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

In addition to Amir M., Ethan Winer has done extensive research, all available on his website and on YouTube. I recently bought some acoustic traps from him. In one of our discussions, I mentioned that he would have a hard time convincing those who know (believe, hope?) that different power and signal cords sound different. He said that he realizes that. He is attempting to inform those who don't yet align with either but want enough information to make an informed decision. And Amir has stated that he founded his website to point out when measurement of some products indicate that said product does not meet baseline performance specs, and/or are too expensive for the performance offered.

Both Ethan and Amir have clearly stated that they can show their conclusion (no sound difference) by measurement. As mentioned above, a Physicist has written a paper that indicates that  cables may sound different. I have not read that paper since I don't want to spent the $125 needed to join the AES. I can't find a way to buy just this paper. I won't comment on it now.

Seems to me that this conflict can never be satisfactorily settled, no matter how many blind tests, graphs, papers, anecdotal expressions, etc... are offered. Both sides have dug deep trenches and are firmly buried. I find conversations on this topic do nothing to solve the differences, but drive the sides further apart.  One can easily have great fun and enjoyment from music and one's gear no matter which side one is on. There's plenty of equipment available for both sides to choose from.

My advice is to just stop bickering. Let each and every one decide what criteria he/she will use.

My education and career is in Physics (MS). I've developed optical and electronic gear for many decades (signals and systems development).

I am on the side of Ethan and Amir.

However, I have returned amps and preamps that do not sound good in my system, no matter how good the specs are. Impedance matching is important. Signal levels at each point in the audio system must be maintained within certain limits in order to avoid introducing distortion. Power supplies must be robust with lots of headroom available and need sufficient filtering to reduce AC components to an inaudible level.

 

I offer anyone to come to my house and do a blind test or I’ll bring gear to their place 

@westcoastaudiophile Why don’t you purchase 4-5 power cords in different price categories and test them in your system. Tell us whether or not you heard any difference. Be it positive or negative, big or subtle.
Or do you think if I hear differences between power cables I should go buy measuring equipment and perform measurements for you. Or should I agree with Amir measuring voltage on the output of his “$99 high performance” Chinese DAC / Headphone Amp that there are no sonic differences between cables if the voltage on the output is the same. Come on dude. I am willing to bet that the large percentage of folks who say power cords make no difference either never heard what a good power cord can do in their systems or don’t have systems / rooms ears to pick out the differences. It’s really that simple  

 

“Why don’t you purchase 4-5 power cords in different price categories and test them in your system"

easy one.. because I buy top end gears with excellent power cable (free) provided!  LOL 

why cable guy can’t sell cables to top manufacturers, assuming there is a real “improvement” of SQ? LOL 

@devinplombier  you do realize that Krell also made an aftermarket power cord costing over $1,000