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Hey Czilla,

Rick at Virtual Dynamics says that you should put your best cable on the source FIRST!!! He says, as the designer and inventor, that this makes the largest difference.

If I only had one cable, it would go on teh source. No question!!

Czilla,

it wasn't an attack directed to a person, its a response to stupid logic. but no, it wasn't in response to anything you said

re: amp or source - biggest gains for me have been the source, but i'm of the camp that that's system dependent.

btw, in case you care here's my thoughts on the subject: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...tor#post100157

best,
carlo.

Mark said:

"For a mere $175 on the web, you can replace that cheap-o power strip with the Monster PB1100 with power conditioning and surge protection. A humble investment compared to the cost of the VD cords you already have.
Damn, as much benefit as you've gotten from your VD cords, that can be easily multiplied by getting a "proper" power conditioner. Home Depot cheapie power strips are "bad", "bad!!!!"

For shame...

Since when has Monster been considered a good power conditioner? Why would you invest over a thousand dollars to buy Nite power cords and not invest $ to get a real power conditioner that would do them justice, if you aren't going to plug them directly into the wall? What Monster has going for them is great marketing.

It's been very well reviewed by Absolute Sound for one. I've had them in my system, and they're much better than the Panamax 1000+ I also had at one time. The Monster products were designed by the respected Richard Marsh. Since they are mass-produced in quantities much larger than most power conditioners, there are likely economies of scale that Monster can take advantage of that other manufacturers can't.

I owned a $500 Monster HTS-5000 but sold it in part to pay for the Vd cords. I replaced it with the lower-end PB1100 because it had fewr stages of filtration than the 5000 but all the surge protection.

Again, most people need the peace of mind of the surge suppression. For that purpose, with a minimum of filtration and reasonable build quality, the Monster is a fine choice. Also, all my great reults with the VD cords were obtained with the Monster in the circuit.


Mark

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Botchki,

Since I am in the market to possibly buy something in this price range, what do you recommend I get??? I haven't heard of much else, so I'm pretty ignorant here, so you're advice would be greatly appreciated. It just has to both filter and condition.

Mark said

"Again, most people need the peace of mind of the surge suppression. For that purpose, with a minimum of filtration and reasonable build quality, the Monster is a fine choice. Also, all my great reults with the VD cords were obtained with the Monster in the circuit

While most people need the peace of mind of surge protection, could it possibly be a piece of marketing that we all have been fed? Any maker of power cords, cables, etc. that I have spoken to has told me that high quality components already have their own built in surge protection...that's the way they were designed. I think it is for this reason as well as because they know that they sound better, that makers of power cords recommend you plug them directly into the wall. Most power conditioners/surge protectors (Monster is a good one here) restrict or choke the flow of power so you are not realizing the full potential of your power cords and components. Try it, you might like it. Besides, whats the chance lightning is going to strike your system in the time it takes you to audition those Nite cables of yours plugged directly into the wall.

Serving Ecudor wrote

"Since I am in the market to possibly buy something in this price range, what do you recommend I get??? I haven't heard of much else, so I'm pretty ignorant here, so you're advice would be greatly appreciated. It just has to both filter and condition.

I am kind of in the same boat as you in that I am looking for a good power conditioner. I have tried the Mapleshade power strip and versus Monster it beats it up, but it doesn't offer the surge protection you are looking for. If you want to spend the money, the Audio Magic Stealth Purifier is supposedly the best on the market (though not the most expensive). But it's still $799 for a unit that has two outlets ($650 used/demo) or $1600 for a six outlet one ($1399 used/demo). Still contemplating this one for me but haven't sold myself on the justification. The other alternative that I might try first is something I was just told about by a respected cable maker. It's called the Cyber Power and they have different models from AVR 585 up to AVR 1250. From what he told me it has done more for customers of his systems than conditioners that cost up to $2500. Supposedly it can be had for the monster (no pun intended) price of around $130 at your local Best Buy electronics store in their PC dept. Just started researching them so if anyone has any info on these please leave input, but I think I am going to check them out first.

Thanks Botchki!!!! I will have to stop by the local Best Buy this week and see if I can find me a Cyber Power unit there to check out!! It fits my budget, and costs less than the MP HTS1100. I will also see whta I can dig up on them on the internet!! That and pick the salesman's brain for all it's worth about Cyber Power while I'm at it!!

My parents has lost countless VCR's, clock radios, TVs, and audio equipment to lightning strikes and power surges. I believe Hirsch has also lost a lot of equipment this way. I've been lucky so far.

I would never even consider a power conditioner without surge protection. I have way too much money invested in my equipment, most of which can't be replaced.

Also, Monster claims its conditioners (at least my PB1100 for certain) do not limit current.

Mark

Call me an idiot or otherwise, but I run my VD Nites straight into the wall socket. No power strip, no power conditioner, nothing.

Yes, I'm a little concerned about toasting my gear, but I'm just going to make sure to try and unplug my system when nasty weather hits or is rumored to be on the way.

I also have a (currently unused) Ultimate Outlet, and I feel my system sounds better with it out of the circuit.

Besides, I've only got two Nites. I really like the Nites, but I don't want to have to purchase another Nite just to feed the Ultimate Outlet (or other power conditioner).

So you can still hear difference when pulled directly in the wall???? Better than using a power conditioner??????????

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I'd like to know who these people are, because they're clearly lying to you.

- Wasif.

Czilla,

Yes, I can hear a difference. In my system at least, with the Ultimate Outlet in the circuit, there's an increased level of clarity, like a slight layer of grunge has been removed. That's the good news, and is likely indicative of the line conditioning properties of the UO. However, the bad news is that dynamics are quashed (again, slightly) and the soundstaging loses a good deal of its three-dimensionality. In particular, soundstage height is greatly diminished. To me, the tradeoff is not worth it. Besides, I listen in the near-field over speakers, and the extra clarity can push the balance over the edge into stridency.

Still, I have to admit the ostensible lunacy inherent in not protecting my system in any way, shape or form. What can you do? It's all about the sound, no? Besides, if I blow something up, hey, it's time to upgrade!

But you can hear the difference between Nite and stock streight through the outlet?

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Agreed!! Pieces of straight wire leading from the wall to your equipment have no way possible of knowkinc out or down the surges that come in to it! They pass whatever comes to them right along. In order to bypass RF it takes some form of capacitance in parallel, or inductor in series to suprees/ bypass the bad stuff to ground!! I'm not too technically savvy as to how they do this as there are a number of options out there.

VD cables, on the other hand, have several layers of shielding around them, key word around, to capture and pass any RF or other interference that comes to it to another line and either to ground or neutral, not sure exactly which. What the VD cables claim is that electron flow causes mechanical vibrations which are passed thru the cable into the piece of equipment. I don't find that too hard to believe for one good reason: do you have any idea how many electrons pass thru a piece of wire to run a system?? For every amp of current there are approximately 3x10 to the 34th power electrons PER SECOND passing thru!!!! And that's for only 1 amp of current. Run high power amp and that number could easily be 2-3 times that figure!!! I'm not sure that everything they claim is accurate, but the sound that comes out of far too many systems proves they are doing something right!!!