Hi, not at all I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your going to need 250 to 300 hrs of burn in time for your new cable to settle. Our setups are similar I use an AVM 20 mated to an Halo A21 cables are AC-3's four total and one AC-10 and an Statement SC before the Ac-10 arrived a year after the Ac-3's one powered my A21 and added nice weight to the image and a fuller over all sound over the stock and a Xstream plus which was a whopping 8awg design replaced with the statement sc then back to the AC series with the AC-10(killer cable). Long story short I lived with the Ac-3 for a year the AC's are balanced cables when broken in and you will love the new potential you will recieve from your gear.when each of mine hit the 225 hour mark I was floored. If you have any questions let me know keep us posted on your findings! |
If your budget allows and If it where me, I would get another AC-5, works better in tandum ,in fact I'm going to sell my Statement SC in favor of an AC-5 or AC-12 if my budget allows (lol). |
Not really, PsAudio has taken steps to stop some ebay fakes, but I would trust my gut on this one, how much is it? |
Use music direct and get half price and peace of mind. |
I'll second that. enjoy Lake 11! |
Sounds about right just hang in until around 230-270hrs and watch the highs extend cleanly and beyond what they where before.Until then the mids may dip again and the bass as well, in the end the sound will be balanced with no respect of any particular frequeny.I was able to reposition my speakers after breakin because the sound stage and instrument placement was very differnt than before(in a good way of course)because of the increase in the weight of the overall sound. center image and the depth and width of the soundstage. The change will not be small at all and gobs of new details in the music will be revealed just plain neutral sound.Keep chimming in on this I have great notes on what I experienced through the break in process. |
Hi Nasaman and Lake like you guys I too am 80 music 20 movies, and have tried to strike a balance accordinly.I also like to extract the full potential from my gear before moving up.here are the changes i made to get my money's worth from my Anthem avm 20. improvements came from moving up from a Parasound HCA 2003A 220 watts x3 to a Halo A21 and from Boston Acoustics VR40 to E100 mains (breath taking speakers)swithiching from mostly AQ cables to Morrow Sp3 bi-wire and Ps audio Ac-3's thoughout and some wall treatments to get rid of first reflections and 2 corner bass traps. Mind you this was all nice to get started and yeilded great results , next I looked at powerconditioners and wanted to get my 5yr old Monster hts 2600mk2 off the system, This led me to Ps Audio and decided to Purchase an Quintet for everything but the A21. I read some where else someone had great results with Jc-1 mono blocks on the Ps audio Soloist Premier in wall power conditioner so why not Ithought the idea of being able to protect my amps and not loose power delievery sounded compelling, before I was in the straight to the wall amp camp.now mind you I already had 2 dedicated 20amp lines one for the rest and one for my A21 and Soloist and gosh the doors to High fidelity swung wide open. so in my humble opiniion I would adress power first and you'll really see what your avm 20 can do after that of course sure an dedicated preamp would be nice but only if needed you have already begun to get better sound from it trust me theres more and for not alot of money the 8 pannels and 2 bass traps in coustom colors ran me about $400 and the power upgrade Quintet, Soloist Premier and Premier outlet about $700 I now have the best of both killer 2 channel setup and a theater that rocks! |
The Ps audio Quintet can be had for around $320-350 at music direct,The captive cord can be a limitation on the Monster. Cool thing is you won't believe how much impact the Powercord has on the overall sound of the conditioner after switching from the Monster which I loved for years, the Quintet had first noticiable deeper blacks on Hdtv and blu-ray movies and a more 3d look as well as richer colors Inoticed this first because after instalation I turned on the tv first(lol)! after that for music and HTsound, dead quitet soundstage, deeper bass and what one would precieve as increased dynamics it seemed louder? Now the benifit of changing the powercord is another ball game as this will effect the rest of your gear you get to see where what works best as you did with your amp and preamp and get even more out of your gear. (Imop) I would sell the Monster down the road and put the cash towards the Quintet you wont be sorry you did and like I did you'll see why power is truly is the foundation of your sound. |
Hi Lake,On my Quintet I run my Anthem Avm 20,Sacd player,Blu-ray player,cable box,TV,Anthem MCA 30(3x200) and an M&k Mx-150 sub. For my Parasound A21 Its on it's own 10awg 20amp line and I use the PS Audio Soloist Premier in wall conditioner which max power is 1800 watts, the Quintet(also on a dedicated 12awg 20amp line) with all the above is only 1250 watts with no limitation of Dynamics at all and the Isolation between components is great the line will hold up to 2000 watts itself. Now if you only have a 15amp line for now you would still be fine with all your gear including your amp on the Quintet and for even better results you can use the Soloist Premier before your Quintet or Duet and get even better results (I tried running it all on the Quintet without any problems in fact liked it a lot I just could'nt let the extra line go to waste.)So if all you can start with is the Duet and it suits your needs go for it its the same as the Quintet minus the extra outlets and cable in and out and Remote triggers.And yes you will want to upgrade the stock cord but will be fine with it till you can.Don't hesitate to ask if you need anymore help. |
