Or you can listen to music instead of turning your system into a reviewing tool.
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- 47 posts total
Call Pass and ask them Specifically about the amplifier's ability to deal with noise coming through the wall outlet. they have ALREADY supplied you with a cord which will pass ALL of the CURRENT you will ever need. Depending on their answer you may or may not feel you need a power cord that helps in some way to lower the noise floor. i bought a Rowland Amp which came with 20 Amp cords (very substantial). so i asked them if there was any benefit to getting something "better". they responded that #1 their (#12) amps were impervious to incoming noise due to the technology built-in, and #2 all of their sound-quality and bench testing was done with the same power cords they include in the box. so that didn't leave much room to argue that i needed to shop for better PC's. I have been in OTHER situations where i needed to buy some power cords, but not necessarily to improve the sound. i plead guilty in certain cases to buying a few pretty expensive ($1K on sale) cords. in those instances there wasn't any stock cords provided, and i had to choose something i would be keeping for the long run. but i also had to REMOVE a pretty expensive cord from a powerful integrated amp and PUT BACK the Belden stock cord to smooth out the hashy treble coming from my speakers. so each situation is unique. And i admit never having heard a demo using really expensive cords so i don't dare comment on their sound VS price. |
I've owned two Pass amps, the XA250.5 and the XA30.5. IME, both amps are somewhat less sensitive to differences among power cords than some of the other components I've owned. I suspect that is attributable to the robustness of the amps' power supplies. I've experimented with expensive power cords (>$1K) and inexpensive ones (<$100). I've heard improvements with both. In my system, to my ears, the differences between the expensive power cords and the inexpensive ones wasn't that big. I understand that other folks have had experiences that suggest otherwise. I'm not challenging their hearing or their judgment. I think the variation among people's experiences with power cords reflects just how system-dependent they are, a point frequently made and persuasively explained by one of A'gon's most knowledgeable and reasonable contributors, Al (Almarg), as you can read here, here, and here. The conclusion that follows from the system-dependency of power cords is obvious... Experiment. Which brings us back to Pass amps. If my experiences are representative, Pass amps aren't terribly sensitive to differences among power cords (assuming some basic parameters are met, like sufficient gauge). But don't take my word for it. Experiment. I would start with the inexpensive options first, but that's just me. I like to get my feet wet. You may prefer jumping into the deep end. Who am I to tell you not too? Of course, sometimes there are rocks in the deep end, and when the water is dark, well... trips to the Emergency Room are pricey. After my experiments, I settled on inexpensive power cords (~$100) on every component except the power conditioner, which still has a relatively expensive cord (~$500). The inexpensive cords I now use are the AC-9's from, uhm, Pangea. No, Snofun, I don't think they're the answer to every question. They may not even be the answer to THIS question. But they are a place to start. Bryon |
I tend to believe that pass amps don't need expensive cords. I'm good with the original (for now). Based on other reviews, another good cord that matches pass labs is the transparent premium power link which is only $500 a piece. I agree with Byron that pass amp has robust power supplies. Not only that, it can also drive a wide range of floor standing speakers. This amp will stay w/ me for years. |
- 47 posts total