here is the hierarchy: Synergistic Mast Coup > HT AC 11 Black mamba > Syn,Mast Coup Sonichorizon hurricane,slight advant.> Black mamba,NBS
12 responses Add your response
PS: I always forget this when discussing PC's. I suspect that they may make more of a noticeable improvment in systems that are running on not so good juice. I live in an apartment in LA the land of "bad juice" and every cord sounds different in my system (even the cheap ones supplied with the equipment). They seem to make less of a difference in a friends system (he lives in a house in a much less populated area) and I do think that it may be the power supply itself. |
In regard to the HT Pro 11 PC: I have used one on a CAL player and a Bel Canto DAC and it was a major improvement over each units stock cord. I am currently interested in auditioning the Mapleshade PC ($150.00) for the DAC out of curiosity as I really like the digital cable that I recently purchased from them. Other cords that I am considering in the under $200.00 price range (due to positive feedback) are the Silver Audio PC ($190.00) and the JPS Digital PC (used ones are just starting to drop in price). The Master Coupler mentioned above also seems to be very popular. As said before you may want to save up a little more before you buy and get something that will better compliment your gear. I am sure that some of the high ticket PC's are very nice but you can still see a major improvement as well (over the stock cords) in this price range. |
Eljif, was your H. Tech. power cord properly broken in? It sometimes takes a good 100-200 hours before many H.Tech cables really strut their stuff. Granted, I would probably agree with your assessment if I was listening with you, but my H.T Pro-11 AC soundsexcellent for the money, and is a good choice for secondary pieces (subwoofer?) even in a high end system. I also have a Yamamura Quantum power cord ($1200) that provides a little bit of magic to my system, but my H.Tech PC holds its own in comparison. It was a signifcant improvement over my stock cord, and definitely worth the $160 price. ($125 at Audiogon) |
I have tried the Harmonic Tech AC 11 and I thought my stock cord sounded better, so did my friend who I lent it to. Synergistic Master Coupler could be had for about 140.00 used, they are pretty good, I own one and felt that it marginally improved the sound. The high dollar stuff unfortunatly is where the big jumps in improvment occur. If you wanted to stretch you budget a bit the Powersnakes Sidewinder are said to be great, about 260.00 retail. I don't own any of these, but I do own Viper and King Cobras and they have made a world of diffrence in my system. They are quite a bit more expensive though. |
Do an on line search for Volex and buy a Volex 17604 cord (14 guage, shielded) for about $10. Then buy a Hubell 5266 male end for about $7 or $8 and a good quality iec. (I used a Bulgin-cost $5 in Canada) but Schurter is another one with a lot of positive remarks at Audio Asylum. You MUST reterminate this cord to really take full advantage of it. Your total cost on this cord is about $20 and it will give many, if not all of the sub $200 cords a very serious run for their money. Is it the be-all and end all? No. I also own a Blue Circle BC 62 and Cardas Golden, both of which are much better, but also much more expensive (although not megabuck cords). By going this route, you'll also hear whether you can hear a power cord difference, whether it's a positive one, and whether you want to pursue more expensive cords. This may be all you want, but you've got some pretty jazzy equipment there; my guess is that you want to really look at cords in the $200 and up range, but if you can find a used BC 62 for around $125 or $150, grab it. It will show you what a decent, low priced cord is really capable of. I haven't heard the Harmonic Tech AC 11, but you often see them around $125 used and they seem to be highly thought of. |
How good are the cords they came with? I have heard some improvment in changing the 18/3 standard black cords (like what come with your computer) with 14/3 standard black cords. These would be very cheap at the hardware or computer store. Also check eBay. There are some cords offered by Stu Wein at [email protected] that go for around $50 from his closed audio business. They orignially sold in the $150 range. I tried one and its an improvment on a stock cord. If you contact him by eMail he will sell you them directly. He is a CES right now, so you may not hear from him right away. There are other cables on eBay "Cableplex" that are bulk sale for $64 each. Have never tried them. |
rule of thumb for spending cables is 10% of your equipment cost. A $100 budget would prove to be quite on the low side of things. However,there have been very good products that have been proven to be quite effective in beating most at a factor of 3 to 4 times the price. You may check out items at Sonichorizon.com If you are on the DIY do it yourself side, some companies offer items in bulk but have retailers offering such. Go to Metacrawler.com and look up Michael Percy Audio. Happy building or shopping! |