Power cords or power conditioner

Cables have arrived- So the Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II XLR and Acoustic Zen Hologram II bi-wired speaker cables.

I bought these out of the used inventory of cables.com so these should be broken in. I was told to let them "warm up" for a few hours before critical listening. That said, here are my initial impressions.

The first song I played was Dire Straits Iron Hand. I immediately noticed the decay was better. These cables are also brighter, but in a very good way.

Next I played Norah Jones, Don’t know why. This is my goto song to test brightness. With the Boulder 866 this song was painful to listen to as Norah’s voice went from soothing to shrill. The Transparent cables her voice was great, with the Hologram/silver reference combo, it became just that much better. Her voice was more textured and the highs were more detailed. The Transparent’s were just a bit to rolled off for this set up. Honestly the Transparent’s would have problably made the Boulder 866 more enjoyable.

Vavaldi's Four Seasons Spring 3 (Max Richter) This is now the best I have heard this song from my room.  Violin clearly placed in front of the orchestra.  Now I've heard better (clearer separation) in dedicated music rooms but this is largely an untreated family room.  For what it is, it really sounds great. 

The soundstage may have improved slightly over the transparent/ Nordost Red Dawn XLR combo. My speakers have always disappeared into the room. Now there may be just a touch more layering and separation between instruments. I still don’t have that 3-D layered effect but I’m getting closer. I have sound absorbing curtains on the way for the windows that are in the back of the room. I have six large windows, and I think that is the first thing that must be tackled. I already have bass traps in the corners. Next will be dealing with first reflection point issues.

With all that said, my stereo certainly sounds better than it ever has at this point. Nothing has been night and day, but I can tell you the sound is a lot better than it was 2 weeks ago when I started this post!

Thanks for all the tips and advise so far!

Thanks OP for the post. Good luck with your future mods. Yes, intergraded are in no man land for conditioning as all amps go directly to the wall.

Nelson Pass is at the top of my audio hero's and not only doesn't endorse any cable manufacturers, but he also disregards tubes as well. 

Absolutely tune the room, positioning and equipment first.

This is NOT an endorsement for Denafrips nor does it address sound stage directly, just what naysayers want... some type of proof:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSN5UjCA4Zc

Audioquest's take on supplying power cords with their power conditioners:

Niagara Noise-Dissipation Systems do not ship with an AC cable. Why?

"The cable that feeds any power product is the most important AC cable in the audio/video system. For any power product to maximize its ability to dissipate noise, the attached AC cables must be Direction-Controlled to drain induced radio-frequency noise. AudioQuest AC cables include ZERO-Tech for uncompressed current transfer and optimal Noise-Dissipation. Further, our patented GND-Tech (Ground-Noise Dissipation) pulls RF noise out of any product it’s attached to.

When partnered with a Niagara power product, our Direction-Controlled AC cables create a complete Noise-Dissipation System, ensuring the most effective and efficient dissipation of RF noise.

We allow our customers to select the appropriate length of cable for their systems and to decide how completely they’d like to optimize their Niagaras."

This is not an issue here for most, but it is a long held fact that your best/highest quality power cables should be on your front end. Sub's benefit the least.

I do agree with several members here on Shunyata power distribution/power cables. They are a no brainer but far from my price range. I DIY all power cables.

An interesting tidbit from the manual for an Audioquest Niagara 1200 power conditioner:

"The Niagara 1200 has a five-year warranty, but it was designed to last for over two decades. Provided that the Niagara 1200 is used inside a home, store, studio, or office with a reasonable climate (45 degrees to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, with less than 20% humidity), it can be left on continuously; there are no parts that will wear out."

While I live in Reno, NV where current outside humidity is a normal 17% now, it is 50% inside as I use a water cooler. I grew up and lived in the Midwest my first 40 years and <20% humidity.... NO WAY LOL!

@wheelndeal1099 thanks for the follow up post! I would allow about 24hrs for the used cables to settle. I believe you will attain more depth and layering in the soundstage when you begin to address your room acoustics.
At some point you should also try Audioquest Tornado or Hurricane high current power cords on your Luxman integrated amp(get the latest version). There’s synergy with the AZ interconnects there, at least in my system.
 

Good luck and enjoy this journey!
 

OP,

Thanks, congradulations. After transport and non-use… it can take a while for cables to settle down. I would give them at least a few tens of hours. Weird… I have been really surprised how consistent and long it takes.

Had the same cables also for 15 yrs...good pairing.It took days/to a week for my zavfinos to really start to  open up (bought used).Same with my venhaus.Dont over stuff your room...leave some liveliness imho.