Neither a nor b. It gets out of the way and the noise floor drops a bit so previously hidden details are more easily heard. That's what I am hearing out of the p-3s on my sources in both office and at home. |
So far, my brief experience with the HiDiamond P-3s reveals the pcs to be very trnasparent, not adding nor subtracting anything from the presentation. The noise floor seems to have reduced a bit, allowing for a bit more inner detail to be revealed. Still very early, but enough positives to make a buying decision. PLUS
they don't require MPC's!! |
Bacardi-
I won't have a P-4 until later this week. I'll let you know. |
I tried a Hi Diamond power 3 on my P-10 home system experiment this weekend and it performed very well - even better than I thought it would. |
I have p3's to my Melody SET integrated and Esoteric K-03 in my office system and they sound great. The Melody pulls about 350w at idle, according to the P-10 I have on it.
We were reconfiguring my home system today, taking out an SR Powercell and installing two PS Audio p-10's - i per amp/side. With PS Audio AC12's coming out of the wall to the P-10's, the sound was OK, but not quite as good as it was before the changes. To be expected, since all cables and the P-10s had no hours on them.
As an experiment, I replaced the SR Hologram-D pc that was on my APL NWO-M CD/SACD player, with a P-3 cable I had, also cold. The change was immediate and like night and day. Detail, imaging, soundstage, EVERYTHING came back, but even better than before. We were shocked. I will be replacing the AC-12s with P-3s and the P-3 on the CD player with a P-4. I'm pretty sure there are more P-4s that will find their way into my home system as existing cabling gets broken in and budget allows.. |
B-
I put the P-4 from the wall to 1 of my p-10 power regenerators in place of a PS Audio ac-12 cable, the best PS Audio makes. It wasn't even close. Everything driven by that p-10 got a lot better - quieter, more detailed and better dynamics as well as better imaging and depth. I have 2 more coming - 1 for my CD player and the other for the other P-10 from the wall. When they show up, I will move the p-3 on the cd player to run between the P-10 and an amp, and do the same with the longer p-3 I currently have coming out of the wall to the P-10. They will replace SR Hologram-A pcs.
I'm still at very low hours with these cords and they are already better than what I had been using. When they really break in at about 300 hours, they are supposed to jump another level or 2. IF the break in results really are as suggested by others, I can very easily see me eventually running all P-4s in my home system. |
I agree with the comments above.
This afternoon I added 4 HiDiamond P-4 power cords to my system, replacing a P-3 from wall to 1 amp, as well as 3 SR Hologram-As. The SR's were going from both PS Audio P-10s to my amps, which are now replaced by P-4s. The Cd player now has a P-4 from the P-10, replacing a P-3 which is now on my preamp, having replaced another Hologram-A. The 4th P-4 is from the wall to the other P-10, replacing a P-3 that was there.
Immediate results, cold, with no hours on these new p-4s: wider and deeper soundstage, lower noise level(so sounded a bit louder and more detailed) as well as deeper bass(so had to dial the sub down). We heard things on a CD that we had not heard before, literally. My system sounds better than it ever has. Its as though we went from feeding power to the system through garden hoses, to now using fire hoses with silencers. The SRs were good in my system, but the Hi Diamonds, especially the P-4s, take things up a few notches, COLD. I can only imagine when these break in... :-) |
Correction- 1st p-4 replaced p-3 from wall to P-10, NOT wall to amp. |
B- P-4s are a good 4-500 hours to be fully broken in - it will be at least several months before I'm there. Right now, I have P-4 power cords on everything 2-channel except the preamp, which has a P-3 and the sub, which is still SR. Hard to do a direct SR comparison because I now have PS Audio P-10s whereas before I just had an SR powercell(aka "0 protection"). I do know that every time I swapped a Hi DIamond for a SR pc, the sound "improved". By that I mean - more open, more realistic, more micro detail, much quieter and better dynamic range. System has gotten more resolving and definitely more enjoyable to listen to, as it seems to get a bit better every day. It seems like the amps and speaker mods have finally fully broken in(since August), allowing me to really hear the differences in the cable comparisons.
