So Many Choices - PCords for Digital Sources?

Just doing a search on electrical current and how it gets from one place to the other will enlighten you. It does not flow, it is an antenna, it creates a magnetic field, it is hardly stable. Make it flow smoother, make it less of an antenna, create less of the magnetic interference and stablize the best you can. At the speed of light within 6'( even less) it can be done. Our ears are extremely senstive to micro vibrations right? This is how we hear. Singals are no more than electrical current being transformed and amplified. We would want the signal to be traveling at the speed of light but there is a lot in the way. It is pretty congested actually but if you help alleviate some congestion before it becomes a musical signal the better off you are going to be. Also, the results will be accumulative. It doesn't just end with the incoming power either. All electronics are suseptable to interferences including all the wire connected to them. It is the characteristics of all acumulative pulsating electrons that you hear. You may not hear a difference in one power cord swap and it could be due to a lot of different variables such as filtering in the component itself or what I call log jamming of pulsating electrons. The power compamy has one agenda and that is to meet safety codes. The electrician has one agenda as well or should. An audiophiles agenda does not meet the same agenda. That's a problem for our wallets. Don't take this too seriously since it is my percpective of what I have read and tried to understand regarding elctrical current. I do hear differences in power cords and it peaked my intrest is all. Made me more open minded as it started to make a lot of sense. Just like water in a garden hose, there is a lot of friction and turbulence going on. It isn't this easy but...

I appreciate the advise on Power Cords. Some have suggested to look at other areas of my system to improve.

I am quite happy with my current equipment and how it sounds for HT and 2 channel. I might looks at some improvements to my listening room through treatments.

I am just looking to improve the sound of my digital players and DAC and I thought purchasing some moderate priced PC's would be a good way to do it.

Thanks for the advice

Todd

Do a search on JPS Digital PC's. Used they normally go for $220-$225.

I've had good results with SignalCable power cords on digital sources and preamps, PS Audio on amps.

They sure do like to make a lot of money.The power cord suppliers that is.What more can they do than one of these? Its shielded too.[http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGAC14&variation=1]

i've been very happy with all my ps audio pc's. currently running perfect wave pc's...2 ac-10's, 2 ac-5's and just picked up 2 ac-3's. well made line's imo that match up nice with my quintet and pwt/pwd. use the ac-5's for the transport and dac and did notice an improvement in sound stage along with bottom end punch.

Ron @ Liquid Hi-Fi recommended them a while back and i'm glad he did. first for my power supply then later...my ps audio gear. now i've got everything running on them.

Do some research, narrow your choices down to 3 or 4 cables, then find dealers who will loan them to you for an audition. That is the ONLY way to know for sure.

I often wonder when folks say there is no diff from one pc to another, on just hwat level of gear, and what level of pc (s) are being used?

I'd like to know in fact those above items... so I can ignore those cables altogether. or some concensus of folks having used those same wires in other venues can chime in and support or deny such claims.

the only support I would give to the exchange of pcs in A/B conditions is that wires are unlike components and their dialectric composition plays a part in it's presentation.... that facet takes time to unfold itself 100%.

Look.. I'm not flush with dough to throw away, that's a given. so when I pitch decent bucks at some aspect of my system it is because I've determined it provides me results I'm willing to pay for to have them in my rig.

I'm not a cable maker... nor an employee of one. I get no royalties and last time I looked, not even a Xmas card or tank you by email.

God love you if you don't hear a diff when A/B'ing pc's. Most won't... after a while though when it settles in you may.

It is funny to me that these dealers who disavow wires as having some additive level of performance, also sell cables. Why is that? Send 'em all to Radio shack if there's no difference.

The truest and most helpful item we can all pass along to anyone seeking aid in one regard or other is for them to try these things for themselves. As I and so many others have done. then either buy 'em or send 'em back depedning on the outcome of the trial.

But as with preamps, CDPs, amps, and even speakers, wires need that warm up and run in period too. Ears will not adapt to changes in the sound as quickly as you might think. They'll respond better to an increase in volume better than they will to a decrease. Why's that? it's just a simple change, right? Nope. change yes, simple no.

Ears ain't light bulbs. There is a lot going on when we hear things and then try to detect some difference from one set of conditions to another. tons of factors affect our daily ability to hear things... like humidity.. position.. blood pressure... state of mind.. exposure to extraneous noises... etc.

but either way I've no issue with those who scoff at the implementation of upscale pcs to gain some increase in performance... but the question which should always follow is easy: Which pc's were tried on what gear or system for you to come to that conclusion?

Makers of gear too which have non migratory pcs attached to them are there for one reason... the maker likes what they get using that pc. Plain and simple. They are trying to make a buck too... they'll make their stuff less attractive pricewise if they say the pc you must use is another $500, or more.

But even the makers of such pieces chose one they liked over a bunch of other's ... Didn't they?

otherwise we've missed the boat by not buying stock in Radio Shack or Belken.

See for yourself. it always works. most cable makers have a window for try outs. Good luck.

Go to VH Audio or Sonic Craft, in my experience both are excellent sources.

Purchase the required lengths of either Neotech NEP-3002 or NEP-3003 bulk power cable and Furutech FI-11 AC terminations (or some more exotic ones if you've got a lot of extra cash and want to get rid of some). I've found these to be the sweet spot in the price/quality/performance ratio.

