I find it interesting that in his original posting, mgottlieb claims that Pass' position is, "nonsense" and "among the stupidest things a manufacturer ever said", and then he turns around and slams the company rep for his "delicate sensibilities", and THEN proclaims what a Pass lover he is! C'mon, gottlieb, seems like you're being a bit fork-tongued, eh? |
Mr. Perkins--not only was I repeating a conversation I had when I called Pass, but my dealer indicated that he had been told the same thing. Perhaps my "erudite commentary" was an overstatement, and to the extent it offended your delicate sensibilities I do apologize. After all, as I made clear, I do dearly love Pass equipment, which was after all the point of my comment. |
For the record, the actual Pass Labs statement regarding after-market power cords, speaker cables, interconnects and other wire-related products is: "Never spend more on your cables than you spent on your amplifier." However, Mgottlieb, we do appreciate your erudite commentary on our alleged position regarding such matters. Respectfully, Peter Perkins, North American sales, Pass Labs and Volksamp |
i agree,top gun hc work,s great with my pass x 350. but have to admit its the only one ive tried so far. also have the top gun on my wadia 861. everything sounds great. good luck on the alephs. |
I added Powersnakes Viper V2 to my Aleph 2s and it made an amazing diffrence, these cords really wake-up the Aleph 2s. If you find the 2s a little subdued and laid back you would really like what the Vipers do. I had a set of Harmonic Tech Pro 11 cords before this and when I did a comparison I found that I prefered the sound of the stock cords to the Pro 11, they really muffled the sound and reduced dynamic contrast, they stock cords went the other way being a little thin and bright, the Vipers are in an entirely diffrent league. I guess Nelson has never tried Powersnakes or he wouldn't say that powercords don't help. The Alephs also benefitted from the addition of Black Diamond #4 cones. |
I recommend a very cheap cord which works well with my Aleph 4. It is a Audioquest AC-12 and I recommend it highly to those of you who find Alephs a little polite and laid back in the upper mids. I found that it left the rest of the frequency spectrum unaffected. I have also tried ESP Essence, but that left a heavier, boomier bass which I did not favor. |
This may not be relevant to Aleph 2's, but I got a major improvement with Aleph 3's (used as monoblocks now) when I changed to Stealth HAC power cords. I use a Cinepro Line Balancer, whose designer, like Nelson Pass with your Aleph 2's, says power cords don't matter much. Not true in my case or in yours. Stealth pays particular attention to grounding--see tech notes, www.interlinkhouse.com. Now a disclosure: I know the Stealth designer, so assume a bias if you like. (But I got to know him as a buyer, let me add.) |
Should have mentioned my amp : Jadis 7 mk4 Massive transformers;power hungry beast. |
I just replaced the eel ref with a Top Gun;sure,- more money. This is an "amp" cord.Josh says "don't spend the big bucks for Top Gun's best;for use with an amp;but get a great AMP cord." Wished I had bought this first.I have a King Cobra, Syn. Research ref(the 650 one) on on the front end pieces. The amp has different requirements than front ends.When somebody makes a sug. that works this well,can't help but give them a plug: Music Direct less than 600.I was willing to spend more.Just not that many retailers like this. |
I had Aleph 2's until recently (switched to Classe CAM-350's for more power when I changed speakers. I found Essential Sound Product (ESP) cords were a major improvement, and so, alternatively, were Harmonix Pro-11's (name?). So were Bybee quantum power line filters, one per amp or on the input of anything the amps are plugged into. Pass makes grat stuff (I still use the X-1 and X-ONO pre- and head amp, but their nonsense about after-market cords being a waste of money on their equipment is up there with the stupidest manufacturer comments of all time. |
T-squared: how were the transients affected by the power cord mod? I too have Aleph 2 monos (driven by Aleph P), strung with Red Dawn, and if anything, the transients seem exagerated ("clicky"?). Did the Discoveries smooth that, or increase your percetion of them? I'm told the Red Dawn I'm using can be so transparent as to allow digital front-end HF phase distorion to be audible, so I've been blaming my CDP for that. I'm bemused that a PC change could affect this region. Pass Labs reiterated on the phone recently that PC cord mods are a waste of time here, so I'm very curious about your findings. Certainly Nelson spec'd pretty meaty cords for both the monos AND the P, so I wouldn't think the issue is the amount of copper.... Your system sounds highly evolved, but I'm guessing a speaker upgrade is next. If so, I must tell you my Aleph 2s drive my Verity Audio Encores SUPERBLY...with astonishing naturalness in horns and female voices--if I could only tame that "clickiness" up top! Happy Holidays. Ernie |
I have Aleph 0 monos and have found the BMI Eel to add dynamics and immediacy that betters other cords I have tried (admittedly not many due to the 0's recessed connection). |
