+1 go for the Cullen power cables. There is a bit of a wait for them to be built, but worth the wait.
Advice needed on power cables, wall warts, conditioning, electrical outlet
Hi everyone,
I would appreciate any advice on power cables, wall warts, power conditioning, better electrical outlet, etc.
If I have a power conditioner, with all of my equipment plugged into it with their stock cables, would upgrading the individual components’ power cable, wall wart etc. really help to improve the sound quality? If yes, in what order of priority would you suggest? Looking to make some low/moderate cost "tweaks" where it makes sense.
FWIW, here’s my setup:
- 15 amp dedicated electrical circuit with standard home grade grounded electrical outlet.
- Furman PL Plus-C power conditioner (repurposed from my music equipment studio rack) plugged into this AC outlet. (Furman has a hardwired power cable, so I cannot easily swap it out)
- All of my audio equipment plugs into the Furman: e.g. integrated tube amp, DAC, Sound Expander, ethernet to optical converter, Sonore Optical Rendu (feeds the DAC via USB), and Small Green Computer Roon server.
- All components have their respective manufacturers’ standard issue power cord or wall wart. (Sonore Optical Rendu with their Small Green Computer standard LPS).
- TrendNet ethernet switch, not on the conditioner and uses wall wart. CAT 8 to upstairs to my Asus router also wall wart and not on conditioner.
- Asus router to Verizon FIOS ONT via CAT 8 ethernet.
Any advice and comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks a lot!
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In order to feed the beast properly you need a dedicated curcuit. #10 wire from a 20 amp breaker with nothing else on the cuircuit feeding a singular recepticle. Once that's done you can feed one or two power strips. You can piggy back to two if you need it. Conditioners are snake oil. I also agree with a previous post that after market power chords make a huge difference. |
@millercarbon has the right idea. Setup a budget first. Power is the foundation of your system. Start with the wall outlet at the beginning of the list. I would include either changing the power cord on the power conditioner or replace it. Furutech makes some products you could DIY the upgrade on the power conditioner. You could DIY all the power cords in your system with Furutech products. Link for DIY power cords https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha6lakniW28 I know your conditioner, had one. Upgrading power cord was not to difficult. You may need new gromet depending on power cord you choose. It made a huge difference. You may want to upgrade some of the wiring while you have the box open. At the minimum change the connector on the end of the cord. |
I'm in a similar situation as OP. Over the past year I've upgraded every component and now have a very nice sounding system with Electrocompaniet AW250R, Manley Neo Classic 300B pre, Lampizator Baltic 3 DAC, Clearaudio turntable w/ Nagaoka 500 cart, and a legacy Musical Fidelity CD player that I run using optical through my DAC. Everything is powered through my Panamax line conditioner which has a fixed PC. And all my PC's are stock. I've been thinking about giving better PC's a try but have been a bit lost in the constant back and forth about whether PC's matter. I think I'm ready to give it a try so will be watching for recommendations on good value PC's and appreciate suggestions. i'm not really sure my budget yet...thinking to maybe buy 3 or perhaps 4 to power my amp, preamp, DAC and maybe Panamax. If I could spend $150 per cord and get something nice it would be a huge win. If I had to spend $250 a cord that would be doable. Could probably even be convinced to spend more on one or two vs the others if I had any idea which would give me the most bang for the buck...Also I'm wondering about my Panamax...is it a reasonable way to go with my system or would I be better off ditching it and going with something else? |
- 63 posts total