Guido, I'm using the Coincident Speaker Technology CST-PC power cord. It'll be at least two weeks before I have time to do a comparison, but maybe Soundings will loan me a Cardas to compare. (May is music month and I have seven gigs over the next two weeks, oh yeah, and I need to make a living also).
I'm very, very happy with the CST-PC/Continuum combination, but I'd be happy to compare notes with you. BTW, which piano recording were you hearing the "jangle" on? (If it was Earl Garner then you know that the piano was way out of tune, right? Just kidding buddy, I have no doubt that you can spot an out of tune piano a mile away).
Given the lack of interconnects and, in effect, the dual PC-1s in the Continuum, I'm thinking that I'll notice less difference than you, where you've got two or three power cords to deal with vs. my one. (Ah, the beauty of an intergrated amp, with ample power and an incredible line-stage).
When I swapped the CST-PC into the system I'd only had a few minutes on the amp before I made the change. After a couple of weeks of being switched on constantly, the amp moved to a higher level of freedom and openness, so I'm thinking that if there's any difference to be heard between cords, I'll now be able to clearly hear it.
Dave |
Guido, out of curiousity, when you moved the PAD Anniversary to the 312, did you still have a PAD Anniversay on your Esoteric X-01 Limited? Or are you changing more than one cord around at a time?
Cheers,
John |
Guido, I've used Rowland amps for many years. Currently 501s, Concerto and Esoteric XO 1 Limited. While I have not tried all available PCs and ICs, certainly I've auditioned the top recomended. Nothing performed as well for me as Cardas Golden Reference.
Paul |
Thank you guys, yes I have unscientifically swapped in one case 2 PCs at a time (on PC1 and X-01) as you will read below. . .
I have now tried 3 different PCs on the PC1+Capri combo: Cardas Golden Ref, Purist Anniversary, and Shunyata Helix Anaconda Alpha. As said yesterday, I am slightly surprised about my own findings. . . I far prefer the Anaconda over the other 2 PCs for this application.
1. Golden Ref simply not very interesting. . . insufficient harmonic devel opment in my opinion. . . paradoxically not at all warmish as I would have expecte d; had Anaconda on X-01 Limited.
2. Purist Anniversary: much better staging and harmonic development, but with some traces of hard transients on piano; had Anaconda on X-01.
3. With Anaconda I am getting the greatest imaging density, harmonic development and balanced transients. It is fair to say though, that this last config involved a 2 PC change rather than a single PC change, so I need to make more experiments before determining exactly who is doing what to whom:
Original config: Anaconda on X-01, Purist Anniversary on PC1.
New config: Purist Anniv on X-01, Anaconda on PC1.
As I have one spare Cardas Golden ref, I still need to do the following:
a. baseline X-01 on Cardas Golden Ref (largely irrelevant how it will sound).
b. Change Purist Anniv and Anaconda back and forth on PC1 so to change only 1 PC at a time.
Note also that wire between PC1 and Capri still remains the non denominational pip-squeak supplied by JRDG. PC on 312 remained Cardas Golden Ref for this series of swaps. |
Guido,....you and I have crossed paths before in regards to JRDG's PC-1. I too posted a thread not to long ago regarding which power cords for JRDG's new amps. I just purchased his mono-blocs 501's and I did not receive any good responses to my question. I am currently using older Shuyata King Cobra's V1's with a nice smooth presentation but I have ''heard'' that some people are using the Anaconda VX's on these switching mode / digital amps. Would love to hear from somebody comment on this application.... |
Guido, the reason I asked is because, as I thought, you are switching more than one cord at a time. From my experiences, the power cord on the source makes more of a difference than the cord on the amp. So while you say that you do not care for the PAD Anniversary on the 312, what the case may really be is that you do not care for the PAD Anniversary OFF of the X-01. To truely test the PAD Anniversary, you should borrow another one and leave the first PAD Anniversary on the X-01. Otherwise, how do you know the faults that you hear with the PAD Anniversary on the 312 are not actually the faults of the Anaconda on the X-01?
The PAD Anniversary may yet be the 'star performer' as you speculated, however, if you move it downstream and replace it on the source with a lesser cord, I would say that your complaints are about the Anaconda on the X-01, not the Anniversary on the 312. Just my $0.02.
Cheers,
John |
Thank you Paul and Garebear! paul, what other PCs have you tried on JRDG 501s and COncerto pre? Does Golden Ref perform equally well on 501s and Concerto pre? Garebear, the Shunyata VX variants contain some filtering material that may end up deadening low level information. For the price of a single Shunyata Anaconda VX Helix you might be able to get 2 PC1 units for the 501s. . . these are expected to bring the 501 mons very close to the performance of the 312 without any filtering of low level information. Then perhaps think about some non VX variants at a later time. |
Some more info on Cardas Golden Ref vs Purist Anniversary test on 312:
I baselined this test by keeping Anaconda on X-01 and a Cardas Golden Ref on PC1+Capri.
I then played with my 2nd Cardas Golden Ref and Purist Anniv on 312. purist has 20Amp IEC so it connects directly; Golden Ref has 15Amp IEC so I used a Voodoo adapter. Purist Anniv was in this position for several days and I couldn't get to like its effect on 312, for all the problems discussed above. But as I said, I really like it on X-01 Limited instead. |
Guido,
I love the Elrod EPS-3 Signature on my 302. |
JFZ, I am not at all surprised you like the Elrod. . . what other PCs have you tried on your JRDG? What were the sonic differences? |
Guido - I'd had the Elrod for some time when I bought the 302. I liked the 302 so much when I bought it that I didn't bother with trying other cords. I'm sorry that I can't be of more help.
