For me it was the CD player, somewhat surprisingly. Long time believer in interconnects and speaker cables, i never gave much credence to the idea that power cables could make a difference. Last year i started experimenting. First, i replace my stock cords to the monoblocks with Nordost Shiva cables--more and better bass. Then i replaced the Shivas with Aciustic Zen Tsunamis and used the Shivas for my CD and preamp--still more bass, slightly better soundstaging. Very happy with my system, i thought i was done. I got a deal on a used Nordost Vishnu, just one step up from Shiva, so i did a little A-B test. With the preamp, no real impact. With the CD player--WOW. Slightly more bass but better soundstaging and air and space around individual instruments--really noticeable, for the first time. Could be system/component dependent, but if i were to start over, i'd start with the source first, then the power amps.
Upgrading power cables
Recently auditioned some power cables in an A-B test and became a believer in the benefits of a quality power cable. Since the test was only done with an amp. I wonder if it is necessary to upgrade the power cables of all my components (solid state amp, tube preamp, SACD player). If so, should all components have the same model of power cable? What should be the first component to upgrade?
Thanks for the help.
Thanks for the help.