power cords for Roland amps/wadia transport


I am looking to upgrade my power cords to my M201 Rowland amps and my Wadia 270 transport. I am very open to suggestions of the wise Audiogoner's and those that think they are wise as well. All suggestions welcome as long as it is first hand, interesting and or funny.
bryanhod
Well, for your amp, of course you want to use a PC with at least 10 AWG conductors: and it doesn't really have to be shielded IMO, although it wouldn't hurt if it has ferrite beads (or Stillpoints "ers") on each end to trap RFI. I use the Audio Metallurgy (9 AWG gold alloy conductors) from the wall to my Exactpower regenerator, and Purist Audio Venustas from the Exactpower to my amp. The Ferox (fluid - paste actually!) in the Venustas provide REF and EMI protection, but honestly, what's important for an amp is really heavy conductors (10 AWG minimum) and fast current transfer (twisted, stranded, conductors) made out of good material. And here you might want to experiment, but you can't go wrong with oxygen free copper, silver-plated copper is better, gold alloy is probably better and some people even find bronze or other alloys (like Purist or Magnan) work best. Cryo treated anything is generally better, but not a deal maker/breaker IMO. Others like interesting conductor configurations (Virtual Dynamics - not for me, Purist is expensive enough!)

Now PC's with CD transports is a favorite subject of mine. First of all, all DACs and CD transports (and CD players) must use shielded PC's because (most of them) put out so much RFI. And for some reason (and I wish I could figure out what it is!) CD transports (more so than DACs) also benefit from having PCs with fairly large conductors (at least 12 AWG) So what you want is a 12 AWG PC with both foil and braid shields tied to the ground conductor at the AC plug end and not connected (floated) at the IEC end.
I bought just such a cord, an XLO 10A Stereophile Recommended here on AgoN for $79 (a steal!) for both my Wadia DAC and my Wadia transport -- and they love them.
Virtual Dynamics Nite II Power Cord improved the performance (resolution, extension soundstage width and bass heft, albiet a slight dryness in the mids) of my Wadia 301 CD player. As for my Rowland 201's, I currently prefer the stock cord supplied with the amps compared to 2 x PS Audio Lab II feeding the amps direct from the mains wall outlet. I also prefered the 201's stock cords when using the combination of two Lab II cables from a PS Audio High Current Ultimate Outlet and Xstream Statement Power Cord from the wall. PS Audio combinations did lower noise level and increase bass weight but sacrificed a slight reduction in dynamics and high freq extension.

Because there are so many things that can influence the sound of your system your best bet is try cables at home.