John |
Guido....still doing some research here. What about, or have you ever considered Kubala-Sosna power cords ? I am taking them under advisement from another JRDG 501 owner who had good results with them.... |
Hi Garebear, I'd be very interested in hearing about your findings on KS power chords if you have the opportunity of applying them to JRDG 501s. I suspect though, that the 501s may also benefit greatly from a pair of PC1 devices. In the case of 501s, I would likely give priority to twin PC1 devices before experimenting with power chords. |
Guido, ......I agree adding the two PC1's will provide the best improvement in sound quality....However, I do need to start with some good power cords and then get those paid off and start to look at the PC 1's. I guess I need to become a little more familiar with what the 501's can do first. |
Hi, I've just had the 2 x PC1 with Acrolink 4060 power cord with Oyaide 004 connectors added into my system (Rowland 501's). I probably have less than 20hours at the moment so I'll not comment about the setup but initial impressions were very positive. The challenge when introducing the PC1 is that you'll want to replace the short stock cords provided from Rowland to get the most out of the PC1. One of the connectors on the stock is not a standard IEC commonly found in audio gear.
I had Shunyata Taipans and then Python Helix previously but decided to go with a consistent cord throughout the chain of the Amp's. IMO, the best way to go is to keep with copper for power amps which is why I went with Acrolinks (4 cords altogether). Additionally, from a costs perspective my preference was to spend on the PC1 rather than on the cords. |
Dtanclim, you are perfectly correct about the funky output connector on PC1. . . Not at all a standard connector. . . as a result upgrading the minimalistic PC1-to-amp DC chord shipped with it will be a royal pain. . . In one of my next chats with JRDG I will recommend that in some future he switches to something a little more common. |
Guys....another reason why I will wait in purchasing the PC 1's for my 501's as I have heard from a few other JRDG owners of the trouble with the connections on these
PC1 's. |
Hi Garebear, there is no problem with the PC1 output connection. . . the connector makes actually excellent connection and is likely more reliable than most. . . it's just that upgrading the ombelical/pigtail may require some custom work from the PC manufacturer. The power inlet of PC1 is a standard 15A IEC. I will ask JRDG the exact name/type of the output connector on PC1. . . I know it can be found from some parts suppliers. |
If anyone were interested in some of my latest a/b comparison between JRDG Capri and ARC Ref 3, see:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1200110667&openmine&zzGuidocorona&4&5#Guidocorona
Guido |
Have not posted to this thread for quite a while, so here is a quick update. I have recently applied the Shunyata King Cobra CX to my Rowland 312 with excellent results. King Cobra CX appears to share the general character of graceful neutrality of the older Anaconda Helix Alpha, but is not affected by the Helix series slight propension to dampening micro and macro transients. On the contrary, KC has added authority to the system, while making micro transients more filigreed and delicious. King Cobra PC in my system appears to be very extended from top to bottom with superior harmonic exposure throughout the frequency range, and extremely high ability to retrieve ambient cues. . . which means that it is very synergistic with 312's creation of a large and very transparent tri-dimensional stage with well defined instrument images. It is perhaps the PCs I have tried this far with the most balanced ability of yielding treble information that is highly extended, structurally pertinent, and musically involving. The bass is rather deep and tuneful, but also quick and nimble. What is even more interesting is that while King Cobra has a large gage that in theory should make it ideal for high current applications only, such as a power amplifier, the wire appears to be a complete generalist: I have applied it successfully to my X-01 limited, to the GamuT CD3, and to the Furutech ETP-309 power distributor with consistently desirable results. Only the JRDG criterion preamplifier appears to be somewhat immune to any PC changes, including KC. The eventual insertion of a total of 4 King Cobras into the system has had a result that has been incrementally positive. My analysis is ongoing, but this far I have not found a single position in the system or a musical genre that is at odds with Shunyata King Cobra CX.
Please note however, that if you were looking for a wire that added treble 'sparkle' to a system, or that yield a euphonic midrange, or a slightly turgid bass. or which creates that over-emphatic fizzy PRAT. . you should look elsewhere.
KC is not even faintly etched and dry. Rather, it certainly is a powerful sounding wire, its extreme grace falls solidly on the neutral side of romantic, and I have not observed KC reinforcing any particular frequency range in my system.
At this point, the King Cobra CX appears to be extremely consistent with my own sonic and musical preferences.
One last observation, like with most power cords, KC requires a good amount of break-in to give its best. . . it seems to stabilize in approximately 300 hours of music making.
|
Hi Guido,
I see you have a Furutech Power Distributor, may I ask if all your power cables are pluged in?
I personnally have a PS Audio Plant Premier but I don't use it for the PFC & 501 |
Claude, yes all my components are plugged into the Furutech ETP-309. I have found no adverse effect plugging the Rowland Model 312 into this particular device. . . no reduction of micro/macro dynamics. Having said that, I will not generalize, and do not imply that you will necessarily experience the same results plugging your PC1s into the PS Audio Power Plant. ETP-309 and the PS Audio PowerPlant are completely different devices and may not necessarily behave the same way. |
