[Shike]

Quote:

whats a good cheap audiophile grade power cord to try? Thanks.

One that works?  A power cable isn't going to clean power or anything like that.  Get a cheap isolation transformer unit if you think you have dirty power problems and leave your worries in the past.  I got a PowerVar 6.0 from a thrift shop for $20.

 

[Mad Max]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
What makes it much better?
 

Don't know, maybe it's the cryogenic treatment.  This one improves the sound more than the Jellyfish and is relatively neutral.  The Jellyfish also seems to add treble roll-off, even compared to the stock power cord whereas the SoniKLEER extends it a bit.  When I first tried it, I noticed my AD700 lose nearly a third of its airiness.  I also noticed how the air between sounds is more refined, cleaner, and seems to form more of a background rather than being a murky soup from which instruments and what not come out of.  It opens up the mids and treble to boot.  I've already forgotten what else it does better, lol - it's been a long time.  I just keep the jellyfish plugged into my monitor for the heck of it.  I never liked the Jellyfish's sonic color, either.  I think it was kind of plasticky and artificial.  Lastly, the cryo-treatment seems to have made the SoniKLEER more resistant to corrosion.  I guess it's an Ironlung Jellyfish Mk II?
 
I'll have to second Shike's opinion though.  Not even the SoniKLEER improves my gears' sound as much as my Belkin filter.

 

[Bostonears]

For a high quality power cable at a low price, I recommend DIY, such described here: http://www.audiotweaks.com/diy/bobcrump_pc/page01.htm

 

[Gradoman]

£2 one from CPC, RS Electronics, whatever. Don't waste your money.

 

[Lenni]

Quote:

x2 with what Nikongod says.

X3
 
Quote:

I agree and disagree with nikongod, and am sort of with kboe on this subject. I agree that quality cables have a lot more work put into them compared to budget "audiophile" cables, but at the same time, for someone who is skeptical and not willing to put down big money right away, some of these budget cables do offer a way to try something new and for the price, you really don't lose much. If you don't hear a difference, too bad, but the cable isnt a complete waste. Its still a decently built one that will work just fine and look better than the stock cable.
 
 
 

I sort of agree and disagree with you too. he's not gonna lose much - but he's not gonna gain anything either. what's the point in spending, even $20, for something that it's pretty much the same (or maybe worse) than what he already has. unless it's because the way it looks, which it would be ridiculous, imo.
I use stock power cables, because I don't have enough disposable cash to get real good ones. I'm not gonna bother with "audiophile grade" $20 cables. I think there should be some form of regulation on how and where the word "audiophile" can be used (including people - I kid). it seems to me some manufactures like to associate the word "audiophile" with their products, which is absolutely not the case.

 

[Bostonears]

 

I'm not gonna bother with "audiophile grade" $20 cables. I think there should be some form of regulation on how and where the word "audiophile" can be used (including people - I kid). it seems to me some manufactures like to associate the word "audiophile" with their products, which is absolutely not the case.

Yeah, anything for $20 isn't going to be "audiophile grade" unless its just a gob of Blu-tack.

 

[scootermafia]

Power cables don't clean your power.  They just let your components suck AC from the wall or whatnot much easier, the straw analogy is accurate...they can then gulp power, not sip it.  The main issue with any generic speaker/power cable is the conductors not being big enough.  

 

[scootermafia]

They're close in price, the SoniKLEER is 16awg and cryo while the jellyfish is non cryo and 14awg.  Both are most likely made by the same OEM, they have the same ends at least.

 

[Shike]

Quote:

Power cables don't clean your power.  They just let your components suck AC from the wall or whatnot much easier, the straw analogy is accurate...they can then gulp power, not sip it.  The main issue with any generic speaker/power cable is the conductors not being big enough.  

That's ridiculous though, most generic IEC power cords have more than adequate gauge to provide the necessary current and voltage for computers sucking a lot more power than most audio equipment here.  If they weren't getting enough power your components would be doing all sorts of nasty things: cutting out, distorting, clipping, etc.

 

[Uncle Erik]

It is plenty easy to measure the wall socket and what comes out the other end of a power cord.

If both figures measure the same, then a power cord must be OK, right?

The generic, used power cords I get for $1 at the swapmeet measure the same as the wall socket, so I don't see any need to buy anything else.

Also, the cheap cords are UL rated. I like that in a power cord.

 

[BoyNamedSue]

Shike, do you mind sharing your impressions on the powervar with regard to sound quality difference? The 12amp version seems popular among audio folks, but I haven't read much on the lower amp powervar's. The reason I ask is because I just picked up a 4amp version on ebay for fairly cheap - not as good a deal as your's though! I am planning to connect my newcoming Audio-gd NFB-10 integrated DAC/AMP into it. Do you think the 4amp will be enough to power it? Thanks in advance.
 
Quote:

Quote:

whats a good cheap audiophile grade power cord to try? Thanks.

One that works?  A power cable isn't going to clean power or anything like that.  Get a cheap isolation transformer unit if you think you have dirty power problems and leave your worries in the past.  I got a PowerVar 6.0 from a thrift shop for $20.

 

[Currawong]

It's more than likely that the effects of the various power cords are due to their capacitance (or rather, the capacitance of the dielectric) filtering noise.  This is just my pet theory, however.  Since you can buy a couple of power distributors with noise filtering capacitors in them (or build one yourself easily, with the usual disclaimers about safety here) I'm not convinced that exotic power cords are good value, especially since I own a few myself and have not necessarily had good results.

 

[JerryLove]

So to the "buy expensive power cables" group I ask: how far back do you run this upgrade? The power cable goes from the connector on the piece of equipment to the wall outlet. Did you upgrade the wall outlet? What about the cable that runs from the wall outlet to the breaker? Did you also upgrade any other outlets that are wired in serial? Did you upgrade the breaker that connects your wall cable to the mains? Did you replace the power-company's stepdown transformer that gave you 120V (or whatever runs where you are)? Did you have the power company upgrade the wire running to your house from the 20kv transformer?
 
Even assuming that there was a difference between the best "audophile grade" cable and 8ga aluminum: I'm just trying to understand how one comes to the belief that improving the couple of feet from the wall to the equipment is enough to have any effect on power that has dozens of miles of "non-audiophile" gear upstream.

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

My buddy just built a new home, and purchased a brand new Xformer to power his new home, ran copper from the Xformer to his home, has a dedicated 220V circuit to his dedicated media room that is full of Equi=Tech (220v and 120v) balanced Xformers, and multiple Richard Gray PCs. Guess he's going to have to buy the power company next!  
 
BTW, yes, his music system sounds wonderful. 

 

[JerryLove]

But was it audiophile grade oxygen-free copper and was it in a kevlar sleeve?