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What Power Cord for Tubed Preamp

About a month ago I made my first foray into tubes. I was not satisfied with the rather sibilant sound coming from my system. I thought that this might be a good "excuse" to try out a tubed preamp. What a difference. My system has never sounded more musical. Even my wife commented that the SACD player/tubed preamp was warmer and more natural. Well, anyway, my question is, what power cords have you found to be beneficial with tubed equipment? I know that cables are system dependent. But I want a place to start my search. For digital I use Marigo Labs Ultra series II and the CPCC model 11 for my power amp. Here is my equipment list:

Sony C333ES SACD player
Audio Experiment Symphonies tubed preamp
B&K AV6000 power amp
Paradigm Reference Studio 60 Loudspeakers
Home Grown Audio Super Silver Interconnects
Ted's Excellent Cable Speaker wire.
gallaine
14 responses Add your response
asa
662 posts
 
Electraglide copper ribbon basic PC used at $200, then $150 on the NOS tubes, then forget about audio. Nice little system, by the way.
jcbtubes
400 posts
 
Gallaine- I'm running a custom tube pre-amp and the FIM Gold is the best in my system. The FIM Silver is less expensive and only the Gold series performed better. The cost on these will probably be higher than your preferred budget. However, if you get a chance to audition them, don't pass it up. They are truly exceptional. For a more budget power cord, watch the ads for a Coincident pc. Very good for the money and it only lists for about 275 new, as I recall. Good luck.
johnnybravo
36 posts
 
Second Marty's observations.

Electraglide basic. Wonderful on my Joule Electra.
bfshifid69b
2 posts
 
Tube preamps oftentimes prefer and sound best with ribbon based cords. I suggest Walker ribbons or Electra Glide ribbons. These two cords sound different, and will emphasize different aspects of your tube preamp's sound. In either case, you will notice less grain and greater dimensionalty, with a greater sense of texture and immediacy. Negatives can include some tonal washout or some dynamic restriction depending on the gear being used.

MGDeWulf
avnut
153 posts
 
The BMI whale has worked great for me. i put one on my 50se. At first I didnt notice anything. I first installed it in mid-August. I didnt notice how good it was until it just seemed to open up one day in October. I didnt think the powercord on the preamp would produce any mentionable results.
I noticed that the whole musical picture was cleaned up and more clear. Dynamics became more linear instead of robust like it was when I first put the cord. But the trade off I guess is that the music is more linear and coherant from top to bottom.
snook2's avatar
snook2
626 posts
 
Take your time and find any good used cord. When I had the Wolcotts I didn't hear any difference from the 5 brands I listened to. I settled on the JPS power cord.
gallaine OP
114 posts
 
Thanks for the responses. Garyl, I tried the MIT Z cord when I auditioned around nine PCs late last year. Maybe I should try it again on the tubed preamp. One thing I should mention is that I try to keep my cable cost to about 30% of the component retail. That would put my upper limit on a power cord for the preamp to about $350; more than that doesn't make sense since I could replace all three 12ax7 tubes with Mullard CV4004's for about $150.

I've heard many good things about the BMI's and the Bob Crump design PC. My only concern is either finding a good deal on which I wouldn't lose too much or a thirty day money back guarantee.
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
You're on the right track! I have a good deal of experience with David Blair's (Custom Power Cord) product line! The model 11's are a great power cord for the money! But if you really want to see what he is capable of...try the Top Gun Cords! (See the reviews in The Absolute Sound...a Golden Ears winner!) David recommends upgrading in this priority: 1) Source 2)Pre-amp 3)Amp(s). Also, consider his "Top Gun Power Block" line conditioner. Another "Golden Ears" award winner! Enjoy!
garyl
22 posts
 
Did you see the ad that was posted today for the new MIT Z cord? The seller claims that the improvement in sound quality is so profound, that it's like you spent an additional $2-3K on your preamp, or your money back. OK, we have all heard claims like this before, but it certainly got my attention.

Have you tried your model 11 on that preamp yet? I'm a big fan of the CPCC cords. Problem is, there are so many diferent cords available that are recommended. I would stick with trying popular brands that can be bought used at good prices, and quickly re-sold at little or no loss on your investment. Some good ones to try first have already been mentioned here, and I would add the Blue Circle and JPS analog AC cord to the list. I also have tried and like the Acoustic Zen cords.
rgd
656 posts
 
I second the Asylum cord - made a nice difference with my Rogue 66 preamp and the price is right...
natalie
404 posts
 
Bob Crump Assylum cord.
adsal7e18
250 posts
 
fim cables
lak's avatar
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lak
4,626 posts
 
I have found any of the BMI products to work very well. I believe they can only be found on the Audiogon site. My order of preference would be Whale Elite Mk II, Whale Elite and then the Eel’s (which are the least expensive and hard to find). I prefer the Whale Elite Mk II or Whale Elite over power cords costing $1000-$2000 (the BMI power cords cost a lot less but you get a lot of bang for your dollars). Just my opinion, research BMI or Whale power cords in the Audiogon forums, they have quite a following. I hope this is helpful!
questforsound
126 posts
 
check out the Granite audio #555 and #560 -- Granite audio manufacters tube amps and pre-ampsand tube cd palyers and also ac power cords and interconnects and they are wonderful cords ... we are a showcase dealer on audiogon and you can take a look at them on our showcase

stephen
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