wylmars - you don’t have to buy Nordost - there are many other brands that will provide benefits. Pangea, Signal Cables and Anticables come to mind.
A very good step up from those are PC products from KLE Innovations
Building your own is cost effective and provides great results.
You do not have to build the Helix cables identified in the links I sent in my last post either.
Simply braiding the conductors will provide better results than the standard bulk cable..
For a very good performing cable you could...
- buy DH Labs Power Plus bulk cable
- remove the outer sleeve
- tightly braid the three conductors
- attach silver plated copper Sonar Quest or Vanguard IEC/Mains connectors from Ebay
- insert in some expandable nylon sleeve for a professional look
NOTE: buy 20% more cable than required - braiding shortens the finished cable
A 5 ft cable would cost around $100 in parts and some of your time - and perform better than many of the cables out there.
As a starting point - replace the cables on your least expensive components - I’ve found that adding good cables to them makes the most difference - probably because many manufacturers design their power supplies on budget components to a price point.
e.g.
- my Naim amp has a large high quality toroid transformer - the improvements are less noticeable
- but my Node 2 streamer, being more budget oriented, has a much smaller power supply, so a quality power cord allows it to operate at a higher level - the improvements were immediately noticeble
I have also had great results from a $300 mini system - simply by replacing the power cable
I even replaced the cable on my TV - I did not notice any difference - but on watching the TV my wife asked what had i dome to the TV - she noticed the improvement immediately
I used to plug the amp into the wall outlet, but the new house required a 9ft extension cable. I used the Helix design for the extension with a an outlet box on the System end and I can honestly say there is NO degradation in sound quality.
Hope that Helps - Steve
A very good step up from those are PC products from KLE Innovations
Building your own is cost effective and provides great results.
You do not have to build the Helix cables identified in the links I sent in my last post either.
Simply braiding the conductors will provide better results than the standard bulk cable..
For a very good performing cable you could...
- buy DH Labs Power Plus bulk cable
- remove the outer sleeve
- tightly braid the three conductors
- attach silver plated copper Sonar Quest or Vanguard IEC/Mains connectors from Ebay
- insert in some expandable nylon sleeve for a professional look
NOTE: buy 20% more cable than required - braiding shortens the finished cable
A 5 ft cable would cost around $100 in parts and some of your time - and perform better than many of the cables out there.
As a starting point - replace the cables on your least expensive components - I’ve found that adding good cables to them makes the most difference - probably because many manufacturers design their power supplies on budget components to a price point.
e.g.
- my Naim amp has a large high quality toroid transformer - the improvements are less noticeable
- but my Node 2 streamer, being more budget oriented, has a much smaller power supply, so a quality power cord allows it to operate at a higher level - the improvements were immediately noticeble
I have also had great results from a $300 mini system - simply by replacing the power cable
I even replaced the cable on my TV - I did not notice any difference - but on watching the TV my wife asked what had i dome to the TV - she noticed the improvement immediately
I used to plug the amp into the wall outlet, but the new house required a 9ft extension cable. I used the Helix design for the extension with a an outlet box on the System end and I can honestly say there is NO degradation in sound quality.
Hope that Helps - Steve