Fuse and Power Cable improvements 'how'? - Nuprime ID-8


Hi Everyone,

    Thank you ahead.  I recently bought a pair of Kudos C2 speakers through Audiogon and upgraded my amp to Nuprime ID-8.   Even with 100watt RMS I'm not able to power the C2 to satisfaction.  It'll be a long while before I can save up for the high quality 200+watt range amps.  I've been reading that others install better power cable and fuses into their amps and get sonic improvements.   I'm wonder how does that work and how much improvement would that really bring (considering that's $300+ extra parts for a $999 amp)?  Hoping to get educated on the subject.  Thanks.

Lincoln

hifineubee
I don't think power cables or fuses will achieve the results you are looking for. Most people who enjoy improvements with these upgrades are in measures of resolution. More air around instruments, more precise soundstage. They are not going to increase the sense of power or bass slam. 

I recently went through the same issues. I bought these huge Legacy Focus speakers, who claim to be easy to drive. I used a Forte' 200 watt amp. And experienced the same feelings you are having now. Lack of energy, running out of steam, doesn't sound like the amp is doing it. So! I added a Crown class D amp that delivers some 475 watts! And bi-amped the speakers. A bit better, but still not cutting it. With all those watts, how could it not deliver? So, fast forward a few years and I bought a used Krell FPB-300, less power than the other two amps put together, but wow! Now this amp is doing the job! Jaw dropping improvements, bass slam is incredible! Midrange and treble is smooth and articulate. 

My moral, or point, is that wattage can be a misleading rating. How much current can it flow? What is the slew rate? These are much more important numbers than wattage. A 50 watt Krell can out perform many 200 watt amps. I've heard that the 150 watt Pass Labs can drive huge speakers with ease. How to tell which amps deliver, and which do not? Well, short of listening to them at the salon, a study of the specs for the current ratings and size of the transformers, reviews that use words like slam and punch. Capacitive storage in the amp. And it's ability to double down as speaker impedance halves. I.e., 200 @ 8 ohm, 400 @ 4, 800 @ 2, etc. is a good sign of real power. 
alpha_gt
I don’t think power cables or fuses will achieve the results you are looking for. Most people who enjoy improvements with these upgrades are in measures of resolution. More air around instruments, more precise soundstage. They are not going to increase the sense of power or bass slam.

I’d opine resolution per se is probably not the overriding issue for most audiophiles, so your post is a little bit of a Strawman. I’d further opine the sonic characteristics competing with resolution are treble accuracy, overall tonality, low distortion, frequency extension, bass performance, musicality. In addition AIR is most likely a combination of resolution, high frequency extension and low distortion. What makes your statement perhaps even more of a strawman argument is the fact that many of us actually do achieve greater resolution, sense of power and bass slam with aftermarket fuses and audiophile power cords.
Geoffkait, point taken. But unless your previous power cord was completely too small, I doubt it will make a measurable increase in current flow. While two 10gauge cables may sound different, they both flow the same amount of current. If his amp is running out of power, no amount of clean power is going to change the architecture of the amp. Don't get me wrong, clean power can make worlds of difference in the quality of sound, even perceived bass slam, but not in the order of magnitude to suddenly make that amp a great match for those speakers. In fact, these are measures that should be done anyway, to get the best from any amp he may own. If these upgrades could actually increase the watts produced and current flow, then the manufacturers would be doing it at the factory to bolster their specs. No amount of fuses and cables can make a 200 watt amp into a 250 watt amp, simple as that. If that is not relavent to the OP's question, then what is?

in my own experience I touched on in my last post, I tried all manner of tweak to try and get my amp to perform. Power cable, fuse, speaker wires, and finally a second amp to drive the lower half, while I noticed improvements with each tweak, nothing suddenly made that amp a good match for these speakers. It was just too small, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 
@alpha_gt - while I agree that two different 10awg cables will still be able to flow the same amount of current, one thing that is not looked at here is how fast the amp is able to pull that current from the A/C line.  In my testing with power cord connectors, I can completely change the sonic character of the sound just by using different power cord terminations.  A very good example here is comparing gold plated to rhodium plated terminations.  I have found that the rhodium plated power cord connectors ultimately give the best sound.  The bass is very tight, punchy, and powerful.  Mids/highs are very clear and clean.  When you switch to gold-plated connectors on the same power cord, the sound becomes more laid back.  The bass becomes more loose in a sense and loses the punch/tightness/detail.  There is still a full amount of bass (which means the amp is getting the large amount of current), but in a way the slew rate of the waveforms are somewhat slowed down because the gold-plating is giving you a more gradual power transfer.  The Rhodium plating will give a more immediate power transfer (in my opinion).  The contact materials matter when you have two elements mating to make a power circuit.