Power cords?

You don't have to overspend when it comes to power cords. Quality can be found for sane prices. Pangea is one that gets a lot of positive feedback here and you can add Cullen Cables to the list as well. Cullen Cables may very well be the sleeper make here.

All the best,
Nonoise

I own Cabledyne power cords, available in copper or silver wire. They have bested many expensive cords and they are better made. See their reviews on the Cabledyne site. There was one here in Agon.

Jake -

ultimately, it will be your ears' choice as to which brand of cabling is the best. Might not be a bad idea to contact Cary directly and inquire about a specific brand that jives well w/ your gear. Keep us posted.

You can buy power cables from the electronic supply house that are heavy duty. I think they cost 7.00 each. I bet you can not hear the difference between those and the expensive cables you are looking at. Most of the time the sound correlates with how much money you spend. Audio is more about the brain than the ears.

Elizabeth,

I recently substituted a Pangea AC-9 for a Richard Gray power cord that has been loaned to me this past year or so. I perceived a bit less detail, but that may be imagination or inadequate break-in time. I've had the AC-9 for years, but set it aside as being too stiff for application to a component within my cabinet. But the amp sits on the floor between the mains, so connecting the AC-9 to it is manageable. An audiophile friend whose judgment I trust recommended WyWire Silver Juice II. I expect to keep the RGPC, AC-9, and Juice. I'll try the AC-9 with one of my Velodyne HGS-15s, and if it works, i.e., connects without too much trouble, I'll buy another for the other HGS-15.

db

The only problem is I live in a part canada that has only 4 high end audio dealers and would like to try them before purchasing them. Audio Quest, shunyata and nordorst are the only selections. I have tried nordeost and did not have the same performance for the same price rang though if you have a budget of $1500 or more then they would make a bigger difference. I do like Jafant's idea though to contact cary directly and ask them what they use at audio shows ether one of the 2 brands before ?
I am just thinking that shunyata has a bigger wire size then the audio quest and there technology is more superior I think? Z-tron" Although as an electrician my self tube equipment require more current and power then solid states unlike in krell amps though!
I would like to try the Pangea and Cabledyne power cords, but would hate to buy it off line then try to flip it. If it did not suit my system

I was wondering some one else tried both brands on tube equipment and to see what did they notice

My dealer is having the founder of shunyata come out for one night. So think I should see what he has to say for him self and his products?

I like DH Labs Power Plus with good connectors, e.g., Furutech, Oyaide, Neotech, etc. The plug is as important as the cable.

Just Buy Cord That Sounds Better To You. Trust Your Ears.

Look for a BMI Hammerhead 2 or 3. Easier to find and less expensive are Audience and ESP (essential sound products) the Essence, both good bang for buck cables. Also, Elrod ESP's and Statements are nice, but bulky. Stealth Cloude's are clean and fast, but not the last word in bass.

Check out Anti Cables new PCs

Jakecanada,
Pangea(from AudioAdvisor),Cabledyne,Cullen,all have a 30 day trial period.No need to flip,try before you buy.Music Direct also has several brands to choose from for a thirty day trial.

Keep me posted Jake.

I recently moved my system a little which made my stock amplifier power cord too short. I've been using a plain old extension cord while trying to decide which power cord to purchase. I have read much about the Pangea (thanks Elizabeth) and decided to go with a three meter Pangea AC-9. I am still amazed at how bad my system sounded before I replaced the extension cord. There is quite a difference. Everything focused, especially the bottom end. It sounded muddled, flat, dull before. Quite a bargain for $129.

Don't spend a lot on power cords. It's a waste of money. A lot of people like Pangea. You can buy these from Audio advisor really cheap and If you don't like them send them back for a full refund. Try the cheaper cables before you blow big bucks on the expensive power cords. And If you are going to buy expensive power cords buy them on Audiogon for 50% off list.

Agree about the Pangea. I am very sure that there are better cords for those that can afford them, but the Pangeas are designed by a guy with wide industry experience, and appear to be very well made.
I don't think there is too much mystery in their superiority over ordinary stock cords. They use good copper, and good insulation. I use the SE versions for amp, pre and DAC, and the result was a quieter background and more solid bass. Great return on investment. I have heard that other more expensive brands are superior, but Pangea is ideal if you don't want to go crazy, but want something better.

On the other hand, isn't that just putting off the inevitable? Doesn't it make more sense to just bite the bullet and spring for one of those high-priced power cords, you know, the ones everyone raves about? You know you want to.

Geoffkait - I have just finished tinkering with my power cords and stumbled on some interesting findings.

My original setup had
- Furutech 15 gauge on the source components - plugged into power bar
- Furutech 15 gauge on the power bar - plugged into the outlet
- Furutech 10 gauge on the amp - plugged into outlet

All pc's had gold plated copper connectors - I also tried rhodium plated copper connectors on the 10 gauge cable

I had read on Agon about making power cords from romex, which I had laying around the house, so I thought I would investigate.

