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Power cords known to produce good bass

All the cable naysayers and deniers please step aside. We have heard your opinions more than enough already. Thank you.

Tell me if this train of thought is off base or not. I am observing that power cords made with a high strand count of fine gauge high purity wire can be very resolving, very refined sounding and very smooth sounding but, they do not provide good bass. Usually true? Yes or No?

Here's a couple of examples of power cord wire that I find fit the above description. Furutech FP-TCS21 and FP-SO22N, Acrolink 6NP4030 and 7NP4030 II. These are cables that are or were available in bulk for DIY application. I have pretty much done all the DIY cables that can be made using the ready made bulk wire that is on the market. 

Across three systems, I do have a lot of Transparent Audio power cords from the mm2 generation and the Gen 5 generation. All of them are re-terminated by me with Oyaide 004 cord ends.

I'm now looking for opinions about which other manufactured power cords are thought to have good bass. In particular I want to try something to go between the wall receptacles and power conditioners. At present I have two of the Acrolink 7NP40430 II cords in that position. High resolution but bass could be better.

Unfortunately, due to my hearing condition that is called hyperacusis, I'm extremely sensitive to brightness, harshness, shrillness, etc. etc., which means it is no dice on silver wire and most plated cord ends. Other than the Oyaide 004 ends, all of my cord ends and receptacles are un-plated copper.

So, any suggestions will be appreciated.

Ag insider logo xs@2xmwh777
nyev
1,019 posts
 

Totally agree with those saying Audioquest Hurricane. I found that the bass on this cord seems just slightly accentuated beyond neutral with a touch of bloom/glow, which definitely can be a good thing if that is what you are after. Bigger bass but not sluggish at all. Also compared Audioquest Dragon (which has better defined bass than Hurricane), Shunyata Omega QR (less bass than Audioquest), Nordost Valhalla 2 (less bass than Audioquest).

Also found Transparent Reference XL also had good bass.

All of these comparisons were done powering my Gryphon Diablo 300, so results could be specific to my gear. I had a dealer tell me that the only customer who told him that the Nordost Valhalla 2 power cord was light on bass also had a Gryphon.

Also tested some other Nordost power cords and I owned a Clarus Crimson power cord which I found to be a bit flat (but I can’t say enough good things about their speaker cables - the only gear I regret selling).

 

lak's avatar
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lak
4,529 posts
 

Elrod EPS-3 Signature is quite good, as others have mentioned.

vinci92
18 posts
 

Triodes Wire Labs, absolutely : Lots of bass and midrange bass. You may feel like you lose detail slightly in the top end for the first few hours. After a few days, the cymbals and the vocals breath come back and may even become even more defined.

Audioquest Tornado or Hurricane, yes. Not as much as the Triodes, but more punch, faster. Same thing for the XLO Signature 3.

Wireword: Very nice bass especially the midrange, although not so fast

The Shunyata (HC, NR or King Cabra) don’t boost bass despite their huge gauge, but make it very defined and more musical. My Nordost Valhalla v1 and v2 give a lot more attack than the rest, but definitely need to be combined with large braided copper power cords to fill out some bass range gaps.

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mwh777 OP
71 posts
 

Thank you all for the excellent input. Yes, I should have said good - quality - bass in the header. Lots of votes for Audioquest so far.

@vinci92 I did have an early version Shunyata King Cobra way back when. That was an amazing power cord. Unfortunately, one or both of the cord ends was/were silver plated and I eventually moved it on.

@nyev  I have a Transparent  Powerlink MM2 (next tier up from the Reference in the mm2 generation) on my upgraded McCormack DNA-500 amp. Gen 5 Reference can't unseat the Powerlink MM2 on my amp. Might be a synergy thing in that case.

 

jdub39
486 posts
 

Clarity Cable Vortex.

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