Where to place your best Power Cord?

Shadowfax

Shadowfax

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Is there any rule of thumb as to what component will benefit most from After Market Power Cables?

If you have cords of varying value/performance, what component should you place your best cable on?

I have been reading that Source (CD Player) is where you see the most benefit, but would like more feedback from AS members.

Also, is larger gauge as important for Amps, or is 14 good enough?
 
My APC H15 actually came with the most robust cord of anything I ever bought (12G), but I was considering placing one on it. I did try my Amp direct to outlet and APC and I think thru APC sounded better. Maybe it is due to the fact that my house incoming voltage is actually lower than normal and the APC sends it back out closer to 120/125.

What about gauge for that application? Is a good 14G cord adequate or would something thicker like the Pangea AC9 a good choice?
 
Brian......It has been my experience the best bang for performance improvement comes with premium power cables installed on your power amplifier(s). Having said that, I don't believe it is in the best interest of top notch sound system performance to mix and match various power cables, or interconnects for that matter. I began with stock power cables on all components and now have a total of 14 two meter Wireworld Silver Electra power cables feeding all components in two separate systems including the PS Audio Power Plant Premier AC regenerator in the living room system and the PurePower 2000 AC regenerator in the studio system. In both systems the biggest performance jump happened when I installed the Silver Eclipse power cables on the power amplifiers. After that there was incremental improvements in sound stage and overall clarity as I added additional Silver Eclipse power cable to the preamplifiers and source components. The combined synergy of the systems being cabled entirely with like interconnects and power cables has elevated both sound systems performance to a level that I don't think would be as resolving and dynamic had I not gone all in.
 
Myself, like Dan, I like the loom approach, same brand cords/cables. However, my experience on best benefit is different. So some experimenting may be in order. It may depend on the gear, how well the power supply is filtered and such.

My most remarkable improvement when adding a power cord was to my phono stage. Next was CDP, then preamp, the least noticeable was my power amps.
 
Mr Peabody said:
Myself, like Dan, I like the loom approach, same brand cords/cables. However, my experience on best benefit is different. So some experimenting may be in order. It may depend on the gear, how well the power supply is filtered and such.

My most remarkable improvement when adding a power cord was to my phono stage. Next was CDP, then preamp, the least noticeable was my power amps.
Click to expand...

Because all 3 of the ones I ordered did not come at same time, I first replaced CDP and Pre- Amp cables and got great improvements. When the 3rd cable came, the PS Audio AC3, I placed it on the Amp which now performs unlike any other time. The only experimenting so far was to swap the amp PC from the APC to dedicated outlet, but I think it sounded better via APC.

So if I want to add one to the APC, I am trying to determine if I need thicker gauge (Pangea AC9) or if I should go with another PS Audio AC3. They are about the same cost, but I am assuming that the PS Audio is the "Better" cable regardless of gauge.
 
I agree with those who believe you get the most bang with good power cords on your amps. Until recently (the last year or so) I subscribed to the position that we should stick with power cables from one company. After A/B'ing some alternatives to Transparent on my CD/DAC and clock I now use Shunyata on those components and from my Denali to the wall. I still prefer Transparent from my amps to the Denali.
 
Most cable manufacturers I see do have a heavier gauge cord for power amps versus things like pre or source. However, I don't knowpersonally if there's a certain gauge, I went with the recommendation from the manufacturer buying the larger one fr power amps. I'll see if I can find the specs tonight.
 
Hi Folks, just want to through in my 2 cents...I've been borrowing cables from The Cable Company for almost 15 years now...I've literally tried hundreds of Power Cords and Interconnects...

I find that, sometimes, with certain companies, using the same brand interconnect throughout can be an advantage. I've found that with MIT's and JPS...most of the time I didn't find a need to use the same cable in all positions...actually in most cases I preferred not to.

With power cords...and every system is different...but I've never found using the same PC to sound the best throughout. For example my MC402 barely changes with different PC's...and I've tried a dozen from $200-$1000. I find preamps and DAC's usually change dramatically with different PC's and I've never chosen the same PC for all three components.

In the end, the only way to be sure is to experiment in your system and decide for yourself! Take your time...enjoy the process!
 
