A couple days ago I borrowed two power cables from a local audio dealer for my upgraded mpx3. Currently I am using the power cable that came with my Audio Research CD3 which looks to be a hospital grade cable. A good deal thicker then the stock one that comes with the mpx3. My audio rack is in a pretty tight spot so I am looking for a flexible cable, not that steel cable that is my Virtual Dynamics Nite that I have on my CD3.
Setup:
Audio Research CD3
Mpx3(upgraded):
Tung-sol roundplate driver with Sylvania 52 badboys
Tung-sol roundplate driver with Sylvania 6sn7w blackbase short bottle
Cardas golden ref IC
Nite PC on CD3
Grado RS1
The first cable I borrowed was the Wasatch PC-805:wasatchcableworks.com
Wasatch is a company based in Centerville Utah and has been making cables since 2000 I believe. The 805 that I used is in the middle of their power cable line up. A 803 is below it and a ultama is a step above it. Price for the 805 that I used is $500 retail although the dealer that I borrowed it from said he can get me one for $400.
The 805 is a light cable and is very flexible compared to most aftermarket cables. After putting the PC on my mpx3 and giving it a listen after letting the system warm up I noticed a very positive change in sound. I thought I had black background before but with the 805 it was the darkest I have ever had my background. Not until now did I realise how much a really dark background will benefit a system. Imaging improve and instrument separation was much better. Instruments had more space around them and the presentation was more airy. Soundstage seem to open a little. Everything was sharper and clear like a veil was lifted. I got more detail and my top and bottom end extended nicely, bottom end tightened up. It balanced the sound more and got rid of a little of the colouration that the rs-1 suffers from. Took a little from the midrange and gave it to the top end which is what I was looking for as the rs-1 was sounding a little boomy and just a tad too thick for my taste. With the 52 badboys and their extended and very open top end in the outputs the sound was at times on certain recordings just a couple steps from being bright which is what I want, to get as much top end detail and extension as possible but without being bright. And there was a certain change to the sound that I really can't describe other then it would just always hook me into a song in a way I have not experienced before. All in all the 805 on my mpx3 really improved my system in a very positive way. Going back to the old PC it was obvious how much the 805 gave to my rig, I noticed faults in the sound that should have always been obvious but I didn't hear them until the 805 got rid of them.
The next cable I borrowed was a Audioquest NRG-5:audioquest.com
The 5 is a little heavier than the 805 and the flexibility is about the same with maybe the 805 having a little more flex. After putting the 5 on my mpx3 the first thing I noticed was the bass. The 5 does bass in a big way, I was hearing bass guitar lines I never heard in my cds. The bass was a little to kind of boomy. Unfortunally the 5 doesn't have much else going for it, at lease in my system. The highs are rolled off and the sound stage seems all wrong. The stage did not go above ear level and the low end goes down low so it gave a really unnatural presentation to the music. It is a dark cable, so when I tried it with the 6sn7w's in the outputs which is a darker sounding tube, the sound was too dark for my taste. With the 52 badboys in the outputs the sound balanced more and the stage went above my ears a little more although not as much as the CD3 cable or the 805. The badboys opened and extended the highs a bit and got rid of a little of the darkness but I still didn't like the sound. A little darker background than the stock cord but not near as much as the 805. Little more detail than the stock. Nice midrange in a way. Like the 805 in which I heard something I really liked but could not exactly put a finger on it beside the obvious improvements the 5 had the same feel but in the opposite direction. I knew the things I didn't like about the 5 but there was also something it did to the sound that I couldn't put a finger on but I knew I didn't like it. Probably a good cable in some setups but not in mine.
I rearranged my setup a little so I can use a stiffer cable if necessary so I think I will get a used Nite for the mxp3 to try out to see how it compares to the 805. If it blows it away I will keep it and if they are close but have their own special traits I will probably keep both.
I said in another thread about power cords that I have noticed that PC cords.
1. Blacken the background
2. More precise imaging
3. Separates instruments and puts a space around them
Gives more of a being in the room feeling.
4. Sharper image which I'm sure helps 2 and 3
5. More detail
6. Extended top and bottom
In that order but after trying more power cords I have found out that it does not always improve in that order and sometime some of those things don't improve at all. I like the CD3 stock on my mpx3 better than the AudioQuest as the sound is more balanced, which is something I thought I would never say. A stock cable being preferred over a $$$ aftermarket cable?? What I do know is that power cords do make a difference and in some cases for the worst. I find it hard to believe that some people can't hear the differences as they are very obvious, to me anyway.