I made up some 10 gauge and 12 gauge cords using a braided style to reduce any RF interference.

Putting the 10 gauge braided romex onto the amp had little impact to the overall sound, compared to the 10 gauge Furutech - probably because the amp has a substantial power supply

Putting the 12 gauge braided romex on the distribution power bar and the source components actually provided a discernible improvement over the
15 gauge furutech - more fine details and precision in the staging

The next step was a total surprise - I replaced the 12 gauge romex on the power bar with the 10 gauge furutech and the difference was startling - the image depth and detail was so much better and the high's and sibilence had a smoothness to them.

My last change was to the Furutech 10 gauge cable - I installed some silver plated copper connectors.

When attached to the power bar this provided even more focus and space and the micro details of the venue now sounded very life-like

Switching the 10 gauge romex back to the amp again revealed that there was little difference from the 10 gauge romex.

My amp has a substantial power supply, however, the power supplies on my source components are no where near as substantial.

So- it appears that although all components benefit from a power cord upgrade
- some components benefit more from a higher quality power cord
- some components may not require such an expensive power cord

As cited time and again in these forums - if possible - try them out before you commit to a purchase.

Granted, going for an expensive power cord should reap benefits, but it might just be unnecessary for every component in your system.

The one thing that was most noticeable was just how much better the silver plated mains connectors performed when compared to both gold and rhodium plated connectors, all tried on the 10 gauge Furutech - although that could also be due to the design, which was slightly different.

I've also read plain copper is an improvement over gold/rhodium plated prodicts

Just something to ponder during he long winter evenings:-)

Unfortunately - this has simply peaked my curiosity - I have a few more power cord related ideas I plan to look into :-)

Williewonka, my experiences mirrors yours. The biggest impact of pc's in my system was with my Ps Audio P3 AC regenerator. Second biggest impact was on my Luxman D-06 cdp. I heard no change with my Accustic Arts Power 1 integrated amp. Consider yourself lucky for having made this discovery. You just saved yourself some money. N

Tboooe - guess I've saved money in that I've discovered which components benefit the most from power cord upgrades, but as the system reveals is true resolution/spatial capabilities, there may be more details that a $uperior cable might reveal when attached to the amp.

My plan here is to borrow the Nordost sample pack that a couple of local dealers have.

If there is any more resolution/spatial improvement to be had I think the Nordost cables should reveal them - then its a matter of just how much capital I want to invest :-)

It's never ending :-)

In "medieval" audiophile times, about 40-50 years ago or so, when human understanding of many things audio was primitive prior to later years high end audio enlightenment, there were two main things most people considered when choosing wires.

1) gauge, ie lower gauge = a bigger "pipeline" which provided a broader pathway for the current to flow, which seemed logical and seemed to consistently deliver results. 10 gauge speaker wire was the bomb, 16 gauge for cheapo newbies. At least that's how it worked in all teh audio and electronic shops I worked at back then. No attention was payed to such things as gauge of powercords. So maybe that is the key that best distinguishes a good power cord from a bad one, all else aside? Makes sense to me. I always tend to choose beefier, "lower gauge" power cords over scrawny, higher gauge ones. Not sure if many audiophile cords even specify a gauge? I guess there are more important factors they want us to covet.

2) physical properties of the metal conductor. Higher conductivity was good, lower bad. Most wires were copper in practice, so not much to choose from there. You might go for gold plated contacts if you could afford such things.

Then monster wire upset the cart making things "bigger" and badder than before. Then all the other nonsense came along, as did perhaps an occasional innovation, but deciding which was nonsense and which was innovative became a lot harder, especially with vendors intentionally muddying the waters when they could in search of larger profits.

My favorite ICs these days are DNM Reson, which look like old high gauge 300 ohm antenna wire made into an IC. Dat coherency and rightness from top to bottom....ah! Go figure?

THings were much simpler in "medieval" times......

Another thought;

while costing a little more, I really like, Stage III Concepts power cords. Offered via Aaudio Imports.

I just bough a second Pangea AC-9 to use with my second sub. Wrestling it into place reminded me how much I hated the first one. They really are stiff and unwieldy.

db

In my experience the connectors are responsible for 80% or so of the sound....maybe more.

Ditto, Stringreen. Connectors make a huge difference.

I sell a lot of Audioquest cables. I love them, but there powercables are not in the same league as the other cables they make. They are ok, but not stunning. Purist Audio makes better powercables. We compared them with Audioquest. They were superior. Shunyata gives a deep and wide stage but misses the sharp small individual focus of instruments and voices. The Purist Audio does this part a lot better. Also the mid freq. of the Purist are more open than the Shunyata powercables. Purist Audio is one of the best brand in powercables or even maybe the best!!

Bo1972.....I must agree about PAD power cables they are wonderful BUT you should try and have a listen to the Pranawire Satori PC, it's in another universe.

(Dealer disclaimer)

So are Stage III Concepts PC- another universe indeed.