What was the first power cable that you noticed a difference in the sound?
I have bought six or seven different power cords, none over $500 and have noticed little or no change in the sound of my system. All the cables are 12 gauge or bigger. Without talking about cables made with unobtainium, where did you start hear a difference.
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 :)
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.
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.
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.
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 😉
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.
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?
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.
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).
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.
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
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.
Without talking about cables made with unobtainium, where did you start hear a difference.
@curiousjimThe 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.
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.
Its honestly a mixed bag
I put an AQ Dragon HC power cable on a gryphon amp and wasnt sure there was a difference. This is a very expensive cable to not hear much over a stock cable
On the flipside
the biggest difference i ever experienced was when i upgraded speaker cables a while back.I went from plain installer grade wire to a used pair of AQ Volcano.
it was such a massive difference that i reinstalled one speaker with cheap wire and the other with upgraded wire to demonstrate to some cable denier friends
i even made a video about it where i would go back and forth between the two. It was such a huge difference that even playing it back on my cellphone the gap was so large it could have single handily ended the cable debate as anyone not deaf could hear the difference
now i run stealth audio cloude 99. Once again this is a big difference. They use a helium dielectric and are ridiculously fast and airy silver cables
it affords me the ability go with more “chocolate” upstream
@ditusa Hope you never have a fire, because if you do you won't get dime one of insurance. What you've done is a complete violation of the National Electrical Code, and an adjuster will notice it in a heartbeat.
However, without context it is hard to gain any insight. What are your components and venue. There is a place under your user ID to put photos and identify your components. A bit of context is also helpful to understand the conditions of you observations.
I have also tried numerous after market power cords from $100 to $2,500 and found the lower end to have no impact and the upper ones to have something between excellent improvements that were very nuanced to startling improvement.
I’ve tried numerous power cables from $300 to $2500, I heard no discernible differences in any of them. The only cable that I changed where I heard a difference, was when I changed a cheap, new equipment supplied Toslink cable, with a roughly $65 one.
@williewonkaSteve, I just read through the entire THE HELIX IMAGE" Power Cable guide and will likely make a few power cables to try out. I too love a good DIY challenge (and saving money). Any meaningful updates since the article was written in 2015?
these took my system into a whole new performance level
spacious - a true 3D image
dynamic
detailed
low noise floor
deep articulate bass
They get a little on the expensive side when you get into the OCC copper, but you can try them using plain old romex house wire first for a more affordable approach just to "prove the theory"
Read what other Audiogon members think about the Helix DIY cables here...
Audio Envy Ocean Elite Expanded With OCC ground upgrade. Music just took several very quiet steps out into the room. Extremely nice cables at such reasonable prices. OCC wire , quality insulation, gold plated solid copper tight fitting connectors and very light and flexible cable.
ZU Event Power Cables. Not an improvement of sound character so to speak (low, mids, highs, etc). The improvement came with much lower noise. The music seemed to come out of more darkness. Very subtle but worth it.
Shunyata Black Mamba on sources and 2 BMI Whale Elite on amp which requires 2 power cords. Much quieter back drop the music was presented in. I still have them. I use Wireworld Silver Electra 7's on my digital front end now.
Nordost Blue Heaven. When I connected them in, much blacker background. That showed me power cords make a difference. As my system has changed so have the cables. I am now running full loom of Kubala Sosna Emotion. Best move I ever made.
Shunyata Taipen around 2010 , A small increase in bass, but in every setup I've used in in , lots of air in highs. Sounds a little unnatural after a little while.
My audio engineer feels that it was a current spike that shorted one of my tubes, and so after 55 years I finally caved in and bought a Furman power conditioner from Crutchfield, on sale from $1000 down to $599.
It provides a “current reservoir” of an extra 45 amps for the amplifiers and that has made a big difference with regard to the texture, detail and authority at the bass end.
So that seems a worthwhile investment.
I still use chain-link fence for my cable interconnects.
Totally agree excellent response. We could do the same with taste and smell. Do we get an analytical report on food before we choose restaurants- No!
I once went to an apple pie contest. The panel of experts, some with 30 years experience in apple networking, took samples of each of the pies, put them in a blender, and then tested each sample for colour, lubricity, light transmission, density, ph, and of course percentage of sugar, fat, carbohydrates and fibre. Their conclusion? Within the experimental errors of the measuring devices they were all the same. The gave the blue ribbon to the cheapest pie.
"What was the first power cable that you noticed a difference in the sound?"
As stated, A Power Cable with a PC Triple C Wire.
Not much to be discovered, not sure my recollections have any thoughts worthwhile reporting on, in relation to my experiences between OFC and OCC Wire used for this purpose.
Wire Gauge differences have been known to create a difference to a sonic, but I have not worked with type of investigation, even though I am aware the link to the PC in my earlier Post in this thread has wire that is a different gauge to the Wire I have in my PC containing PC Triple C Wire.
With the exception of my DAC and a VTL power amp, none of my gear has IEC connectors for power cords. Most of my amps are vintage SS and tube, but a few of the comments regarding power supply reserve as a way of reducing impact of power cords piqued my interest. Has anyone here done research along those lines, whether measured or subjective? Virtually all of the fixed power cords on the 60s/70s gear I have is 18 ga.
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