What was the first power cable that you noticed a difference in the sound?

Going back to original thread, acquired a Shunyata Delta NR plugged into my McIntosh MC275 IV.  I replaced an AQ Thunder.  The Delta NR amazingly opened up the sound stage to a great degree.  The Thunder has more bottom end by the openness is not there compared to the Delta NR.  That said, I just purchased another Delta NR to run to my Furman conditioner.  I have the Shunyata running to my Mcintosh tube pre-amp and looking to update to the Delta line.  Lastly, I have Audioquest running from my Krell solid state for home theater and will replace as well with Shunyata.

Without talking about cables made with unobtainium, where did you start hear a difference.

@curiousjim The first time I heard a power cable make a difference was at CES in 1990. I was visiting George Cardas where he was showing of a set of Magnaplanar MG3s that had a custom wood frame that was built to be both stiffer than the original frames and non-resonant. He took an interest in the amps we were showing and I was interested to see how the speakers worked with our amps, so I brought our MA-1s over after hours. We played the system for a while. It sounded good, better than I remember MG3s ever sounding.

George then suggested we try a set of his power cords on the amps. We did, and immediately the system got better across the board. The bass, which by comparison seemed a bit ponderous, became nimble and fast with better impact. I was not sure that was the difference so I arranged the cables behind the amps so I could switch them in a couple of seconds without having to shut the amps off. The difference was immediately audible in either direction- better with the Cardas cables and worse with the stock cords. I bought them on the spot and still have them.

Years later I sorted out why they worked so well. The MA-1s draw a lot of power and the voltage drop across the stock cord was enough to reduce the filament voltage and B+ at the same time- so the amp made less power. The Cardas cables simply had less voltage drop.

The take away is if you have a lot of current draw you’re more likely to notice a difference with power cords. If the equipment has well regulated power supplies with good headroom you’re less likely to hear a difference. That explains why power cords don’t seem to affect our MP-1 preamp or class D amps all that much, but affect our OTLs quite a lot.

So you might look to see if power draw has anything to do with it in your setup.

To me the biggest difference was when I bought and tried the AQ Dragon source for my ARC Ref 9 CDP. I originally was using the Shunyata Sigma digital PC. It was so great that I will be also buying it for my ARC ref 6SE and sell my Shunyata Sigma HC PC.  

Been running a Synergistic research cord for around 3 weeks now on my Lyngdorf 3400. Didn’t expect to hear any difference especially since Lyngdorf says their amps are impervious to cords. I absolutely hear a difference. It sounds bigger and more bouncy I would say. It’s got different biullets you plug in basically dark/ medium / and detailed or bright. I like the dark one the best I think but an absolute difference and can change them on the fly

In a good system a $2K Audio Quest Hurricane can be a bargain for the amount of sound quality gained for the money. 
 

This is the whole reason high end wires are around, for a person that chooses wisely, he will always be getting a bargain for what ever the cables cost.

I remember having a system at the $5K / component level and my dealer sent me a set of cables costing $2K… I thought that was simply ridiculous, until I heard them. I could not have gotten that improvement by swapping components for less than $5K. The sound quality improvement of any given component (wires included) needs to prove itself. One of the important steps in high end audio is to put in the time to learn what is worth it given your values and system.

Some of the more "esoteric" aspects of cable materials, layup, etc (and impact on sound) can come into play for analog interconnects and speaker cables. For digital cables and power cables, sufficient noise dissipation and shielding is the only thing that impacts sound...senseless to pay an arm and a leg for the latter as it can be accomplished at a very reasonable cost (no killer r&d crap required).

Anyone tried Audio Art power cables?  
 

Thoughts?

Black Cat Silverwolf Power Cable

@elacross ,

Any idea when they stopped making the Silverwolf PC and what a good price would be on the used market?

A dedicated line is what matters most, in my experience, with a good power cord as  number two. I use Synergistic Research A/C Master Coupler X2 for my Atma-sphere Ma-1 amps. No miracle but they do sound better than stock cable.

I think that, the better the line to the amp(s), the greater the difference between power cords, good, medium and bad. But I am not sure if this is a rule. At least, both play a role.

This is built on long term experience with Krell FPB600, Atma-sphere MA-1, and other amps. I experiment with power cords but get to a point where I think, "good enough". This is the case with my Synergistic, Shunyata and Wywires cords, while others, like my Supra, is more so-so.

