Finding a Power Cord that sounds great

I have reviewed the wonderful Furutech Flux power cords on PFO. You'll find my observations at:
http://positive-feedback.com/Issue47/furutech.htm

The PCs that I have enjoyed the most are the ones I am using right now. . . Shunyata King Cobra CX. I have applied them to my Esoteric X-01 Limited player, as well as to my Rowland Model 312 amp. The PC appears to be a complete generalist and can be happily used for both high and low power applications. It is the most coherent cord that I have used this far. Very broad frequency rendering, without hot spots or dips that I can discern. Extremely large stage in 3 dimensions. . . thank goodness the background is not 'black'. . . it's transparent and alive with low level information. Fact is KC may be the most revealing power cord I have tried this far, without delivering unwanted artifacts. While previous incarnations of Shunyata cords could be accused of slightly reducing dynamics, the CX series appears to be delivering an impressive dynamic range, from broad macro dynamics to very minute microdynamics.
Is this wire for everyone? Probably not. . . If someone seekd the ultimate (and to me excessive) energetic sparkle, or a pleasing euphonic warmth, I suspect the Shunyata CX series may not be for them. rather, King Cobra CX seems to be delivering the ultimate Goldilockian sound. . . not an excess of 'this', neither an excess of 'that'. . . just an extreme 'rightness' of all.
Unfortunately, I had the pleasure of inserting into my system also the matching Shunyata Aurora ICs and speaker wires. . . very consistent with King Cobra CX. . . they seem to extend all sonic and musical parameters even significantly further toward my ideal.

G.

JRN, I agree completely that Flux take an inordinate amount of time to break-in. Anyone who shortshrifts these wires because of what the do (or do not do) during the first few hundred hours of operation, will waste their time and their money. Flux deserve a lot of patience to give their best. I have used the completeFurutech Flux suite for perhaps 1500 hours. My findings about this remarkable series are in my PFO article at:
http://positive-feedback.com/Issue47/furutech.htm
I have continued to use them after the end of the review process for several weeks , and the wires still blossom further for an additional couple hundred hours.

However, after inserting the Shunyata King Cobra CX + Auroras in the system, and breaking them in for approx 300 hours, until they stabilized, this Shunyata suite as a whole has become my reference cabling. As wonderful as the Flux series is, I found the Shunyata King Cobra CX cords, particularly when fielded in synergy with the Shunyata Aeros Aurora ICs and speaker wires, to be significantly and comfortably preferable in most aspects of my application, for the reasons discussed in my previous post. While Flux cords may be slightly more energetic than KC, which may undoubtedly tip some user's preference toward Flux, the overall sonic and musical parameters I discussed in my previous post have easily caused my preference to fall for the Shunyata KC+SAurora combination.

The single exception is a position where unfortunately I have not yet been able to isolate variables to my satisfaction:
I found the musically and sonically most desirable solution from the Furutech ETR-303 Daytona conditioner to the AC grid is currently a 12ft Furutech Flux that reaches a rather far isolated 20A outlet. Unfortunately my KC is only 2 meter long, and reaches only a standard non-isolated 15A circuit outlet.
Using the KC to power the conditioner through a regular outlet within its reach instead, the system yields a sonic environment that is slightly subpar in grain-free musicality and resolution, compared to powering the conditioner with the Flux fed by the outlet on the 20A isolated circuit.

It is worth pointing out that an isolated circuit can have a very significant effect on the overall sound. Hence, in the next several weeks, I might enroll the assistance of a friend of mine to move the isolated circuit to be in reach of the Shunyata King Cobra CX, so to eliminate the effect of the last uncontrolled variable, and perform an even more valid performance determination.

Regards, G.

Thank you JRN. Yes, you are correct, a lot has to do with personal preference, and the sound is the result of the interaction of all components in a system, including power cords of course. I tried to make clear in my posts that my assessment of the Shunyata KC+Aurora suite is not an absolute, but that these wires are the ones that satisfy my own particular sonic and musical values to the highest degree, regardless of list price. Your original query did not specify a price range, hence my unrestricting interpretation of 'best'. Unfortunately, not having listend to BPT cords, I can't venture a guess about their price/performance ratio. If you give us a price range, we all might come up with suggestions/opinions that match your target much better. G.

You bet JRN. . . just make sure that when looking at a used King Cobra listed at an attractive price, the listing specifies CX. The only thing in common between the original King Cobra and the CX version is a significant heftiness of the device. Construction/design is apparently quite different. Guido

Yes, apparently in CX series Shunyata has enhanced its connectors. However, it is my understanding there is alot more to the Shunyata design than connectors alone. Just from memory. . .

* Shunyata utilizes extremely pure Copper. Of course, I am not sure if this is purer than other Copper formulations, like the ones utilized by Acrolink and others.
The Copper is extruded in house in a semi-molten state, and the semi-molten mass is subjected to a very intense EM field, whose purpose is to align Copper 'molecules' along field geodesics. Note that as Copper is micro-crystaline, what is meant is either that the crystal grains get aligned, or that atoms are align prior to recrystalization.
* The wire strands (or perhaps the finished product, I am not sure), is subjected to an in house very low temperature cryogenic process.
The Cord is machine braided using something like 750 separate wires for the King Cobra wires, resulting in a 5-gage counter-rotating helycoidal aggregate or so woven (I believe at a 90 degrees normalized pattern) around the central tube(s).

If the audible results of this technology and process were bizarre, or were otherwise dull or unmusical, my ever-snarky and ready comment would be the usual Stravinskian warning that we should judge a tree by its fruits, not by its roots. Fortunately, KC CX's sonic 'fruits' are most delectable, hence I shall leave Igor Stravinsky alone for the duration, but try to seek a plausible explanation of the delivered Nirvana instead. G.