Diving into Power... Cable recs for my system and ears....?


Hello All,

 

I have been enjoying a full system upgrade over the past year... the interconnects and digital cables were an eye opener! Now I am bringing my attention to power...

I am currently running my components off a power strip that is 10' long... supposedly designed for audio. All my major components are plugged into this. This power strip is plugged into a wall outlet, which is shared with some lights etc. Also plugged into this power strip is my wifi router. 

 

I have a few questions:

-What is the most important in regards to impact to overall sound if I were to upgrade the power cords? My guess its: 1: Amp.... 2: DAC... 3: Streamer... is that right? Or is it the opposite? 

-Should I have an electrician setup a dedicated outlet to my electrical box, and run my main components off that? Is this worth it? or is there another setup between my electrical box and my components? Or if there is no detectible buzz, should I simply not bother?

-If I should begin looking into power cords as the first upgrade here, what cord would you recommend if I yearn for the following: Extreme startling presence and separation... magic midrange, highs blissful, voice acoustic jazz violin, piano... essentially startling presence as if the instrument is right there... 

I have been enjoying Anticables, and they have a well rated cable in the $300 range which supposedly is as good or better than $1000 cables... but I am open to recommendations...! 

 

Thank you all!

Richard

 

 

 

 

Currently my system (also outlined in my virtual system profile) is as follows:

    • SPEAKERS: Pure Audio Project Duet 15 Horn (Mundorf Silver Gold Oil Cap upgrade and customized crossover w/high pass filter and sweeter meds), Anticable 4.2 Flex Internal wire)
    • STREAMER: Nagra Streamer (Cardas Clear Coaxial)
    • DAC: HoloAudio Spring 2 Level 3 Kitsune edition (Silversmith Fidelium RCA Interconnects)
    • AMP: PrimaLuna Dialogue Premium HP Integrated (RAY TUBES EL34 Reserve power tubes, RADIOTECHNIQUE NOS 12AU7 Gain tubes w/Mullard NOS and Brimar NOS tubes (Anticables 4.2 Flex to speaker)
    • PHONO: Music Hall MMF-9 and McIntosh MP 100 Preamp (Audio-Technica AT160ML MM Cartridge, Anticable 7.3 and Silversmith fidelium Interconnects)
whyrichard

+1 to the two experienced audiophiles responses above. And to the poster above who is not an audiophile, well, one of these days he might wander out far enough and discover that there is no edge of the Earth to fall off.

 

-What is the most important in regards to impact to overall sound if I were to upgrade the power cords? My guess its: 1: Amp.... 2: DAC... 3: Streamer... is that right? Or is it the opposite? 

 

IME the power cord that made the biggest difference was the one that fed the power conditioner. I had read that before though, so it wasn't such a huge revelation. Before that happens your order looks like it would win most polls.

What also may happen is your last upgraded power cord in the system, wherever it is, may seem like the biggest difference, but that is just because if it was the last one to get upgraded it was the last big bottleneck. 

This is why Shunyata will suggest with a certain budget a larger impact will be gained with all cords replaced with lower end Venom's instead of say a few Alpha's used in conjunction with stock cords. 

I suppose you have Fidelium speaker cables as well? 

"There is NO engineering/scientific proof that power cords affect the sound of audio components. All there is are anecdotal subjective impressions by "golden ear" ’philes. I trust engineering evidence. It’s your money. If you want to throw it away go ahead."

If that's the case, then you don't know one way or another. If science is so important to you, then answer this one question. Can you reference a single review, test, evaluation, study, comparison, etc..., that was done using real science, not junk science, on any piece of audio equipment ever made by human hands? You'll respond to this post, but you will never list a single example of real science. Why? Because your position has nothing to do with cables. You will never accept any test, no matter how well done, unless the test shows the results you want to see. Its not about getting to the truth. The real issue is you don't WANT the cables to make a difference. That's why you'll never reference a real test, and you will never do one yourself. 50 years from now, you'll still be making the same, broken down arguments. If you think I'm wrong, all you have to do is give me one example that you'll stand by. I won't hold my breath.

@052rc : What components with what power cords did you use to verify your claim that power cords affect the sound of audio components? Hitchen's Rule: Claims made without proof can be dismissed without proof. The onos is on you to verify your claim.

@mclinnguy : So "My golden ears told me it is so" - that’s anecdotal evidence which can’t stand scrutiny! Hitchen's Rule: Claims made without proof can be dismissed without proof. An ABX blind test between power cords can be done. Yet audiophiles fear such tests like vampires fear crucifixes and daylight!

Maybe Amir can step in here. Though he's already gone past fifteen rounds on that other thread.