The greatest change, for me, was with a dedicated line. This was almost a revolution, with the big Krell. Much more authority, better bass, imaging, etc. I was amazed. The advantage is clear also with the MA-1 amps.

As usual, @atmasphere has the most informative, scientifically based posts and explanations with respect to electronics and audio equipment.  

It is for sure a rational and very interesting explanation...

We are lucky to have him here...

As usual, @atmasphere has the most informative, scientifically based posts and explanations with respect to electronics and audio equipment.  

I fully agree.

I now have mono blocks and there’s an old style Cardas Clear Beyond for sale in Canada. If I buy a new style cable that has different plugs on the ends will there be a noticeable difference in the sound between the A style and the B style?

Thanks.

Agree with others noted above dedicated lines should be done first but not necessary. I started with Homebrew PC’s, then Kimber Kable PK 10 Gold which was a noticeable improvement, then to Nordost Vishnu, WyWires Silver to Platinum which are great and can be had used at a great price for how they sound. I recently picked up a slightly used Nordost Valhalla II which is an incredible PC but even used are a little crazy. Don’t forget the wall outlet/receptacles. Recall someone previously mentioned don’t bother and just get an AQ Power Conditioner; not saying that’s not a great device, but even with my PS Audio P10, Dedicated lines, with AQ NRG outlets and WyWires Platinum PC is still noticeable on my P10 feeding all source components and preamp. 

Just this month, after adding CruzeAUDIO Maestro outlets to my systems dedicated line and hearing very noticeable, immediate improvements in detail, imaging, bass control, blacker noise floor etc (which to my mind defied all logical explanation), I decided to take the plunge and see what a power cord upgrade could do for me, another thing that sounded like it shouldn’t have any effect on sound. Since the reviews I’d read for Maestro outlets mentioned a symbiotic relationship with Sablon Audio power cords that brought out the best in both (basically, 1 + 1 = 3), I purchased a Sablon Audio Corona power cord with the Oyaide C-004 upgrade to replace the stock made in Taiwan cord, running it from my Creek Destiny integrated amp directly into the Maestro outlet.

Wow! More MORE: better bass modulation, tighter definition of of all musical elements, finer pinpoint details and imaging. More clarity, without increasing brightness. So… my first foray into upgraded power cords was a rousing success, with the only downside being an urge to upgrade my current MIT speaker cables to the MIT Magnum M1.3 model to allow more of that beautiful sound out 😉

@sc0ttc00ter

Welcome to the alternate reality which is high end audio. Yep, power cords can make a big difference. Also, the difference between 1 meter and two can be surprising… 2 meters is better. Hence, it is the standard recommended cord length.

@scottcooter,

Thanks for sharing. I just got a dedicated 20 amp line and am just starting to search for new outlets. 

I'm using the Audio Envy high performance gold plated receptical.  In my system,  It has bested the Pangea, PS Audio Power Port and even the Furutech GTX-D gold. 

All the best

N

Thanks @nutty ,

I’ll check them out.

@nutty ,

I went to audioenvy.com and the closest thing I found was a quad box on a cord. Did I just miss the outlets?

thanks.

The separate outlets are not listed on the website.  You have to email or call Cap and “Let’s make a deal”. Same outlets he uses in his quad set up.  

@curiousjim

Correct, they are not listed on the website. I’d encourage you to contact Captain directly for more technical details on the receptical. He recently received a large shipment of the them. The outlet is heavy and very well engineered with all contact points gold plated. 

## The outlet I'm using is the one from his reference OKTA Pro power distribution system not the Quad Power.   

N

Thanks guys,

 I’ll call tomorrow.

PS, in addition to the Sablon Audio Gran Corona power cord added to my system this February, I've now added a Sablon Audio Corona Reserva to power the Creek Destiny, moving the Gran Corona cord to my Marantz SA8001 SACD player.

I honestly think I may prefer the sound of the Gran Corona. It may all come down to the difference in sound between the Gran Corona's copper outlet prongs and the Reserva's palladium connectors.

I did also make my move to upgrade speaker cables, from the MIT CVT Terminator 1 cable to the MIT Magnum M1.1 cable... with another huge step towards pinpoint imaging, minute detail, and completely black backgrounds. Woo-Hoo! 

Now I simply to find some Magnum M1.1 RCA interconnects to complete my MIT cable loom, and reach my own personal audio Nirvana  :)