Spatialking, that's the best suggestion. Now I know why your last thread was canned. |
Yes, buy a 14 gauge power cord with IEC connectors on it at your local hardware store. About 10 bucks and it has about 3 or 4 times the conductivity of regular cordsets. |
Audio Horizons makes an excellent power cord. The "new" price falls in your range. There are more comments about them on AudioReview.com (search for "componentplus"). |
i second the audience power cord..
soundstring is very good also .. also soundstring has a budget pc that is suppose to be very good on digital gear.. |
Foster_9, where did you get your Supra LoRad 2.5 for only $80 ? How can I contact them? THANK YOU |
I agree with Fotis_k -- Signal Cable is a good value. Also, sort of agree with Bojack -- don't spend lots of money on power cords (I've been down that road, and parted with good money enroute.) People whose opinions I respect maintain that what's required is a cord to deliver current to the amp's power capacitors -- not really all that complicated. |
Thanks for all the suggestions..I obviously have homework to do and some good leads. |
I agree with the others that recommend VH Audio cords. I have a Flavor 4 that is very good. I also have a Supra LoRad 2.5 that is an "unusually good power cord for the money" and only costs $80. |
My .02.
TG Audio SLVR (may Bob RIP).
Pure Note Enhanced Paragon.
These cords compare to the best but won't pull your gear off the shelf. |
You can't go wrong with Signal Cable Magic Power Cord. Amazing audio value. And at the price they sell for, a no brainer. |
If I may ask, do you already have dedicated lines? If so, fine, worry about a power cord so long as you don't spend too much (I like French_fries' advice).
But if you don't have dedicated lines, don't even think about doing anything else related to power in your system until you get them. To get two lines put in (one for amps, one for sources) in most houses costs less than $500. This is not only far more important than power cords, in most cases it is the biggest bang for buck improvement one can ever make to one's system. |
VH Audio Flavor 4 with Gold Furu Connector will work great for your application. Try it you will be surprise how good it is. |
I beleive the Plinius Amp is considered to be quite good.
I dont think you can put a price tag on what works best for a given component.
How much you spend matters of course, but some cheap cables can make a big difference and some quite expensive cables can make a big difference or both can make a system suck.
To me, high current Amps need large gauge Power cords. But thats not all. The Voododo behind high price cords is quite a mystery to me.
But,some of those high priced cords can make a big improvemnt. Perhaps more than a new Amp change may cost. I dont try to understand The cord Voodoo . I just value it by the amount (if any) improvement it may make to my system.
Power cords will not wear out.(should not)
Another word of caution on price.
I played the price upgrade game and it ended up costing me more money than if I had just bought the better cord to begin with.
So, please dont limit yourself to a price point, try to borrow (even from the Cable Company ) or from other Audio nuts different Power cords , then decide.
Then seek out the best deal you can get.
One other hidden advantage. The better Power cords usually retain larger resale value.
So, the difference in cost (when or if) you sell them may be less than if you bought the cheap cord and had to keep them in a box under the stairs. |
Take a look at the Audio Horizons line. They are quite good and very reasonably priced. |
I also recommend VH Audio pc's-and I believe he has a trial period.
The Audience and Virtual Dynamic pc's ain't bad either.
I can't understand those posters who state they can't hear a difference.
For me, the differences are real and very noticable.
Good Luck! |
you can make yourself a vh audio power cord or get a discounted zu power cord from ebay. |
rule #1- save buying after-market pwr cords for last
rule #2- never spend more than $300 for one (used of course);
this is the limit i like to set for myself- you set your own.
i happen to like dimarzio pwr cords- $225 retail,and you can get them for alot less (brand new). very well made. |
Check out Ernie Meunier's DIY offerings. Great power cords, assembled, or, you can build them yourself with good supplied instructions, and materials, usually in 30 min, or less. It's fun, too. Member lookup: "Subaruguru". He offers great cords at very reasonable prices. Try one, you'll like it. If you don't you can probably sell it on the 'gon. |
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There are many cords that will make a big improvement over ANY stock cord. One of the better places to start are the Chris VenHaus designs. I have a few of them around still, but mostly on the computer and stuff like that. Stock powercords are not good, anything will be an improvement, but there is no need to buy $2000 power cords for $500 equipment.
There are a lot of DIY designs that can be very effective too, if you don't mind doing a little work. Again Chris Venhaus can help, as I think he still sells kits. I could be wrong about that, but if he doesn't there are others here who do sell them.
I would consider an after market PC a good investment. If you're not sure, but a used one, if it doesn't satisfy you, resell it. |
The best cord is the one that came w/the component! "A fool and his money are soon parted." |
Learn, Learn, Learn
About conductor material, dielectric materials, shielding materials.
And how these things affect performance based on:
What they are,
how they're laid out (topology)
How they're connected (especially shields)
And if you don't want to learn, you have three choices:
1.) Buy the first thing some Agonner says is best.
2.) Stick with the OEM cord.
3.) Buy the biggest gauge (like 10AWG), unshielded cord, you can find and it will probably do just fine. Why "unshielded"? Because the shield (if it is shielded) might not be connected in the most optimum way, and you'd be in no position to tell; with the result that it could cause more problems than it solves. |
I have replaced my Elrods and Shunyata cables with DCCA cables. Don usually has some demos in your price range and they are fantastic cables. Send him an email ("Virgo_ref" on audiogon). He his a great guy to deal with. Check out other forums for more discussion. I have tried many cables and maybe there are better but not in this price class. For what it's worth, in response to the previous post, I have found differences in power cables to be as apparent as any change to a system. |
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FWIW, if you really don't know anything about power cords, invest some time in learning before you leap. You might just save some money. I have found often that heavy guage, cheapo, Belden sounds as good as anything. At best, a lot of folks can't hear a difference and most who do hear differences find them subtle compared to speaker cable, IC's etc. YMMV. |
Check out chris venhaus' cables... think its venhausaudio.com. |
I will vote for the Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler. You should consider the X series Active shield. |
One of the Sonoran Plateau power cords listed on Audiogon right now (type 'Sonoran' in the Search box).
Star Sound Technology has come out with a new reference power cord for about $850.00 for one meter, so the old reference model (the Plateau) are coming up here as everyone upgrades.
http://www.audiopoints.com/plateau.html
Chuck |
1. Audusa Eupen (new)
2. Zucable Mother (used) |
