Reference, and then the MM1 and MM2 speaker cable. Not so much the power cords or interconnects.
Synergistic is the one I have the least experience with: had those for a few weeks, and discovered (back then - at least 7 years ago), that they had cables for one application but a different one for another. And I discovered why: one cable had a leaner sound, but the cable in the placement before that (say CD to preamp) had a fuller sound. So one cable compensated for the other.

Goldmund used to do the same thing: the Goldmund Reference was slightly (very slightly) dark, and so were the other tables I had: a Goldmund Studio/T3F before I moved to the Versa Dynamics 2.0/2.3) and had their Mimesis 9 amp (wow, THAT was a killer amp!) and speakers (Super Dialogues). I’ve generally found that manufacturers use certain equipment to design their own equipment, so whatever the end result, it comes from the components they used in the design of their own. If they listened to live music, like Arnie Nudell, they knew what their components’ results would sound like (and of course, the room acoustics play an extremely significant part in the end result). If they don’t hear much live music, well...that’s a bit like being a psychologist who has never actually treated patients: knowledge is not the same as reality. Goldmund’s front end components (the older turntables) were on the very, very, VERY slightly dark side, but their electronics were the equivalent of a 125 watt bulb, although NEVER bright. But you could hear sound reflections off ceilings and walls even if, at the same time, you were reading passages Dante’s Inferno. That was also one of my tests: could the component pull me back to the music if I was doing "light reading." Not a great test, but a fun one, nonetheless.

But back to the subject: power cords. I’ve had Shunyata ever since 2003, along with Nordost (and Transparent). All I can say about the Shunyata power cords is that they do NOT have focus issues, they do NOT have problems projecting a 3D image (although the lower ranges [Venom and below]) DO have that issue - somewhat. I bought a Venom once, but as I had become accustomed to the better cords/speaker cables, I had to return them. As I said, my conductor friend who has heard the system the most, is quite specific about what he hears and doesn’t hear, and he finds the Shunyata quite "solid" (aka: 3D) in its presentation. He doesn’t mention "dark" or "light" because non-audiophile musicians don’t hear music - or don’t LISTEN to it - in that way unless its really, REALLY obtrusive.
Long ago (40 years), people who were audiophiles had a lot of experience with live music. Judging by the responses on the threads I see, very few people ever mention how close the music comes to a concert hall they attend, so opinions are all over the place and frankly, having reviewed plenty of equipment, I know that our systems sometimes mask things that we attribute to another component.
I’d ask that when people are talking about the cords, they specify their own systems and the music they use. To be blunt, I wouldn’t THINK of using processed music to assess anything, because I can’t be sure of what the engineer did. The same applies to the manufacturers of power cords, speaker cables, interconnects and everything else.
I love my Schiit Yggdrasil DAC, which I connected to 4 power cords: 3 Shunyata (Cobra, Alpha HC, Python and Sigma) and 1 Nordost (Frey 2) and the sound changed accordingly with each change. Needless to say, the Sigma’s noise floor was so low, I could hear (without turning the volume up high to compensate for my Nola Contenders, Mirage, Hales and Sound Dynamics) that when there was silence - after an orchestral outburst - that I could easily hear the room itself - and the musicians sitting in their seats silently.
MY system:
Preamp: CJ ET3 SE.
Amps: CJ Classic Sixty, ASL Hurricanes amps.
Interconnects: Nordost Frey 2, Heimdall 2, Tyr 2.
Integrated amps: ASL integrated 1003, NAD BEE 320, 325, 326 and 356.
Speaker cable: Nordost Frey 2, Alpha Core Goetz AG-2, and Shunyata Cobra.
Turntables: Versa Dynamics 2.3, Nottingham Horizon, Rega Planar RP3. Tonearms Origin Live Silver Mk II and Rega 300.
Cartridges: Dynavector and Clearaudio.
Power cords: Shunyata Cobra, Alpha, Alpha HC, Delta NR, Sigma, Frey 2, ESP, PS Audio Statement.

Room constructed with ASC Wall damp on a resilient channel. 9 x 13 x 20
Accessories: 38 Tube Traps.
Shakti Stones, Shakti online stabilizers.
Townshend Audio Seismic Isolation platform, Townshend Seismic Iso-pods. Stillpoints Ultra Mini Risers and SS.

38 Tube Traps? Whoa, Daddy!

Yes, and one has to be careful with that many tube traps. Place one - or more - incorrectly (the seam pointing too far in one direction or the other) and suddenly the music is a bit "lean-sounding." That's why HP, when he did his Their CS5 review, back in the '90s, decided not to use them in his room. He said (in his article, too) that they WORKED, but that one had to know what "one" was doing. 
I got mine back in 1988, after J. Gordon Holt's review in Stereophile. Glad I did: the cost now would be prohibitive!

gbmcleod

a well written account of you and your system. I have heard that CJ ET-3SE / Classic Sixty combo w/ B&W 802D speakers, Audioquest cabling/cords all around.  Very nice sound and presentation. I find your cabling/power cords choices very interesting indeed. Not too many CJ lovers out there are using Nordost. 
Happy Listening!

ricred1

are you still auditioning power cords?
Happy Listening!

No sir, done. I purchased several Audioquest Hurricane power cords and one Audioquest Tornado power cord. My cable adventure is over!

Thanks! for the update - ricred1
Looking forward in reading about the Hurricane in your system.
Happy Listening!

Audioquest finally has a Hurricane source powercord. I just ordered one for my music server.  

