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Yet another power cord question...

Hi Gonners,

First of all, I've been reading the forum archives for hours and I only got to mid-October, so forgive me if this was covered before.

I'm looking for a power cord to upgrade from the stock cord on yet another Audio Refinement complete integrated. I am using low end Harmonic Technology speaker cables and interconnects, so naturally have considered the Pro Ac 11. However I've heard a lot of great things about the Absolute PC and the diycable Asylum cord, which are cheaper.

My question is, is it worth the extra $$$ for the "system synergy" of all HT stuff, or would I be better off with one of the cheaper cords, and if so is there a recommendation? If I'm going to spend the $120 or so on the HT cord is there a better choice at that price range?

My AC is probably as dirty as it gets (Santa Fe NM house built and wired in the 60's which is like the 1800's by standards of the rest of the country). I'm looking for a lowered noise floor and any help in the bass slam/definition dept. which I can reasonably expect without buying one of those $500 firehose style cords...

Any feedback is appreciated.
jfacker

Showing 1 response by joe_b

joe_b
421 posts
 
If you've only gotten to Oct, you may not have read my earlier post. I bought an AR Complete amp in Sept. I use Harmonic Tech interconnects on my dac. The stock cord that came with my ARC was unshielded and was degrading my tuner performance so it had to go. Many power cords will not fit thru the holes in my cabinet (I use real furniture) and I did not feel like drilling larger ones right now, which eliminated some cord choices. The absolute cord is tempting but their right of return requires that you use them throughout your system. I ended up getting a Volex 14 gauge cord which I believe is the cord that is used to make the asylum cord. Volex is the same cord that Belden use to make. I can't say that I realized a huge sonic benefit but radio interference went away. It certainly did no harm sonically (which is the first rule of upgrading), maybe a slight increase in bass response and midrange smoothness, but these were slight changes. I may try some other cords eventually, but I think there are better ways to spend your upgrade dollars. The Harmonic Tech interconnects and Ensemble Digital cable I use, effected larger improvements than the Volex power cord. I already have a dedicated ac circuit for my system and I am using Counterpoint power conditioners.
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