What power cable made you say "holy Sh__"? - Page 3

If you are going to require that kind of control, you might do best not to post to public forums. It's perfectly all right for someone to say that the stock cord is fine for them. No one crowned you king of this thread.

See ya
Steve

none of my cables - volex, quail, etc - really made me have an eargasm. but when i swap back to stock, um, it's noticeable.

i seriously think you troll around this forum soley to start crap. everyone here has heard your opinion rehashed in exactly the same argument in about 5different threads.

for the sake of one clean power cord thread with some good recommendations, stay out of this one.

I like the LAT AC-2.

Ever since I connected Nordost Valhalla into my Krell power amp it has made me curse every day.

The bass is heavy, fast and controlled. It has loads of body and warmth. Combining another Valhalla for my CD player gives a little more bass and I can feel the vibrations down to my chest instead of only my shoulders. It makes adrenaline start pumping in my chest.



Connecting Nordost Vishnu to my DAC1 was also a cool experience.

With K1000 it gave more transparency and I could hear the smoothness of 320kbps mp3 for the first time, it sounded like a filter was in front of the music. But when listening to wav the problem was solved.

With my TV rig there was more body with HD590 than in real life. Drums where massive and trombone sounded sharper than before, there was also greater timbre.


P.S. I haven't tried power cords without a PS Audio Power Plant.

Me too. I'm using them throughout my system. When I first put one on my amp more or less as a lark, I was surprised at the difference it made.

If you aren't interested in what I have to say, no one is holding a gun to your head and making you read my posts. Learn to deal with opposing viewpoints. It's a lot better for your health than to try to control the world around you.

See ya
Steve

I'm no saint of restraint but I think the thing to do is just ignore if possible.



I didn't have a spontaneous, thunder clap of a H.S. of a revelation but more of an instantaneous slow smile of recognition. Yep the Shiva is fine. It's not running up against anything particularly great in the Shunyata Diamondback though.

I listened to the Diamondback for awhile using the remastered Dylan's Nashville Skyline's 'Tell Me That It Isn't True'. The Diamondback has it sound fairly mechanical with small extraneous artifacts present when listened to very critically. The Shiva had much more ease and flow, no artifacts (I'm not sure of a better word). What told me of it's superiority was that the greater ease and smoothness (I still hate that word!) was joined with much better separation, three dimensionality and, significantly, more low level detail. This is a success for me, a little more detail with a lot more naturalness and ease.

'Tis an awfully thin cord and I can't help but wonder what improvements the triple 16 gauge Vishnu offers over the triple 18 gauge Shiva for my 200 watts of Class A amplification. Probably just subtle sophistications. I feel destiny calling at any rate.

I do have this psychological bias against Nordost, I think because of the appearance; I expect thin and wiry sound, sterility. I'm wrong again! Anyone looking for a very fine entry level ($200 at audiogon) power cord should be pleased with the Nordost Shiva.

Maybe this should be it's own thread?

My PS Audio xStream Plus cable made me say "Holy Sh__, it's THICK and STIFF!!!"


Uh.....somehow that doesn't sound right..........

-Ed

Vishnu isn't good for high power gear. With my 30 watt CD player it made it sound too compressed and there was lack of bass. Vishnu for my Krell KAV-500i that takes 150 watts didn't make much of an improvement compared to a stock cord, that's why the difference was so large when upgrading to the thicker Valhalla, the amp completely transformed.
I believe PS Audio xStream Statement would be much better than Nordost Vishnu for 200 watt amps.

However, for anything that draws around 5 watts, I don't think the Vishnu can be beat. Even the Valhalla could make it worse, but I haven't tried it.

You could be right but What can I say, it sounds great.
I was listening more after my post and it may be better than I wrote. I should swap it around with other components but right now I can't bring myself to unplug it and put the Shunyata back in. I'll listen to much of what I've been listening to for the past week again. As for capacity it's rated for 20 amps. I don't doubt about the Valhalla but I doubt I'll be getting hold of one.
xStream Statement...copper is copper isn't it? I think I'm a silver plated solid OFC conductors suspended in a Micro Mono-filament man.

Speaking of power cables

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll..._BIN_Stores_IT

Does anyone have any experience with that cable? I'm also wondering whether I can plug that ... thing into my computer PSU

Huh? What for?

I'm using Supra 2.5 Lorad for my cdp. The noise level is reduced significantly...not exactly wow but nevertheless pleasing The 1.5 Lorad was recommended in HiFi Choice (I think) so decided to try it.

I got lucky, in that the 1st aftermarket power cable I ever bought was so good it blew my mind, and that was the humble Virtual Dynamics Power 3. It opened my mind to the possibility that aftermarket cords could really make a difference, to a degree I was definitely NOT expecting. But that was a lucky fluke...

Since discovering that cable, I've since tried many many more, and discovered that power cables are even more picky and finnicky than interconnects. There is NO GAURANTEE that just because I spent X dollars, I can justifiably expect this or that particular power cable to perform accordingly. Some expensive power cables can make your system go completely to hell. I think there is even less of a correlation between cost and performance between power cords than any other audio component I can think of. It's a true crapshoot, that sadly requires A LOT of experimentation. A power cable that sounds AMAZING on one component in your system may very well sound AWFUL on another.

It's therefore very hard to recommend power cables for that very reason, they are INCREDIBLY system-dependent, IME.

All that said, I'm firmly in the camp that says, for whatever reason, no matter how it defies logic, *some* aftermarket power cords really can provide a well-worthwhile difference/upgrade.