Good luck Lake!Can't wait to hear the results! |
Yeah! the chill factor is pretty high! And the details are nice. Sorry to hear about the fuses at least you tried. |
Hi Vinylvin, I only remove the ground out of nessesity, I had ground loop hum from my Halo A21 and Anthem, which I'am happy to report is gone! I mean dead quite. I recieved a pair of Morrow Audio's Ma3 balanced Ic's today. In the past before Ps Audio's cables I used cheater plugs and hated the very thought of it.And i know it's dangerouse to lift the ground.Today I put the Ground pin back an no Hum, and Lake( if your reading this) the sound from balanced is Outstanding over rca from the Anthem.Back to the ground lift from the Duet I would'nt recommend it,my Quintet is grounded, Now if its a 2 prong device like my preamp or bluray player I take the ground pins off. BTW how's the burn in comming along? |
Congrats on the Totem Hawks! I made that same mistake last year when I brought a new amp ,speakers and cables I installed all the cables at once (lol) like a stew! Instead of one at a time to evaluate the improvement of each piece. With power I slowed it down to listen to what each change was adding or taking away Soloist Premier, Quintet and Power port premier then foucused on the Cables! |
For kicks put the AC5 on the Quintet to get a taste of its true potential then try the AC10, give each cord a good 30min to settle and remember your two new cables are still breaking in the highs and mids are the last to bloom with bass filling out as well. Your ears and system already jelled well with the monster and is settling in to the new equipment . Is your tv connected to the Quintet as well? if so after the power cord switch tell me the results!Sometimes the rule of thumb is to put your best Powercord first and let it trikle down to the rest of your gear! |
Sounds like a solid plan to me Lake, the Quintet is a nice unit for the price and combined with the AC10 its that much more value to perfomance.And the sonic benifits are unreal.Movies music all take on a new level of realism and best of all you keep your gear and hear it at its best and can sit back and enjoy the fruit of your audiophile labor! Give your Quintet 250-300hrs as well. Man are you gonna be in for a suprise! keep us posted. |
Good choice! it will influence the sound of everything after it the most, even the Ac5. Start counting and take yourself some notes on the burn in, its a good reference point to work from.Keep me posted! |
That's not necessarily true about not being good on amps,While it will benifit the wall to Quintet setup, in my experience with different configurations the amp and AC10 was not just a sutble improvement! it was just as good as the AC10 to Quintet if not better in some respects. In either configuration ie. Statement Sc to amp was not as good as Ac10 to amp,but STatetment to Quintet and AC10 to Amp was better IMHO.For this reason Ihope to order the AC12 this week for my amp and run the AC10 on the Quintet! But until next week can,t say for sure.I'll keep posting on my findings.(here we go again,I love this!) |
Sounds good to me,next week should be intresting indeed! The AC12 might the Icing on the cake and then some I hope. I to am thinking the amp is a good place to start. |
Not yet, I have been thinking about fuses though. I get to order my AC12 thursday. My Morrow Audio MA3 balanced should have about 360hrs on Saturday which should give me a good idea on the sound before adding the AC12.I'm using the stockcord on the amp at the moment. What IC's do you use? I have a mix of Morrow and AQ (Columbia and King Cobra). Speaker cables are Morrow's SP3 biwire. |
Keep me posted on this one, now you got me very intrested, and sweet IC's. BTW I've heard the fuse orientation is important? |
Hey Lake, If anything give the the rest of the new power upgrades a chance to settle in and then try the fuses! If returning them is an issue send them back and try again later. Try to keep in mind your systems is going through fits and spasims, you just might be at a difficult stage of the breakin process. Couple of questions how many hours on each of the following: AC10,AC5 and the Quintet? and how long till the AC12 arrives mine will be in on Saturday (can't wait!!) I just read an intresting review of the fuses over at the Polk fourms, check it out might add some insight. |
My AC12 will be in tommorow, Hmm!This is gonna be so much fun! no more wondering about what it sounds like! So Lake any regrets about switching power conditioners and cables? |
Glad to hear it,I to felt the same way after the power upgrades. after the many years of focus on gear, Ic's and speaker cables this really made the stuff I have shine.I'll post back later when the AC12 arrives for first impressions! |
The AC12 has arrived and out the box Lake It's all true what they said, its all true, finnaly I can rest in audio nirvana for while. Just unbelievable and this is out of the box! |
Hi Lake, My AC12 is on the amp and has made me extremly happy.My AC10 is fully burned in and so is the Quintet well over 2000 hrs (installed in Febuary this year). When this AC12 finishes cooking I dont know how I'm going to act! good thing is my new Morrow MA3 xlr's need about 40 more hrs and they should be done. So what did you get from the AC12? IT just keeps on startling me with breath taking sweeps in my listen room trurly got the sound off the wall and in the room and all around me in front and is just captivating and this only 48 hrs as I write this!IT has to be the most listenable out of the box cable Iv'e heard. Post some impressions and Nasaman if your reading this Skip the AC5 if you can. From what I noticed about the Perfect wave cables is each will give you a justifiable taste of the next in the series. I have a AC10 up top AC3's in the middle and the AC12 down on the amp. the AC12 leaves nothing to be desired. Just let them open up, they will. Darn almost forgot! there was a post on Ps audio's forums about cleaning the contacts Iv'e done this with good ole Caig contact cleaner. My AC12 was a little dirty! |
