Iam likely to get my AC-12 next week too. I thinking AC-12 on amp may give better sound IMHO. Lets keep the finding posted, interesting, yes!. |
Thanks jdub and levy. After reading ur comments, i think I made a right decison in picking ac-5. Long wait ahead of me for cable break in. Also, i swapped out shunyata diamondback from my avm-20 to ac-5 cable.I loved the way the preamp sounded. So i have started to think diamondback to be a weak link. I have a good deal on audience powerchord(old version) and Shunyata Taipan Alpha(old version), will any of these better diamondback on preamp or power amp (ac-5 and powerchord/taipan alpha combo). |
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Thanks jdub, Iam holding off buying other cables. Iam nor looking for AC-10 for the amp and will move AC-5 to the preamp. |
TYPO - Iam holding off buying other cables. Iam now looking for AC-10 for the amp and will move AC-5 to the preamp |
I have got a real good deal on AC-10 on craiglist here. Is there any way I can check if the cord is not fake???. |
It is $350, he says it is new. |
Thanks Vinylvin and Jdub for the info. I picked up AC-10 at their ware house at 50% off!, great deal. AC-10 now is on Parasound amp, immediately I noticed a big change. Lot of detail, crystal clear highs. I can imagine how it will sound after burn-in. |
Nasaman, Iam 70% music and 30% HT. If you were to identify the weak gear for my music listening between Anthem AVM-20 pre and Parasound HCA 1205A amp, which one will that be. |
Thanks Jdub, getting more anxious to hear the post 270 hrs sound!, few more days for the complete burn-in. |
As of now, I have 'Monster HTS-3500 MKII' feeding
- Parasound amp thru PS Audio AC-10
- AVM 20 preamp thru PS Audio AC-5
- Velodyne Sub (stock cable)
- other players and TV
Monster power conditioner is connected to wall thru stock cable, I dont think the cable is changeable.
Not sure where to start the power cleanup!. |
Thanks Jdub, you have given me a start to think. |
Jdub, There is also the Duet version of the power center, not sure if this is exactly the same as Quintet except the no. of receptacles. Iam thinking of Duet just for my amp and pre, instead of connecting all devices to Quintet and overloading it. Can Quintet can handle 6-7 connections without losing its benefits. Also, does the stock power cord in Duet/Quintet suffice?. |
Thanks much Jdub, I will soon be starting the hunt for Duet or Quintet!. Need to get rid of Monster HTS first though!. |
My PS Audio AC-10 have burned in for around 120 hrs. The mids and bass are beautifully defined. But the highs are very much veiled, especially the cymbals. Not sure if this is how it has to be or the cord still needs burn in time to open up more. |
Vinylvin, Iam burining-in AC-5 with ground and AC-10 without ground pin, as it is connected to Parasound known for the ground hum, hum was gone as I removed the ground pin. Iam not sure though if this pin will affect the burn-in process. |
Jdub, I got a PS Audio Quintet as loaner from local audio shop. This is a demo unit, the dealer said its well burned in for months. When I connected my gear, the background is extremely dark, details and dynamic are amazing. I can get a dimensional sense of the instrument placement!. But on the downside, the highs and mids(maily vocals)are rolledoff/laidback. Using Monster power conditioner, the mids and highs are a bit forward which sounds more musical. Listening thru quintet is great, but gets a bit analytical. Note: the guy gave me power cord, that is not even the quintet's stock cord. |
Did some cord swapping experiment. First, AC-10 on Quintet gives the best sound, AC-5 is just lesser. Shunyata Diamondback, removes the dymanics and adds grain - this is the weakest link in my system. On the video, both AC-10 and AC-5 increases sharpness and adds deep black levels. Even the sound in much improved. I could not note much video difference between Ac-10 and ac-5 though. So now, I will be adding a new AC-10 from wall to quintet, another AC-10 from quintet to amp, AC-5 from quintet to preamp, all other components directly to the quintet.