@ricred1 Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I am contemplating the new Storm series power cords as well to connect to my Niagra 1000. Wonder how it compares to an Acoustic Zen Gargantua II... 

freesole,

My dealer told me today, "he doesn't have a ship date for the source power cord." I'll be sure to post my thoughts, but remember there are no absolutes in audio, only preferences. I've become a strong advocate of listening with your owns ears, with your own equipment to determine if a component is to your liking. No matter if I prefer it or not, only your ears count.  

Just read this thread I'm now going to sleep!!

G.,

I've learned to ignore some Audiogon members. I submit you have to be a real fool to continue to read something you find so boring it makes you sleepy.

I'm glad you find the latest Cardas to your liking. I'm very happy where I am and have no desire to change anything at this time.

@guidocorona , was there a reason you went with Clear Reflection IC's & SC's instead of Clear or Clear Beyond?

Also, on your power amp(s) what did you find the difference was between Clear Beyond and Clear Beyond XL?

Thanks

@freesole  I also have a Niagara 1000.  It came alive when I hooked it up with Storm Series cables.

@guidocorona

Thanks for getting back.

I was looking at your earlier post where it said you powered the power amp(s) with CB XL but had the original CB on the PSU of your DAC. I had thought maybe you did a comparison between CB and CB XL.

You do not use a preamp, so I guess you use the volume control of your Aeris DAC straight to amp, eliminating the need for a digital source.

I have CB power cords mostly throughout, CB interconnect from Cary pre to Pass Labs power amp and Clear Reflection from PS Audio DAC to pre.

i use VA speakers too but the lower Kiss model.

Hello mikey8811, TThis is an attempt to consolidate my four posts above... Hope it apologies for missing your post and the delay in responding to you... here are a couple answers...
* I went directly to Cardas Clear Beyond XL power cords on all my components, without passing through Clear or Clear Beyond.
* * for analog XLR ICs and speaker wires I decided to start with Cardas Clear Reflection, which is two levels below Clear Beyond, which is the current highest level for analog signal wires. Eventually, I am planning to upgrade analog signal wires to Clear Beyond, so to evaluate the audible enhancements.
I must say that although Clear Reflection is a couple levels down from Clear Beyond -- the current top of the Cardas line for analog cables, my system has reached a performance level previously unattained. This is not only a matter of simple resolution, and of all the typical enumeration of audible parameters that we audiophiles like to list.... This cardas loom and the luminous synergy it creates with my components is giving me a sense of musical completion, a sense of "having come home", a level of immersive joy, which I had never experienced before with admittedly excellent looms from other brands.
Yet, knowing the design genius and decades of cable engineering experience of George Cardas and his team, I realize that I might have heard nothing yet compared to what I might experience if I upgraded analog ICs and speaker wires to Clear Beyond... Truth is that the magic of my system has made me, well... Lazy to upgrade analog cabling to the next level up the spectacular Cardas pantheon.
Just as a reminder, my system consists of
* Esoteric X-01 Ltd powered by XL, connected via Cardas Clear digital coax to...
* Rowland Aeris DAC + Rowland PSU (Power Storage Unit, based on ultracapacitors ) fed by XL and connected via Cardas Clear Reflection XLRs to either of the following...
* Pair of Rowland M925 monoblocks powered by XL,
* or Pair of bridged Rowland M535 amplifiers powered by xl...
* A pair of Cardas Clear Reflection connect the active amplifier pair to Vienna Die Muzik speakers.
I am using three dedicated 20A AC circuits.... One for X-01 and PSU; one for the amplifier connected to the left speaker; one for the amplifier connected to the right speaker.
Saluti, Guido

ricred1
I had an audition earlier this week with the newest AQ Niagara conditioners and Hurricane/Tornado PCs. The dealer/retailer Alan Jones of HiFi Buys Atlanta, reported that these products are sonic matches for one another. I will take a second audition in a few weeks.

Happy Listening!

They do not match on facts. Tru-Fi did prove it. We tested both 1000 and the 7000. The Niagara 1000 we did test in different Tru-Fi systems ( in 2 months of time and then we send it back again). And our conditioners were superior in all parts. The Niagara 1000 did lack stage depth as well. And also did lose in each individual aspect/property of sound compared to the conditioners we use.

The 7000 had the same limitation in stage depth and width. And regarding intimate sound and individual focus. The conditioners we use were superior. I informed Audioquest Europe about this issue. I invited them and asked them to bring in their 7000. So we will show and make them understand the limitations of the Niagara 7000.

On the recording, you will find the details and aspects/properties of sound. And your system needs to be able to reveal it. All tests we do with Audioquest cables (loudspeaker cables/interconnects/power cables) always show us all the aspects of sound.

But when we connect the 1000 and 7000 2 aspects of sound are gone. Even all other demos I auditioned with the Niagara conditioners (during shows) showed the same aspects missing.

We love shootout and we work on facts. I will show Audioquest Europe which parts are missing. I will also go to their place. And I will also show them what is missing over here.

The sound always tells you the truth. And what is missing never can be heard. When an audio product does not own all the aspects of sound the end result will always be incomplete.

Tru-Fi always overrules each incomplete audio system. It always shows a superior level in emotion and intensity compared to each incomplete audio system.

In a few days, I will receive the new Audioquest Firebird. I think it will be stunning. All their cables can reveal all the aspects/properties of sound. It will not have the limitations as their conditioners showed to us.

@bo1972 still waiting for your review on the Audiquest Hurricane PC. 

Literally 🦗🦗🦗

 

12-08-2021 5:59am

@bo1972 still waiting for your review on the Audiquest Hurricane PC.

The last post on thread is more than 2 years old buddy.

Replaced stock cord on Parasound JC2 with a Hurricane Source. (See my profile for description of my system.) Very pleased with improvement in sound. Better balance to sound. Removed SS high frequency distortion- or at least brought it under better control.