Put in about a half hour and you'll have excellent power cables for a very reasonable amount of money, easily within your range.

PS: For power amps move up to the Neotech NEP-3001 or 3200 cable.
PSS: Furutech FI-11 come gold or rhodium plated. Gold is very, very slightly warmer. Rhodium plated cost more. Choose depending on your system.

In my opinion, what wadia 150 has to say has some merit. I have found that power cord upgrades tend to have less effect than other types of upgrades. That is not to say that pure electricity is not important. It is very very important. It's just that power cords tend not to matter as much as other types of power upgrades. Personally I found that replacing the wall socket with an industrial grade one was more effective than upgrading the cords themselves. Furthermore, certain power conditioners can be very beneficial to your system.

Wadia150,
Wow I could not disagree more soundly. Not with your very good advise regarding speaker placement, room treatment, getting cables off the floor and the like, no I have no issue with that. What I DO take issue with is that power cords are the last place one should look to realize a big bang for the buck when upgrading a system- especially when the OP is seeking to improve a digital source. Power cords are one of the very FIRST places I go when seeking to dial my system in. Every aspect of the sound is effected- frequency information (highs, mids, bass), phase information (sound staging, imaging, layering) and the not so tangible but oh so important aspect of "quality" for all that frequency and phase information (smoothness and airiness of highs, pin point imaging in a huge and convincing soundstage, layering, image height, and so on). As for multi-channel, 5.1 is, well, 5.1 x more affected then a simple two channel system :)

As is always the case, listen for yourself and then decide should be the mantra to follow. If your dealer won't let you take a few cables home for a week or two, find a dealer who will. After that you won't have to take anyone's word for it.

Also if you did a test going back and forth you could not tell me tell me which is the stock cord against the hi end cord on a consistent basis. Trust me i have got good ears for an old fart and my guys that work at my store are twenty years younger and are very experienced listners we do these kinds of test on all kinds of products all the time. I dont get all this stuff better leading edge more palpable it is so funny to read all this stuff. Once capacitors in power supplies of audio equipment are charched that is it. You cant hear the transfer of electricity. You have got to understand would ATI give you a power cord that would limit current of their amp!

Power cords are the last thing you should ever worry about.Especially for home theater have you tried room treatments,speaker placement,getting cables of the ground.I have a very expensive system and bought into the power cord thing not really any difference for the money. Yes they look better big deal.Most of your equipment is not capapble of drawing enough current to really need a bigger power cord. Even the cheapest cords that come with equipment are capable of 20 amp current capacity .Also since you have dedicated lines which is a great upgrade you will hear no difference I cant believe our industry this is one of the downfalls which i think is part of the demise of hi end.I have worked in the hi end idustry for 20 years and i dont sell power cords.In fact if you ask most desighners they recomend you stick with their supplied cord. I use a cat ultimate preamp the desighner Ken Stevens says in the manuel not to use other power cords because it can effect the sound in a negative way. Save your money buy a turntable and a nice preamp,integrated Primaluna, Vincent, Pathos great products and not expensive and seperate two channel from your home theater in the same room. The preamp section in a Integra piece is not optimized for music. You have got a great dac. The bench is one of the best values in audio.You actually arent hearing what it is capable of with your current setup Im not trying to be rude Ati and Itegra are great for theater but not for music.I also like the Usher speakers to you need to hear how they would sound in a good two channel setup. You hear that home theater will be your second love.

I use a couple on my BDP 83. A few in fact, from time to time. Nirvana digital pc, VD power III, Voodoo Black Dragon, or Taipan Helix. Of them I usually prefer the Nirvana on the Oppo.

Again, on the BC DAC 3 I use either a Taipan HA, or a Voodoo Tesla II, Depending on mood and application.

I'd like to have a couple more pc's actually.

Personally, I'd remove that amp from the PSA cond, if it isn't already... and run the balance of the gear on it. Sources, proc, TV.

Depending on which approach you require for a pc here or therre, the smoother sounding ones IMO are the Black Dragon, & Nirvana. the more dynamic ones would be the Gold dragons, Tesla II and Taipan HA.

IMHO Smooth = softer leading edge yet still having impact ... just not quite so sharpened.

IMHO Dynamic = Sharper leading edge and tighter more propulsive presentation..

All are refined and quite listenable without listener fatigue. Save for the Vooddo Tesla II, all are in the $300s preowned or less. The vD P III goes for less than $125 most of the time. It's a nice cord but that's about it. it's also a bit unwieldy. Stiff and heavy. All the other's are very light and quite easy to manage.

the voodoo Gold dragon & Tesla ii surpass the $300-400 range, with the TESLA ii running around $500 used. I’ve had mine for sometime now and been well pleased even with several component changes along the way.

Which cord you choose to use where is important. I’d say the supply cord feeding that Premier cond is your more important one. I use an Elrod Sig III for power items, and a Python VX for digital stuff usually. My dac comes off the Elrod supplied Haley though. My proc goes right off the wall outlet’s dedicated ckt.

One last bit… there maybe pcs under 300 that might help you out, but I never did find any that were of any great significance. I had to mmove into those I have now and buy carefully. The VA Airsine is reportedly a quite nice pc but they’re hard to get preowned, which might say something too as they go like Voodoo cables… FAST… and run in the high 400s or better.

Good luck.

Try some PS Audio Power Punch cords.A ton of improvement over stock cords and a very resonable price.