So if you are looking for a flexible cable that sounds good take a look at the Wasatch line and even the AQ as it might work in your system.
Setup:
Audio Research CD3
Mpx3(upgraded):
Tung-sol roundplate driver with Sylvania 52 badboys
Tung-sol roundplate driver with Sylvania 6sn7w blackbase short bottle
Cardas golden ref IC
Nite PC on CD3
Grado RS1
The first cable I borrowed was the Wasatch PC-805:wasatchcableworks.com
Wasatch is a company based in Centerville Utah and has been making cables since 2000 I believe. The 805 that I used is in the middle of their power cable line up. A 803 is below it and a ultama is a step above it. Price for the 805 that I used is $500 retail although the dealer that I borrowed it from said he can get me one for $400.
The 805 is a light cable and is very flexible compared to most aftermarket cables. After putting the PC on my mpx3 and giving it a listen after letting the system warm up I noticed a very positive change in sound. I thought I had black background before but with the 805 it was the darkest I have ever had my background. Not until now did I realise how much a really dark background will benefit a system. Imaging improve and instrument separation was much better. Instruments had more space around them and the presentation was more airy. Soundstage seem to open a little. Everything was sharper and clear like a veil was lifted. I got more detail and my top and bottom end extended nicely, bottom end tightened up. It balanced the sound more and got rid of a little of the colouration that the rs-1 suffers from. Took a little from the midrange and gave it to the top end which is what I was looking for as the rs-1 was sounding a little boomy and just a tad too thick for my taste. With the 52 badboys and their extended and very open top end in the outputs the sound was at times on certain recordings just a couple steps from being bright which is what I want, to get as much top end detail and extension as possible but without being bright. And there was a certain change to the sound that I really can't describe other then it would just always hook me into a song in a way I have not experienced before. All in all the 805 on my mpx3 really improved my system in a very positive way. Going back to the old PC it was obvious how much the 805 gave to my rig, I noticed faults in the sound that should have always been obvious but I didn't hear them until the 805 got rid of them.
The next cable I borrowed was a Audioquest NRG-5:audioquest.com
The 5 is a little heavier than the 805 and the flexibility is about the same with maybe the 805 having a little more flex. After putting the 5 on my mpx3 the first thing I noticed was the bass. The 5 does bass in a big way, I was hearing bass guitar lines I never heard in my cds. The bass was a little to kind of boomy. Unfortunally the 5 doesn't have much else going for it, at lease in my system. The highs are rolled off and the sound stage seems all wrong. The stage did not go above ear level and the low end goes down low so it gave a really unnatural presentation to the music. It is a dark cable, so when I tried it with the 6sn7w's in the outputs which is a darker sounding tube, the sound was too dark for my taste. With the 52 badboys in the outputs the sound balanced more and the stage went above my ears a little more although not as much as the CD3 cable or the 805. The badboys opened and extended the highs a bit and got rid of a little of the darkness but I still didn't like the sound. A little darker background than the stock cord but not near as much as the 805. Little more detail than the stock. Nice midrange in a way. Like the 805 in which I heard something I really liked but could not exactly put a finger on it beside the obvious improvements the 5 had the same feel but in the opposite direction. I knew the things I didn't like about the 5 but there was also something it did to the sound that I couldn't put a finger on but I knew I didn't like it. Probably a good cable in some setups but not in mine.
I rearranged my setup a little so I can use a stiffer cable if necessary so I think I will get a used Nite for the mxp3 to try out to see how it compares to the 805. If it blows it away I will keep it and if they are close but have their own special traits I will probably keep both.
I said in another thread about power cords that I have noticed that PC cords.
1. Blacken the background
2. More precise imaging
3. Separates instruments and puts a space around them
Gives more of a being in the room feeling.
4. Sharper image which I'm sure helps 2 and 3
5. More detail
6. Extended top and bottom
In that order but after trying more power cords I have found out that it does not always improve in that order and sometime some of those things don't improve at all. I like the CD3 stock on my mpx3 better than the AudioQuest as the sound is more balanced, which is something I thought I would never say. A stock cable being preferred over a $$$ aftermarket cable?? What I do know is that power cords do make a difference and in some cases for the worst. I find it hard to believe that some people can't hear the differences as they are very obvious, to me anyway.
So if you are looking for a flexible cable that sounds good take a look at the Wasatch line and even the AQ as it might work in your system.
