Power Cable Suggestions

Stick with the stock power cords! As the French chef says "No diffawrance"!

or stick with the stock power cords.

lol. ML. Freebie rubber PC. Good one.

Would your car run smoother and have better gas mileage if you filled-up with a custom-made hose?

psst, roberjerman, might want to remove that if there's still time because, not sure if you know, but Mark Levinson? Its an electronic amplifier for music, not an internal combustion engine car for driving. I know it can be hard with so many different technologies to keep them straight. Try thinking, gas, electrons. Oil, electricity. Wires, pipes. Whatever works. Its different for different people. But do try and find something. Otherwise its just really embarrassing when you come off not knowing the difference.

I know the difference between an automobile and an amplifier! I was using an analogy in my post: power cord is to amplifier as gas pump hose is to car! Elementary, Watson! Eh, millercarbon!

@millercarbon: Brevity is the soul of Wit!

Since you appear to be somewhat neurotic regarding power cords I recommend buying a pair of Pangea's from Audio Advisor. About $90 each. That's what I bought when I needed a new cord for my BEL 1001 amp (didn't come with one  when I got it from the original owner). 

Jump on Furutech asap.

The most absurd and meaningless analogy I’ve read....power cord is to amplifier as gas pump hose is to car!

Pangea cords....I wouldn’t use them even if they were given to me free, enough said!

@dnb4,

Sorry you had to endure the banter from one of the staunch cable naysayer this forum have seen.

Furutech, Cullen, Audio Envy, Signal Cables are the few I have tried in budget category. From my experience, you can’t go wrong with any if the aforementioned brands but my personal favorite is Audio Envy.

Good luck!

I recently upgraded two of my power cables and it made a considerable difference.  I was suspicious of buying into this, but was pleasantly surprised with the results.  You really don't know until you try it, I found fuses make a difference as well. 

@roberjeman ~ thank-you for the "diagnosis" & Pangea recommendation.

@ebm ~ thank-you for the Furutech recommendation.

@lalitk ~ thank-you for your recommendations, two of which I was unaware of (Audio Envy & Signal Cables) which I will check out. I anticipated receiving some "cute" comments, no big deal!

Just started checking the Audigon & USAudioMart ads for power cords.

Look at triode wire 

https://audioenvy.com/

Give the Captain a call, great guy, and great guy.

I had a Mark Levinson long ago with a Tara Labs The One power cable hooked to it. It made a huge improvement over the JPS cable I was using with it. I wish I would have never sold that cable. I believe JPS is solid core and still love JPS with some gear.  I found solid core has bigger bass and brighter highs which can be a good thing or not. Stranded power cables sound smoother and relaxed to me. Stock power cords belong in a box in the closet. My brother sent me a Pangea power cord those really are bad don't waste your money on that.

I was using an analogy in my post: power cord is to amplifier as gas pump hose is to car!

The most absurd and meaningless analogy I’ve read....power cord is to amplifier as gas pump hose is to car!

In fairness I did give him the chance to remove or edit. He chose to double down. Oh well.

Also in fairness, nobody really knows how or why these things work. Because if we did know how they work, then everyone would be focused on perfecting that one thing. Instead we have one story after another, one theory, design, material, construction after another, each one different than the last.

About the only thing we really do know for sure is when we find a good one it really does make a difference. A huge, unmistakable, well worth the money difference.

Which it turns out is the case for not just power cords but everything. Nobody really understands any of it very well, which is why we have so many different players trying so many different approaches.

Except, turns out most people don’t like to pay big money for that kind of ambiguity. So they make up stories to feed us, and we buy into it, and lose track of the fact those stories make about as much sense as the gas pump "analogy".

The one thing that would really make sense is to talk about the one thing we do know for certain is happening and can in fact describe and that is how these things sound. But that requires developing a whole skill set in terms of both what to listen for and how to describe it.

Sorry if that’s not brief or witty. It is however true.

Would my Tesla get from 0 to 60 faster if I use an SRX power cord? Is the stock cord good enough or will performance improve with a $10,000 aftermarket power cord? Would my heater get warm faster and air conditioner cool like a breeze off a lake? Will my audio system have a huge jump in music reproduction, like I'm sitting in a theater with the musicians surrounding me?

If you had a 60 yard power cord then you could see if it got you there faster? With the charging cord disconnected before driving one will never know

its 10pm when I read all this...thanks for the evening laughs...

You mean the magic isn't transferred to my batteries? I assumed it would since the magic oozes through the power supply in an amplifier. 

