Power cord for digital stuffs?

I know this is an older thread but I wanted to share my recent experience concerning the power cable that feeds a linear power supply that serves my CD player. I tried a stock cable (smallest gauge), a 14 gauge aftermarket cable, and a 9 gauge aftermarket cable. The stock cable sounded good to begin with but after comparing it to the other two cables, it was apparent that it suffered in the highs - they were a tad harsh. The 9 gauge cable was very controlled and had black backgrounds but it wasn’t the most musical and had a slightly unnatural sound to it. The 14 gauge cable was the sweet spot. It was the most musical and the highs weren’t harsh. The background wasn’t as black as the 9 gauge, but it was lively and dynamic with just the right amount of control. Pianos sounded just right with this cable. With the stock cable, piano notes seemed to jump all around the soundstage. With the 9 gauge, it sounded too laid back, with not enough “bite” in the notes. The 14 gauge had the right amount of bite and the image stayed put which is for whatever reason a real challenge with piano recordings. The 14 gauge was the winner in this round.

Heavy gauge on digital will not harm especially if the player/dac is tending to neutral. If tends to euphonic avoid heavy duty.as it will sound meshy.
SACD/CD players can handle better heavy gauge (14-11AWG) than other source components and preamps. Of course synergy matters the most.

Regarding the Plasmatron, it may not be a silver bullet improvement in all systems.  Steve can now count me as one who owned one and tried it with two different DAC's ( BADA DAC II, Audio Note 4.1) and sold it off.  I preferred the sound as fed from my HB Cable Designs Acrylic instead.  The Plasmatron, in my system, tended to slow the sound, round the transients too much, and made for a duller, more opaque presentation that was uninvolving.

I don't doubt others' positive experiences, but mine was decidedly different.

I myself have found the proper selection of power cords plus power conditioning products have a profound effect on audio quality.  Living in an apartment makes it all the more important.  And as I have previously stated, in the case of my OPPO 105 player, using a special, $400 JPS digital cord has a definite improvement in audio quality-even using a much costlier Audioquest power cord in it's place.  On the other hand, the JPS power cord does not work as good as an Audioquest power cord if used with other audio components.  By the way, when I got a used pair of Martin/Logan speakers, replacing the generic power cords with two Audioquest NRG power cords greatly improved loer frequency audio reproduction.  And the two Audioquest Niagara 1000's that I am using also help bring audio reproduction to a higher level.  The better the audio components used, the greater improvement will be realized with power cord-power conditioning used.  Now even so, there are exceptions to at least the power cord question.  I also have an 35 or soold Mcintosh MR74 tuner, which has it's own attached power cord.  Plugged into my Audioquest Niagara 1000, itself connected to a wall socket witn an Audioquest NRG1000 power cord-the audio reproduction is amazing.  With it's superior power supply, itcompletly outperformed my previous Day/Sequerrra FM Studio tuner-itselg using an $1280 Audioquest NRG100 power cord.  But again, I have found that power cords generally have a profound effect on audio reproduction.  As well as power conditioning.

No less true.

Whoa, no one ever thought of that before.. 😜

Here is an interesting quote from the Schiit Yggdrasil Manual, take it for what its worth:

Power Cord.

Plug the end of thes upplied IEC cord in here. You can also use fancy audiophile types, but they won’t really do anything—what about the thousands of feet of crap copper cables in your walls, huh?

All I can say iswith my OPPO 105 player.  Although I am using both Audioquest power cords-NRG100's, 1000, plus two Audioquest Niagara 1000's, that a $400 digital JPS power cord works far, far better with my OPPO player.  When I replace my JPS digital power cord with a $1280 Audioquest power cord to my OPPO the audio quaity goes way, way down.  In fact I wonder ifeven a 2-4 thousand dollar Audioquest power cord could compete wih my $400 JPS power cord.  That is a fact.  And I plug my JPS power cord into a Niagara 1000 strip, itself using a NRG1000 power cord.  The JPS allows my OPPO 105 to really perform at a much higher level than if I used a much higher priced Audioquest power cord with it.  Again, that is played thru an Audioquest Niagara 1000-NRG combinaton.  And, again, I only know this to be true with an OPPO 105.  It is immediatly apparent when switching power cords-no having to go back and forth to compare.  It wil be immediatly apparent to anyone trying this comparison.  

i installed some AUDIO ART  power one classics for an 20k all digital system : nad50.2 feeding dynaudio xd600 speakers and the improvement was sensational!   beautiful  on acoustic instruments to hip hop!  3d imaging .super revealing .pretty cool for 500$

If you want a power cord that  you will hear a substantial improvement with a
30 day  money back audition Verastarr Audio , stereotimes did a very good 
Review  on these power cords.

@audioengr the Plasmatron could be a good product but sure seems to be out of the reach of the average music lover.

I’ve seen some very positive things about the new Hurricane (topical name, eh?) from Audioquest. You know, the power cord with directionality in mind. Yeah, Baby!

^ shill??

If you want to experience a different type of power cord 
well reviewed and exceptional give Verastarr Audio a call 
Mike gives a full 30 days satisfaction guaranteed or money back.
i have not heard of one returned to date that much of a improvement  !!