Hey Lake, your right on the mark I looked over some notes on the AC10 and after 60hrs the worst of the breakin came in. It wasn't until around 125 hrs it snapped out of it and smooth out the highs a little more. It came back with some goodies not there before. According to my notes and I qoute "opening up in a new way" if one can qoute one's self (LOL). This time however the nasties showed up around 48 hrs or so. Do you have the AC12 directly in wall or Quintet? I have the advantage of 2 dedicated lines one for the Quintet and one for the Soloist Premier, AC12 and amp and is most likely why its still very listenable and yeilding good results while breaking in, even though it's more consrticted than out the box! Can't wait till 125 to see what's in store. |
Hi Lake and Nasaman, the instalation for the Soloist is pretty simple use the templet and cut a double gang box hole and the wiring is straight forward, and looks good installed! Music direct has the Perfectwave cables for 50% off with any cable trade in and free shipping this month. |
In ways never thought possible, at 120 hrs the snap and flow are comming back, imaging is in the center again with more depth than before. overall the mids are nice bass not fully back highs still working it out. Post back at 160 to 175 and tell me if it opens up more. |
For the spray I would spray the cotton swab and clean the connectors on the cable and use one to dry and then wipe off any excess, let dry for 2-5 minutes, then plug in. For IC's Iwould try to do the same or get something other than cotton swabs that wont snag or rip easily. If you have a Radio Shack or Electronics store nearby and get the sponge type swabs on a stick (LOL)! As I write this my AC12 has 144 hrs and is blacker mids are surreal and highs are begining to extend, bass still lagging behind but not as much anymore, musical tone is beautiful. It seems to be 15 hrs ahead of the AC10 at this point when it was breaking in. |
Hi Lake, just wanted to report on the tone of notes from piano violins and upright bass seem to linger forever the AC12 loves music! At first the new details where over shadowing what was familar to me and found it distracting at first, but letting it incorperate it self to what I was use to became much more enjoyable, just no more straining to hear what was once so faint in the background. It's becoming a wonderful listening experience I'm at around 176 hrs. |
Yeah wish I could explain it, but what ever it is, I like it! You can sit back and ride the wave home as it will seem as though its not going to stop giving up more new sound. Man I wish I bought the AC12 first its a Killer!! How did the Caig workout any differnce? |
Toe-in was a topic I was going to bring up later because it will be required, It's an urge I try my best to resist during burn-in, if only to compare changes. You should be about to hear the beginings of the 3rd layer of the sound emerge in the background as the final settling ends, at about 270 hrs it going to seem as though its not going to stop breaking in the frequency extrems are just beautiful. Let me know when your jaw drops! Then tell me if your Anthem is still the weakest link! |
I got home tonite and OH MY!! 224 hrs and the distance from the AC10 is more than just a little it's just flat out Flagship class even at this point if I had to pay 2x the price for the AC12 I would (LOL). Now when fully broken in guess I'll sell the farm. |
Those where my original post,Keep your ear to the cable(lol) she's got more to give, not till 300 hrs give or take a few hrs, I just hit the 271 mark and I just cant believe it the mids are blooming and extending beyond what I was expecting. I just sit and listen like it someone elses system thats light years ahead of my own. I'm not familiar with my system anymore, which is good its weakness has become strenghts in most places. I have a new level of listening to explore and this weekend I'll put her through her paces. |
Glad to hear it Lake! the great thing about this hobby is we learn from each other a true meeting of the minds and with forums in which to share these ideas we all win and get closer to the sound trapped in our head LOL! Oh! almost forgot my AC12 is still burning in at 364 hrs! The sound stage keeps expanding and bass is really digging deep and the level of refinement is first class. Ive decided to let it go for 400 hrs and see this weekend if its done. My AC10 gave in at 285 hrs, mabe its the fact of more copper? ah who knows. at any rate I have the Brothers in arms dvd audio disc I'll be sure to see if Mark drops by.I'll share some final thoughts this weekend. |
Hi, Lake and all do you still have your fuses? any new feedback on them? reason for asking I treated my stock ends with Caig to see if there was anything to this whole fuse thing. Well the results where more than I expected the separation of instruments and the way mids come across is nice and talk about 3d, pitch definition and deeper bass . This was the main line fuse only and this promted me to jump in with both feet. I 'll be recieving the HiFi tunning Silver Star today for the main line stock fuse and eventually the other four in the amp, then the anthem is next. Just the cleanig and treating was a huge increase, I'm sold. the question now is gold or silver but I will have to see what the silver star does first? |
