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Which of these power cords ?

I'm looking to upgrade my sound with upgraded power cords. Given I've got a tube preamp, 2 mono block tube amps, Aurender DAC and 2 Martin Logan speakers - we're talking up to 7 power cords so I'd like to keep the total cost for all of them to $1000ish. 

And some suggest going with one brand, to get the biggest benefit.

Brands on short list include:
Suggestions?

cdc2
pguezze's avatar
pguezze
29 posts
 
Power cords make a huge difference depending on your system. If you have a all in one Radio Shack system chances are you won’t here a difference. If you have a system that is revealing then they will. 
That being said I would go with the Shunyata Venom NR series. They are the best bang for the buck. You don’t have to replace all at once. If your budget is $1000 then you have enough for 3 PC’s. I would put them on the amps and preamp. When budget allows then replace one at a time. It’s much better than spending $150 a PC and not getting anywhere near the performance of the Shunyata Venoms. 
avhifidelity
45 posts
 
You should add Triode Wire Labs power cables on your list.
lak's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
lak
4,530 posts
 
@cdc2, If you want to keep the price of power cords between $100 - $150 per cord I'd recommend looking for used Cerious Technologies Graphene line of their Blue, Red, or Yellow power cords, assuming you can find them in your price range.
Although you did not include the following power cord, I also believe the old original Synergistic Research Reference A/C Master Coupler power cord would work very well also.
calvinj
2,280 posts
 
Clarity Cable Vortex. I have tried 30 different brands in 10 years. They only ones that beat them were the mega buck cords that retail for 2k plus. They give great soundstage. They provide more air and space at the top. Open mids and full lower mids with good bass. 
julianstevens
6 posts
 

A good place to start, as a low cost reference, is a DIY power cord using something like Belden 20A (the same stuff that comes as the stock cord with Krell amplifiers).  It's sufficiently stout to be a bit of a challenge, but not impossible.  I bought a 250m drum of it for about $200 (admittedly many years ago), made up my own cords and used them as a benchmark.  I've not tried many costly alternatives since but none of those that I have tried has produced significantly different let alone better results.  I even sold a few of my home made cords to local hi-fi dealers who were impressed with the quality of my workmanship as well as the quality of the cords themselves.

The prices of far too many "specialist" power cords (and many other cables of varying types) are just crazy and not remotely worth the money.  Strictly for those who don't know what else to spend their money on.

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