Power cords?


I have recently tried a couple of power cords the audio quest NRG-10 and the new Shunyata Z-tron Viper booth made a huge difference! the audio quest was good for my cary cd player in solid state mode but gave too much midrange bloom in tube mode.
For the amp I triode the shunyata viper bass was low and brought a better image and sound stage depth.
But the other way around.

The NRG-10 for the amp it limited how low the bass can go. also made the cary integrated have too much midrange detail but not a lot of depth in the in the sound stage! but made the cary CD player sound better for tube mode and solid state!

my Question is shunyata better for tube equipment over audio quest. My audio quest dealer only sales solid state products. And was the best seller in power cords in their store. I tried the shunyata from another dealer that sells tube amps.
And for the shunyata a 1.85m cord is $525 and audio quest NRG-10 is $779 for 6 feet.
I think price for performance the shunyata viper sounds better then the audio quest and a better price.
Has anyone agree or have compared them booth?

I have a cary sli-80 and SACD 303t Profesional version.
128x128jakecanada

Showing 2 responses by williewonka

Geoffkait - I have just finished tinkering with my power cords and stumbled on some interesting findings.

My original setup had
- Furutech 15 gauge on the source components - plugged into power bar
- Furutech 15 gauge on the power bar - plugged into the outlet
- Furutech 10 gauge on the amp - plugged into outlet

All pc's had gold plated copper connectors - I also tried rhodium plated copper connectors on the 10 gauge cable

I had read on Agon about making power cords from romex, which I had laying around the house, so I thought I would investigate.

I made up some 10 gauge and 12 gauge cords using a braided style to reduce any RF interference.

Putting the 10 gauge braided romex onto the amp had little impact to the overall sound, compared to the 10 gauge Furutech - probably because the amp has a substantial power supply

Putting the 12 gauge braided romex on the distribution power bar and the source components actually provided a discernible improvement over the
15 gauge furutech - more fine details and precision in the staging

The next step was a total surprise - I replaced the 12 gauge romex on the power bar with the 10 gauge furutech and the difference was startling - the image depth and detail was so much better and the high's and sibilence had a smoothness to them.

My last change was to the Furutech 10 gauge cable - I installed some silver plated copper connectors.

When attached to the power bar this provided even more focus and space and the micro details of the venue now sounded very life-like

Switching the 10 gauge romex back to the amp again revealed that there was little difference from the 10 gauge romex.

My amp has a substantial power supply, however, the power supplies on my source components are no where near as substantial.

So- it appears that although all components benefit from a power cord upgrade
- some components benefit more from a higher quality power cord
- some components may not require such an expensive power cord

As cited time and again in these forums - if possible - try them out before you commit to a purchase.

Granted, going for an expensive power cord should reap benefits, but it might just be unnecessary for every component in your system.

The one thing that was most noticeable was just how much better the silver plated mains connectors performed when compared to both gold and rhodium plated connectors, all tried on the 10 gauge Furutech - although that could also be due to the design, which was slightly different.

I've also read plain copper is an improvement over gold/rhodium plated prodicts

Just something to ponder during he long winter evenings:-)

Unfortunately - this has simply peaked my curiosity - I have a few more power cord related ideas I plan to look into :-)
Tboooe - guess I've saved money in that I've discovered which components benefit the most from power cord upgrades, but as the system reveals is true resolution/spatial capabilities, there may be more details that a $uperior cable might reveal when attached to the amp.

My plan here is to borrow the Nordost sample pack that a couple of local dealers have.

If there is any more resolution/spatial improvement to be had I think the Nordost cables should reveal them - then its a matter of just how much capital I want to invest :-)

It's never ending :-)