I would strongly encourage you to try some alternative PC's for your digital.  Every single piece of digital gear I have run in the last 10 years has been elevated in important ways by a good after market PC (EAR Acute, BADA DAC II, Audio Note 4.1, Lampizator Big 7, Lampizator Golden Gate).  The better the DAC it seems, the more I hear this phenomenon.

Of course, it is best if you can try before your buy!

I have played around with several different power cables for digital gear. The best I have found is the WyWires Silver Juice II for this application.

Seriously... Yes, I have always been using that!!

The power cord that came in the box.   Seriously.  The power cord that came in the box.  

“It was the previous owner of my 808 who told me it actually improved the sound by changing to more expensive PC“

I completely disagree with the ‘expensive’ part. As pointed earlier, a well designed cable with correct gauge (in this case 14AWG) should yield elevated performance over stock PC at a reasonable cost. 

I actually got a Meridian G808.2i recently. In the past, I have always used stock power cables with my G08.  Many people told me that big and bad cables actually thickens the sound. It was the previous owner of my 808 who told me it actually improved the sound by changing to more expensive PC.

not clear what the OP means here - if the AC cable to the PS, then No

if the DC cable from PS to the unit (e.g. a DAC) then making a star-quad type cable might be useful; IIRC they can also be bought for a small price

I use signal cable magic power on all my sources (digital and analog) including preamp and phono preamp. Great cable for $70 and 30 day trial. 

I'm buying an NAD M32 integrated amp, and I'm looking at a Pangea Audio AC-9SE MKII power cord for that unit. Any thoughts, comments and/or suggestions about these would be appreciated. Also as to the Pangea Audio AC-9SE MKII power cord itself. Thanks.

@lalitk  Hey sorry will reach out to Archon thanks and @lak thanks for the tip on VH Audio.

@lak  thanks for all the info I will reach out to Archon I think!

Luna, what source are you using?
I’m using a Cardas Golden Reference power cable with Furutech plugs on my Ayre C-x7eMP. It has separate linear power supplies for both analog and digital circuitry.
Same for my Oppo BDP105D, I use CGRPC.

Cardas has a Clear M available. It is designed for source components and preamps.

N

Fwiw, I used JPS for my entire system. Recently replaced all those with Signal Cable ( digital & 10ga). Much lower cost with far superior sonic results. Never going back to JPS. Frank at Signal is great to deal with and offers a 30 day trial period.

@jond The best price I found regarding the Furutech FP-S022N 14gauge Power Cord with male and female Copper Rhodium Plated  Carbon Fiber Connectors that can be made to order is from Mike Kay owner of Audio Archon. https://www.audioarchon.com 

I think I paid $250 plus shipping for a 1.5/M Blue power cord (Furutech FP-S022N 14gauge).

Although I have made a few power cords I purchased most of my Furutech power cords from Mike and he knows how to make them the correct way without cutting any corners. Mike will also use the NANO Liquid Contact Enhancer on the connections. In my opinion its worth paying a bit more knowing the power cord is made correctly. The cost of the NANO Liquid alone is very expensive, so I'd rather purchase an already made power cord.

BTW: based upon test Mike and others have done, myself included in my own system, the 14 gauge is more musical vs the 12 or 10 gauge.

The inexpensive male and female Copper Rhodium Plated Carbon Fiber Connectors Mike uses are made in China (I believe, but I could be wrong) however they sound very good. Mike could use whatever connectors you select but that will be reflected in the price.
I had a couple of power cords made with the expensive Furutech NFC connectors and could not detect a difference in the sound vs the far less expensive connectors available.

Sorry for being so wordy, but I hope this helps. Check out prices from others and see who can offer the best price.

@jond 

I order my DIY cables and accessories from Chris VenHaus at VH Audio. I believe he can make you one for a small fee. I have nothing but great experiences over last 10 plus years dealing with Chris. 

@lak I would be very curious to try a cable made with Furutech FP-S022N but I have zero DYI skills any suggestions on where to find a finished cable? Thanks!

I have had achieved very notable improvements installing good power cables on my Digital sources. 

Generally - If the source is in the $400-$1500 range the improvements are more noticeable because the power supply tends to be less than perfect.

In higher priced units the power supply will be of a higher quality and therefore the improvements will not be as noticeable.

It really depends on the brand - some brands do a great job of the power supply, others not so much.

Regards

I have also liked the Audience with digital, the original PowerChord is now pretty inexpensive and still a very good cord

I agree the Furutech’s FP-S022N 14gauge Power Cables are very good and would also work well on digital. In my system, the Furutech FP-S022N 14gauge Power Cables sounded better than the Cerious Graphene Red which is also a very good power cord.

Cerious Graphene Red

@luna,

In addition to regulated power supply, the CD players and DAC’s are low powered components so they don’t need heavy gauge PC’s.

If your goal is to seek after market PC for your digital components, I would suggest atleast a 14 gauge wire. There are quite a few manufacturers now makes power cords designed for digital components.

Audience makes ‘LP’ and ‘MP’ versions of PC that is suitable for components rated up to 150W.

I have used the MP version in the past and currently using Verastarr Grand Illusion Signature II PC’s for all of my digital components.

If you’re interested in DIY cables, I also recommend Furutech’s FP-TCS21 or FP-S022N 14gauge Power Cables. 

Luna "digital stuffs" have such highly regulated super smoothed power supplies inside them, some can have 8 even 10 of these that it makes power cables a bit of a "snake oil item".

Cheers George