What power cord would you recommend?


I have an Arcam Diva AVR200 and am thinking of upgrading the power cord. First question, is it worth it? Next, what pc would you recommend? I’m willing to spend up to $300 new or used. I’ve read articles on AZ Tsumani II, Van Den Hul Mainstream, Cardas Golden Reference, and Transparent Reference Powerlink etc. etc.
The rest of my setup include:
Totem Model 1 signatures (L, C, R)
Van Den Hul CS-122 Hybrid with jumpers
Totem Mite (Surround L, R)
Van Den Hul Clearwater for a 30' run with jumpers
Totem Thunder Sub
Pioneer Elite DVD Player
MSB Nelson Link III & P1000 Power Base (Cardas Hexlink 5C)
PS Audio high current uo, juice bar, power port, xStream Plus

I mainly listen to Jazz, Opera and Symphony music and watch lots of sci fi movies.

Any other advice on tweaks would be appreciated.

PMP
pmp_421
My first thoughts after reading the original post was "i'm going into the PC business". After reading Sd's post, i'll leave it at that. Sean
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I have yet to get answer as to how the last few feet of power cord can effect the electric and then, how that electric changes the sound. For years I used Lat International power cords, with the addition later on of a power conitioner, which had a huge positive effect on my system. I went on believing that, now, with my power conditioning all I needed were my Lat International power (one of Erne's power cords from outlet to AM, as well) cords to carry the message to my electronics. I asked a golden ear audiophool the same question I posted a year ago. "How does those last few feet of cord change the sound?" He said he hadn't a clue, but it does. Big time. So I changed my power cords to and from my Audio Magic Eclipse. Amazing, significant change. Still don't have a clue, why. I ab'd Ernes with Sonoran, Sonoran with Harmonix, and Lat with....and on and on. There's a difference. Electric is, obviously, very mystical, and has inherent properties that cannot be quantified or explained sufficiently. There are oodles of cable manufacturers that have 30 day trial periods. Trust your tympanics. You'll know in 30 days. Happy listening, warren
There is one good point that Warrenh is making and being an electrical engineer myself. I had a difficult time buying into the whole "power cord" deal a few years ago. However, I have been put into a unique position to be able to try many, many power cords and have found that indeed there is some fact to this fictional idea. Mostly due to the technology of braiding cables, purer materials, better terminations, less resistance, chokes (for emi and rf) and a slew of other new things coming out everyday. I have found that most of the major brands out there (Cardas, Kimber, AZ, HT, Elrod, etc.) have done there homework and have serious technology involved in there designs. That being said, brings me to another issue.
First, I have noticed that in the last year or so here on Audiogon. Everybody and there brother are putting out cords and claiming they are next to "Godliness". Shame on the knock offs! I have tried a few and ripped them apart only to find horrible soldering jobs, terrible Home Depot wire and a slew of other "home made" problems. Without the ability to do REAL research and development none of these so called "best cables on the planet" will ever compare to the cables that actually have engineers with degrees and skill in this area. And don't get me started on the other issue of interconnects. What a nightmare Audiogon must be for the newcomer.
All of this being said, I will tell you that no power cord is going to make a 2K system sound like a 10K system. That they do not do. But what they do is take out some of the junk that Warrenh mentioned initially. A good conditioner might be another option. Shunyata is making a lower cost version of it's Hydra 8, the Hydra 2. That may be a consideration as well for you initially. But unfortunately there is no single "magic pill" that will do the transformation I mention before. What I have found after years of doing this is to find a large reputable dealer (i.e Galen Carol, Sound By Singer, and a select few others) that can recommened a direction to go. I have found in this industry of crowded rooms of new companies that there are those that do what they claim. But unless you are willing to spend, spend, spend, until you get the one that really creates the synergy that you are looking for, I would trust a professional. Not a Best Buy employee, not a small dealer with one or two products, but a large place that has had the opportunity to experience the equipment you have and listen to what your needs are so that they can make some suggestions. Tweeks like power cords work, but maybe the major problem lies elsewhere in your system. I hope this has not been to rodundant, but it is in my opinion better to trust people who have been there, not the one's who don't know where "there" is.
One final item, Warrenh was right about making a dedicated circuit to your system, it does help. But only helps with the internal noise your own household items create themselves. It does nothing for the garbage coming in through the main. Have a great day, and enjoy yourself!!!
I second Semwin1 on some points. There is a lot of homemade junk around. Understanding that if you take your outlet out of the wall and connect all of the wires together w/o cutting the circuit at the breaker box, something electrically bad will happen, does not make you and electrical engineer. AC power cord geometry and quality of materials and construction are necessary to clean up some of the grunge that arrives in the Romex. Romex provides Direct Current (DC) one way into your house. From the outlet to your amp is Alternating Current (AC) where the current needs to go both directions. The AC power cord has a job to do just like I/C's and speaker cables, and it's not quite as simple as some would have us believe other wise we would be connecting our amps directly from the wall with 12/2 or 14/2 Romex. As I stated before, this job is to allow for enough current to arrive at the amp without constriction and to provide this signal as cleanly as possible. Now this sounds simple enough, but as we all know with any State or Federal employee, some do their jobs well and others....don't always have the quality components necessary to do the job at all. For those of you who live/die by the Bryston article, there are amp designs and manufacturers who include adequate for their equipment and others who will admit to including cords which should be upgraded. The reason I've heard for not including better cords is that they do not want to endorse a particular aftermarket cord company and will leave the chioces up to the customers. I'm not sure i agree, but I've heard it. The standard cord that arrives wit Krell, BEL and others looks to be about 12AWG (although cheap looking) where many others are 14AWG or smaller. It's simply a matter of belief and I fully support both sides of this argument.
My answer to the Arcam question is...

I find power cords are NOT like interconnects. I find they either work well or they don't. If a power cord only works well with certain components, there is something wrong with the power cord to start with.

At that price point, I find the BC62 is nice and clean. There are better cords, but they are also a lot more money.

Even the smaller/cheaper BC61 is a good step up from a stock black cord. The larger BC62 is at the point where the laws of dimishing returns start to kick in, the more you spend past that point. In other words, the $100 more for a BC62 is worth it if you can afford it, but another $100 or $200 past the BC62 does not get you as much improvement with power cords I have tried. I obviously have not tried them all.