I refused to believe that electricity would care how it was transferred to my amp.  I had my Carver TFM45 rebuilt & upgraded to a removable power cord. I bought PS Audios cheapest power cord & it changed my mind.  Much better sound.

Look for the V1 versions of the Shunyata NR power cords for closeout. A lot of them are poppin' at the used market.

At first I used a standard WyWires Silver Juice II on my Pass amp then added the HC (high current) heavier version and noticed an improvement across the board. Nelson Pass is known for saying PC don’t make a difference on his amps but I disagree. I will admit I really couldn’t hear a huge difference until I added dedicated power lines which after doing so I realized my amp really opened up and that before it did sound a little lean. Still using WyWires and really like their cables. I’ve recently added a Platinum HC series to my Pass and again a noticeable improvement, more air and lower noise floor. If you don’t have dedicated lines then you might not hear much of a difference as some suggest.

I will add if you stick with the stock cords, in my opinion the receptacle outlet is maybe the place to start. If you’re a little handy keep the cable and cut the plugs off and buy some Furutech plugs from VH Audio. I feel the plugs are as important if not more than the actual cable. If you don’t feel confident doing this yourself, I’m sure you know of someone that can assist... it’s very easy. If you’re never done this before, just do one end at a time and pay attention to what wire went to which prong/set screw.

Hi, Debate abt cables will never END. And there will always be naysayers in such thread.
Suggest u blind test stock power cords vs some brands (say $100, $500 n $1000) suggested in the thread, n hopefully arrange FOC auditions. 
I personally use Transparent cables n power cable n synergistic power cable. Enjoy yr music. 

A BEL 1001! @roberjerman obviously knows good sound when he hears it. I might kill to get a pair of MK.4's.

I don’t understand how a fancy expensive power cord could improve audio quality when they are fed from crappy house electrical wire? You may as well use the same house wire because the A/C quality is going to be the same (unless you use a dubious regenerator).

I tried a Pangea AC9SE with my monoblocks and I heard differences with bass and soundstage. I bought them used on eBay for $113 each. At a fractional cost of the amp, it seemed a worthwhile experiment. Resale would be easy. But it made a difference.

IF you don’t know where you are going, any cable will get you there....

I have to wonder what the hearing capacity or how resolving a playback system is to NOT be able to hear a difference in one's system with superior quality power cords, interconnects and speaker cables???

If we can use fuel hose analogies in here, is there such a thing as color blindness for an audiophile?

[Been indoors too long, wow, did I really type that out loud?]

@scooter0005, @indyguru, @paulcreed , @ferrtguy,
@paopawdecarabao6, @adg101, @limbc, @hilde45 ~ thank-you all for your suggestions.

@millercarbon, @djones51, @gpullman, @amg56, @tomic601,
@rixthetrick ~ thank-you for your input.

Point taken from @tomic601 in that I may not know where I am going but I am going somewhere....

Pay no attention to the flat earthers.  Triode Wire Labs cables offer great bang for the buck:  www.triodewirelabs.com

Reviews for these cables are telling as are the many best of show awards that go along with them.  Look at the 7+ ...

Some very shameful comments in this thread.  Nevertheless, most high quality components typically state how their included power cables will be replaced with a high quality aftermarket power cable by the user.  There is a reason for that . That said, I am an enthusiast of the Audioquest brand, though there are plenty of other very high quality products available.  Go to the Audioquest website and read up on what they have to say.  There is some very good information there that will help to educate you.  First and foremost, get a quality power conditioner.  Power re-generators are the very best way to go, but are much more expensive.  A good power conditioner is the beginning.  Then add a quality AC power cable and you will certainly have an improvement.  There is plenty testimonial to that from those who have done this.  I can testify this made a very significant difference for my system.  Every small and incremental upgrade adds up to make the entire system a better experience.  The more of such upgrades, the better the total experience.  Have fun, that's what it's all about.  Enjoy the music.

get a hold of the Cable Company they will let you try several

dnb4,

Sorry your thread got jacked by a bunch of idiots. I actually have your amps and one thing you need to be mindful of is one of the handles on the back is too close to the iec connector and this will limit your choices. My cable of choice for my other components is the Dynamic Design Titania AE’s but the Furutech connectors are too fat and the handle blocks it. Right now I use a cheaper Nordost Red Dawn on the amps and they’re a ton better than the stock cords. I plan on upgrading these soon because the biggest improvement I’ve ever heard from a cable was from a power cable upgrade (the DD’s). So if you want know what fits, look at the size of the connectors that Nordost uses and go from there. Good luck.

DH labs silver sonic from the cable company work well, and for those nay sayers of which I once was unless you try a better cord how do you know? And if you can't tell the difference maybe a Bose wave radio is more suited for listening experience.

