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I have no doubt that you believe power cords make a difference and I am not going to debate that. But your claim that it lowers distortion and increased dynamic is misinformation. These are measurable parameter. I have not seen any number or published report on this. If your claim is true, then all medical instruments will be swarming to use these "low distortion" power cord. The impact of this is much greater than an blacker background in audio.
Are you serious? This is not an UofT sanctioned study nor is this guy an EE. The test instrument is a commercial DAC and a PC. The difference measured is 0.5mV that's noise. I can easy show the difference with the same setup with the same cable. The instrument does not have the resolution to measure the difference. No one in the right mind would measure this with a PC as a serious study.
I still don't see where the distortion is reduced. There is no measurement of distortion whatsoever.
Please deal with real fact. I am not trying to judge any belief but I do want to make sure any information cited to be accurate. I am asking for data on distortion and dynamic (in dB please).
I have no doubt that you believe power cords make a difference and I am not going to debate that. But your claim that it lowers distortion and increased dynamic is misinformation. These are measurable parameter. I have not seen any number or published report on this. If your claim is true, then all medical instruments will be swarming to use these "low distortion" power cord. The impact of this is much greater than an blacker background in audio.
Let me rephrase. My amp, the Opera, seems to be subject to a high level of distortion. Most all of that distortion is gone when using a good power cord. This does not mean it's the power cord that's lowering the distortion. What it means is that it is providing a cleaner supply of electricity to the amp, and the amp is in turn functioning more efficiently.
No cords or cables will magically alter the sound, unless they are designed that way by using specially manufactured alloys. They just transmit a cleaner signal which allows your equipment to perform at a higher level of efficiency.
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Headphones → Denon AH-D5000 (modded)
Amp/DAC → Meier Audio Corda Opera :::
Transport → ESI Juli@ ::: Vista → Foobar 0.9.5 → EAC extracted PCM → ASIO 2.0 → SSRC@96/Ultra → ESI Juli@ → S/PDIF :::
Power → Virtual Dynamics Master LE 2.0 Power Cord(Amp/DAC) ::: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Power Cord(PC) ::: API PowerWedge I
Interconnects → Virtual Dynamics Master LE 2.0 Digital IC ::: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Digital Coax :::::::::::::::::: Cobalt Cable Ultimate Audio Interconnect Pair ::: ALO 6" iPod LOD ::: Qables 15" Silvercab iPod LOD
Portable Source → iPod Classic (6g) 80gig, with Agent18 Hardshell Acrylic Case:::
Accessories → Audio Technica AT-HPS500 Headphone Stand ::: Woo Audio Silver Headphone Stand
Long story short:
The "association with the University of Toronto" does in fact mean that the guy VD charged with the "study" had 4 19-yearish Students from the UoT to support him. Probably so they can print "in association with the University of Toronto" on top of it.
I was very happy with a Violet Z1 on both my source and amp - by far, yielding the best sound I ever heard through my rig. Finally, a life-sized sound image - neither a miniature version inside my head, nor a larger-than-life overly magnified version. Sounds innocent enough, right?
About a year later, I found a used VD Nite II IC on Audiogon for a price I could afford (to give the VD sound a try) ...... You've really got a great way to describe the sound of gear so that folks who have never heard it can have a good feel for what they'll hear through it. In place of the (vivid and engaging) chalk outline of the sound, the VD filled the sound in with generous dabs of rich and realistic pigment - and filled the sound out into a more convincing spatial arrangement of musical voices than I'd ever heard from a recording.
After hearing the difference that the VD Nite IC made to my rig, I wanted to try a matching PC - so a used VD Nite II from Audiogon later ...... even more of the same, and an added depth to the sound (dynamic and spatial, both stemming from the lowered dynamic floor) that I had imagined recorded sound could contain, but had never experienced through my rig before. Then a used David 1.0 PC through Matt (for my CD player). Finally a pair of VD Nite 3.0 Platinum PC's to bring my main rig to an all-VD-cabled system. The short version is: it's not too much of the same thing. With each VD PC added to a component in the audio path, the SQ improvements I'd heard before kept going in the direction of more lifelike, more realistic, more experientially drenching, putting me increasingly in the presence of all of the human creative energies invested in the music from composition through production.
At this point, VD has shipped a used Master 3.0 1.5m RCA pair of IC's which will replace the Nite II IC in my main rig, freeing the VD Nite II IC for my bedside rig. My bedside rig consists of an imod as source, and a TTVJ Portable Millett Hybrid, so no PC opportunities there. I've already tried the Nite II in the bedside rig, and the sound through that rig supports my music listening with the sonic means to which my main rig has made me accustomed. I'm awaiting the arrival of the Master 3.0 IC's, knowing pretty much what to expect, which only heightens the delicious anticipation of their arrival.
Anyway, this is all to thank you for your writing about your listening experiences with VD cables (IC's and PC's), and with the cables from all of the vendors you've experienced in your rig and described. Your descriptions gave me an excellent sense of what I would hear, but actually hearing my music presented through them in my audio path was (and is, daily) a moving experience - putting me more immersively and intuitively in touch with the perspectives on the many facets of our common Human Condition being expressed in the music.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU6fuFrdCJY Offline Rig: Pioneer DV563A, DV578A (VD David 1.0 PC) -> Sonicwave Glass Toslink -> Headroom 2007 Ultra Micro DAC (Desktop PSU, VD Nite II PC) -> VD Master 2.0 IC -> Mapletree Ear+ Purist HD (VD Nite Platinum PC), -> ALO Modded Grado SR225, Senn HD650 (Equinox Cable), Yuin PK1 Computer Rig: Terratec EWX 2496 (IeGO 70530 PC) -> Glass Toslink-> Same downstream as Offline Rig Work Rig: Creative MP3+ USB Sound Card -> Cardas HPI Mini-to-Mini -> Fiio Amp (Eneloop AAA) -> Yuin PK1, Shure SE530 Bedside Rig: 5.5G Redwine iMod -> ALO VCap Dock (VHAudio OIMP) -> VD Nite 2.0 IC -> KICAS Caliente, TTVJ Portable Millett Hybrid Amp -> HD650(Equinox), HD600(Cardas)
Headphoneus Supremus: Hangin' with the monkeys. Member of the Trade: markl Mods
Glad to be of service, sbulack. The VD cables really are something special. I now have Master LEs on my source and coming from the wall to my PS Audio Power Plant Premier. I'm now using the Genesis IC between my source and headphone amp, and it really is the VD sound taken to it's (ridiculous) extreme. Yum! Cheers.
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Could you leave this thread for people who want to discuss and share their experiences with power cables? 
The VD cables really are something special. I now have Master LEs on my source and coming from the wall to my PS Audio Power Plant Premier. I'm now using the Genesis IC between my source and headphone amp, and it really is the VD sound taken to it's (ridiculous) extreme. Yum! Cheers.
Linear Mode