Levy, by dedicated 20A line, do you mean you are connecting directly to the wall?. Are AC-10/5 20A lines? - not too good in electrics!. |
Cant wait!, picked up AC-10. Now the classic confusion - whether to put AC-10 on Anthem processor to get the best out of it or to put it on Quintet to give clean power to all components. For now I have put it on the Quintet and let it burn in. |
The new 1.5m AC-10 between wall and Quintet has burned in 48 hrs - overall sound is a bit veiled, waiting for further burn-in. Meanwhile, am thinking if 1m AC-12 between wall and Quintet will benefit the sound, as I dont need 1.5m. Not sure if the price-to-performance ratio of AC-12 is justifiable over AC-10. But I read reviews that AC-12 is best from wall to conditioners than on the power amps. |
At around 96 hrs, AC-12 infuses very high brightness to the system, hopefully it cools down. |
As my Quintet is burning in and AC-12 is on the way, I tried the Hi-Fi Tuning fuse for my amp. I felt it adds a little of height and width to the imaging. Also there is a little bit of added realism, but at the expense of added brightness. I swapped back to the stock fuses. Do you have any experience with these fuses? |
I use Acoustic Zen Matrix Ref II from Pre to amp and Silver Ref II from CDP to pre. I cant use balanced ICs as my amp does not have balanced inputs. I think the HIFI fuses does bring in good improvement over the stock fuses. Parasound amp has 2 fuses for each channel. I only changed 1 fuse in each channel, which I think is not correct. I have to change both the fuses on each channel. BTW, I have not changed the mail AC fuse on the amp. |
The fuse is driving me crazy!, Iam likely to return them and be content with the stock fuses as the Hi-Fi fuses is giving a negative impact on the system. I moved to Acoustic Zen ICs straight from Kimber PBJs. Happy with them. |
Iam not sure if the fuses will benefit my system, as I see high end coloring (in the correct direction i was able to find the correct direction after many attempts). AC-10 has got more than 500 hrs, AC-5 around the same, quintet around 150 hrs. I will be getting my AC-12 this evening, exited!. |
Absolutely not!. This has given me the first taste of hifi sound. Before power cable changes, my gear never sounded highend, but now it is!. Thanks for the suggestions. |
jdub, did you put the AC-12 on the power conditioner or the amp. Mine is on the amp. As both Quintet and Ac-12 are burning it, my system shows too many variations. |
I have put my AC-12 on the amp. Quintet is still burning, so there are 2 moving parts. Still I get chills with AC-12 at times. There is much more details and lot of micro dynamics and many earlier unheard of dynamics from familiar recordings. Like Jdub said, each upgrade from AC-5 have given me vast improvements over the other - really beating the cost-to-performance ratio. BTW, I will be returning the fuses, as this tweak degrades the system. |
I considering Soloist Premier too. But not sure how easy is the installation. So tomorrow will be 125 hrs for AC-12, should smooth out by then.
Yes the fuses were Hifi gold fuses. They did create a black background and improved mid bass. But colored the highs which I did not like. I tried all possible directions as my amp has 2 fuses for each channel. |
I picked them from music direct for 50% off. Got good deal on Quintet at Decibel Audio. |
Quintet has got 275 hrs and AC-12 has got 145hrs. The sound is nicely opening up. Somehow, the touch of realism on instruments is missing. Hopefully is comes out. Jdub, hows you AC-12 opening up the system. |
good to hear about your AC-12. I just picked a Caig DeoxIT Gold G5 spray. Not sure how to use it. Can I spray directly on the connectors?. Should I wipe off with cotton swap or leave it to dry. Can I use it on the inner side on the ICs?. |
My Quintet is fully burned in. At around 170 hrs on AC-12, the way the sound opened up was just amazing!. As you said, more details and more sweetness (don't know what it is!) to music. The dynamics and realism has returned in a much better way. Overall it is just a WOW!. Forums suggest actual burn-in happens after 225 hrs, cant imagine what that will be!. |
Have not tried the Caig G5 yet. Waiting for the burn-in to be done. Have to clean all the power cords and ICs, may be the fuses too. May have to toe-in the speakers a bit as the sound stage has widened. |
Exactly, the improvement AC-12 gives is exponentially more than AC-10.
At 288 hrs, the sound stage has greatly opened up, detail retrieval is excellent. Overall the music is smooth and revealing. Is just amazing. Not sure if there is more breakin to happen. Forums indicate the AC-12 bunrs-in fully by 275 hrs. |
Had a few days off from my listening sessions while the cables continued to burn in. They are well over their burn-in period. Now the whole gear sounds just amazing. As a final tweak, I moved AC-12 to the quintet and AC-10 to the amp. I started to hear more, loads of detail. Probably an enhanced mids and highs. It was quite interesting to hear more detail. But it also revealed the short comings of the recordings and the gear, I think. So I preferred the sound of AC-12 on amp. Moved AC-12 back to the amp and WOW sounds smooth and pleasant. Now spinning my favorite Mark Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia. WOW he is singing to me!.
Thanks JDub for guiding me to clean up my power. You are my audiophile guru!, thanks much. Hope you are enjoying your upgrade too. |