@piaaudio, @mammothguy54 , @68pete, @3090, @kevinkroc ~ Thank-you all for your suggestions/recommendations.
I need to look used, but so far finding 2 matching power cables (I can afford) has been difficult.
@3090 ~ Appreciate the info on the handles affecting what iec connector will fit. Never would have thought of that.
@mammothguy54 ~ As all my interconnects are Audioquest (except for one Darwin Cable Company interconnect) I will look at their power cables. A power conditioner is next on search list.

Isn't it a little weired to invest in power cables without also investing in power cleaning and power stabilization? Not into this yet, just wondering.

I find DIY interconnects harder to duplicate great sonics, DIY power cables are pretty easy to hear an improvement in sound. Even 6 or 8 gauge Home Depot wire with some clamps on it will sound better than stock cord. Sonic craft has some nice premade power cord wire. You can also check Parts Connextion they may still have a sale going on. One thing I found the power cable connections quality make a big difference. Also the cheap 80 cent contractor wall outlet can be improved with a $10 pass Seymour or Hubble outlet.

Power cords make a big difference. If someone disagree with that. 1)Never ever tried..2) tried with a very cheep system. 3) tried with same quality  cables and don’t notice a difference. Why in forums like that people Stil disagree about that?

Power cord is one of the more incomprehensible things I've experienced in audio. How can a cable that is not a part of the audio signal chain make a difference in sound...but it does.
I've tested a good number of different designs and I do find power cables to make a more noticeable difference in the source components such as CD players than it does in a SS amplifier though.   

Audioquest, particularly the thunder power cord. Also in use are the NRG X-3's for my sources....cd/sacd player, dac...they sound nice to me, and I believe made a difference on the noise floor...it has been lowered a bit, at least to my ears, results may vary...

I second (or third) the recommendation above for Triode Wire Labs. Great cables, and they are relatively inexpensive. As a "bonus", Pete is a great guy to deal with

OP yes take those first steps to go somewhere!!!!! I would advise since you have some Audioquest in your system calling John Rutan at Audio Connection in NJ - he should be able to help you hit your target budget and have a good discussion about what you are seeking to improve:-) also at bare minimum put some $$$ in the plan for Hospital grade Hubble and cryogenic if possible. For budget it is hard to beat the PS Audio Powerports :-)
have fun, enjoy the music and the journey 
best to you
jim

I use transparent audio and have been very happy with the results. They have different levels of cables so you should be able to meet your budget. 

@gosta ~ Don't know if it is weird to invest in power cables without including power conditioning or stabilization, but one needs to start somewhere and the next step for me will be power conditioning.

@paulcreed , @joannism, @scar972 , @audioguy, @thyname, @tomic601 , @hi-fi-high ~ Thank-you all for your input.

I have looked at all recommendations and decided to go with Cullen Cables, who I will contact when I get home and receive the amps so I know what length cables to order.

Again, thanks to all for sharing their expertise, time and thoughts!

djones511,867 posts

05-07-2020 6:48pmWould my Tesla get from 0 to 60 faster if I use an SRX power cord? Is the stock cord good enough or will performance improve with a $10,000 aftermarket power cord?

Depends. You paying for all of it, or are the taxpayers getting drilled for a couple thousand of it, again?

Oh how I wish it were only a couple thousand. To buy a Tesla- first you have to be so blind you can't see how none of the parts even fit together properly. Then you have to be so gullible you think they're charged by fairy dust instead of coal. It helps if you don't know the company never has turned a profit and builds their cars in a tent. Yes a tent. In a parking lot. You can't make this stuff up.

The answer of course is your Tesla will go 0-60 faster without the 50 lbs of dirt the incompetently designed body catches.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj78E1dArdI Wonderful car. 

Try Zavfino Majestic OCC. Great cable. $349 new. Had one for a home trial. Bought the loaner and ordered another. 

Power cord is one of the more incomprehensible things I’ve experienced in audio. How can a cable that is not a part of the audio signal chain make a difference in sound...but it does

An amplifier does not enlarge the input signal, rather it makes a large copy of the input signal using the electricity from the mains to create the copy. An amplifier is actually a copying machine of sorts. The input signal never gets to your speaker but dies in the amplifier.


What goes down your speaker cable consists 100% of what comes into the amp via the power cable. In a sense, the AC is part of the signal path and we get tangible benefits when we optimize it.

@ dalims ~ Thank-you for your suggestion, however I did end up with a pair of Transparent Reference Powerlink MM 2x power cords. I may try a Zavfino Majestic OCC or Cullen Cable on my CD player.