Still running SR Apex spkr cables and Galileo spkr Cells, as well as SR Prec Ref xlrs between Preamp and amps. Also SR Reference sub ics. Next will try either High Fidelity xlrs or Hi Diamond 3 xlrs between pre and amps. Curious if others have tried the 3xlrs yet in place of SR? |
Ozzy-
When you inserted the 3 xlrs to replace the Apex xlrs, what happened to the imaging? Depth of soundstage?
As far as digital vs analog, I would just try the P-4 on each and see what you think. Ideally, I would use 1 for each, assuming they work in your system. I'd also think about feeding your most important source with a P-4 from the Audience piece. It made a noticeable difference on my CD/SACD player. |
"Floorplanner"? Nice try Bob. And I have 5 P-4s, but who's counting, right? (and 5 less wall-warts...)
In my case, it was time for a change. My system is much quieter and more neutral, therefore more natural sounding and resolving than it has been before. This is with very few hours on the P-4's so I'm pretty sure it will get even better after a few hundred more hours.
All systems are different - these have just been my recent experiences comparing the HiDiamond with SR power cables. I have absolutely no desire to try the new version of SR pcs complete with "tuning bullets" and MPCs. My preference is now really just the opposite: to actually HEAR what I have spent many thousands of dollars for, UNFILTERED by "tuning cables" and the like. As I continue to "simplify", and "De-tune", the sound just keeps getting better and better. I wish I had realized this sooner, but I guess its just a part of this crazy hobby as well as a function of the various recent upgrades I've made. |
I think the better matched the system, regardless of price, the less the need for "tuning cables", which is what SR now provides.
J - Of COURSE a SR pc will sound better in an all SR system than ANY other brand, as long as you don't confuse "more of the same thing" as necessarily "better". As I discovered, there is a big difference, or at least there was in my system, between those 2 concepts. I did compare SR Element ics and didn't like them, regardless of which tuning bullet I used. That was enough for me..... |
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Denon 1- The p-4 is quieter with a bit more bass weight and upper end extension out of the bag. As a thicker cable, it also takes longer to break in than the P-3. My p-4s are not broken in yet, so I can't tell you where they will be sonically in 3-400 hours. What I have heard is that they are pretty spectacular at that point, but won't know for a while yet. |
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Once you put it on your CD/DAC, I doubt you'll take it off. :-) |
Do you have 1 on your amp? If not, that's where the next P-4 should go. |
I totally agree with Knghifi. The cables are not designed to fix flaws in your system, but rather to expose them with their transparency. I wouldn't expect them to do what you are hoping for unless you have isolated your problem to the preamp pc. |
Jriggy-
I have a 4m P-3 barely used(25 hours) that just got freed up and could use another 2m p-3 or p-4 in pristine condition. If that's what you have, please pm me with your proposal. |
System change back to single ended made my 2 pairs of Diamond 3 XLRs available. Great cables. |
I just put my Hi Diamond 3 XLR cables (2 meter pair and 4 meter pair) up for sale on Audiogon. I changed system configuration away from balanced a number of months ago and these were just sitting with all the other cables that make up my current system. Cleaning up the "clutter" produced these gems. they have about 150 hrs/pair on them and are in great shape. |
Hey Guido!
I've always preferred running single-ended to my amps, but was having a bit of trouble doing that with the Statement 450's after I "over-adjusted" them at some point (OK,user-error - there, I said it). Anyway, balanced would run fine but single-ended was giving me problems. My preamp will run either balanced or single ended outputs, but not both at the same time. Since I had to run balanced to the amps, I did likewise from the preamp to the sub, both times using the Hi DIamond XLR cables.
As you know, I recently had some work done on my amps and when I got them back after about a 3 month vacation (yes, they looked well-rested), single -ended is working fine again. Since I prefer running single-ended, the Hi DIamond 3 XLRs have become available for sale as I no longer have a use for them. I am still happily using Hi Diamond p-4 power cables throughout my system.
It was great running into you again at RMAF! Keep in touch. |
Hey Guido-
The various Hi Diamond dealers pick and choose where they exhibit. I deal with the distributor in Canada and I couldn't really see him making this trip, although many others from other gear have come much further for the chance to exhibit at RMAF..
Heard those ALtairs yesterday - call when you get a chance for the scoop. |
2 things, real quick:
1- Both systems have silver Ic's - dryness built in.
2- What power cords are they replacing? My guess would be that they lean towards the "warm" side, to the extent that is possible. |