Kuoppis said:
I’m with Mike here, best distributed effect.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

My APC is the only component that came with an adequate gauge PC, 12g.
So my dilemma at the moment is whether I replace that with another 12g cord or bigger gauge.

My Pre and Amp had 16g, while my CDP had an 18g. At the moment the Pre and CDP have 14g, and the Amp has 12g.
 
While the wire gauge is important removing any any stock molded end power cord is equally as important. The wire connections have poor termination and will restrict current delivery among other possible issues.
 
I read somewhere that Nordost also believes that wall-to-conditioner is the most important.

Am waiting on a High Fidelity Reveal PC and will try it on different components, but am particularly interested to hear what it does in the wall-to-Torus position.
 
In regards to putting the cord before the power outlet device and having it distribute. I plugged a generic power strip into my PS Audio Quintet because something wouldn't reach. Don't do that, when I plugged that component into the Quintet directly I noticed the power strip degraded the sound quite a bit. I'm sure a power cord helps the main power product, just be careful on the distribution end :)

Brian, I'd think if the APC came with a 14 gauge, I'd stick with that gauge when replacing it.
 
Last night I swapped the APC cord and the PS Audio on the Amp and APC. The bass tightened up a bit more but something happened with the vocals. I need to listen more before swapping them back.

I'm amazed that you can further fine tune your sound aside from ICs, Tubes and Room Treatment, by swapping Power cables. My system has never sounded so good as it does right now.

I'll look to replace the PC on the APC soon along with one for my OPPO. This really opens a whole new can of worms. I would love for all the naysayers to be able to hear these changes as they are not so subtle at all.
 
From my experience with my own iterations of system and helping friends when asked and with a lot of different brands and levels of power cords
over the years, I have that I place the best 1 or 2 power cords in the system on;

1) your amp (or amps if you have mono-blocks) regardless of whether you have a power conditioner or not and whether you plug you amp(s) into it or not...
2) the power conditioner for the system as a whole

Going in this order has given me the biggest bang for the buck in each of the last 3-4 upgrade/change cycles I have started. Also, by starting with the amp(s)
regardless of the topology of the rest of the system, I've been able to better discern the actual improvements (or none/negative impacts) a given power cord
will bring versus what I used to do was a de facto choice of throwing it right on my power conditioner. I found with this method that it was more difficult (for me)
to actually discern the specific attributes a pc would bring beyond it being 'better', 'no substantial impact' or 'sounds worse'.

My most recent 2 upgrade cycles, in full, I've done the following;

1) new pc on my Esoteric A-02 stereo amp; tested it plugged in to my power conditioner as well as direct into my dedicated circuit to know all the changes it brought
2) after I decided to leave the new PC on the amp, the next one went on the power conditioner for the system as a whole
3) DAC6
4) Pre-Amp6
5) Transport
6) Master clock

Hope this helps....
 
Arnoldhasmail said:
I could believe that...I don't use one so I can't say...but that would have an effect on the entire system...probably a good place to start...
Click to expand...

Yes, Mike has probably right, but i do have not a conditioner too, so i also believe that the best place for the best power cord is the amplifier.
 
I did get another cord to replace the stock cord on the APC. The changes were not as dramatic as when I added them to Pre, Amp, and CDP but I did get a little more of the same quietness.

What I am a little confused about is where I can know place my Volume Knobs.

Before changing out any stock cables, I would regularly listen at 2 or 3 clicks, but could not hold a conversation without it getting in the way.
Now with no other changes but 4 PCs, I can get the volume up to 6 or 7 clicks without the wife telling me to turn it down.

So my question is, did the PCs cause a change in volume, or did the PCs remove all the noise so that the actual Music is still at same volume but no longer having a fatigue factor.

I know most tube Pres like to run at at least half volume and for me it just keeps sounding better as it gets louder instead of me wanting to turn it down.

Is my thinking on the right track or can PCs alter the volume somehow?

I placed the APC cord on my Integra HT Receiver and swear the sound for movies got better but have not played around with that too much.

By the way, now that I am convinced of how real using after market PCs is, when funds get to another level, in the future I will upgrade them to Cullen or Shunyata.
 
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