Patrick82
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- Mar 1, 2003
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Since the Nordost Valhalla power cables remove low-level detail to make everything appear cleaner and smoother, I had to switch to stock cables to get better sound. Stock 18awg power cable wrapped in ERS Paper was better than 16awg Valhalla wrapped in ERS Paper. I was using stock cables between Quintet-Premier and Premier-DAC. However, between the wall and Quintet I found that Oyaide 037 connectors made a huge difference which made the Valhalla better overall than stock cable.
Stock power cords wrapped in ERS Paper sound great to me, I think it's because they are thinner which makes it sound faster and edgier, but also harsher. Thick cables always sounded muddy and boomy. They had less resolution and more body, but that extra body came from the boominess, it didn't come from more information in the music, everything just blended together which made everything appear bigger.
The differences are huge between power cables, but I found that they only change the flavor of the sound, they don't improve it. I liked the sound of the 6awg PS Audio xStream Statement because the bass was heavy, but the boominess was fatiguing after half an hour so I had to unplug it fast and keep using the 16awg Valhalla. I liked them both but I liked Valhalla the most. I wished I could get both flavors at the same time, it would be perfection to get the best of both worlds. But was it even possible? Since the flavors between power cords are so different, it should be possible.
Vibration isolation is 95% of the sound in my system, I'm using Magix magnetic levitation feet under the components and books on top for mass dampening the internal vibrations, the improvements were huge! Since the AC power is vibrating it would make sense to mass dampen the power cables too. So I got a few Genesis power cables to try if it works, and it does!
1) Changed the 1meter 16awg Valhalla+Oyaide 037 cable between wall and Quintet into a 9feet 6awg Genesis.
First impressions: Fuller sound with more information. More subtle movements in the soundstage, everything is moving around instead of stays at the same place. There is more bass and it has more information in it, it's not muddy but it makes some of the background bass transients less apparent. The highs are very silky and liquid, it sounds very analog.
2) I experimented with removing the Premier Power Plant and using only the Quintet for my DAC. I daisy chained two Genesis power cables and plugged them into the Quintet, I didn't like it because it sounded empty and edgy. Then I added the Premier between those cables and got more resolution. I didn't like the Genesis for my DAC, perhaps because it was too warm and I needed to get used to it.
3) Added the 4th Genesis between Quintet and CD transport.
First impressions: It used to sound very thin with the stock power cable, but after I changed to the Genesis I got instant synergy! There was more body and resolution. The 4th Genesis I added made as big improvement as the 1st.
Impressions of full Genesis setup: It sounds both heavier and tighter than before, there's a new world of low-level detail and those sounds are very quiet. The decay continues forever...there are many tweaks where you can get this same effect from, but they all tone down the surface layer of the music to make the deepest layers more apparent, it makes it sound grey, muddy, lifeless and slow. The Genesis doesn't do this, it improves the deepest low-level details while increasing the clarity and speed on the surface.
Everything sounds very analog like, it sounds very sharp but there isn't any edginess. It's both smoother and sharper than before. I don't hear any weaknesses, it just increased the resolution. Vibration control for power cables is the way to go, I'm keeping the Genesis in my system!
Stock power cords wrapped in ERS Paper sound great to me, I think it's because they are thinner which makes it sound faster and edgier, but also harsher. Thick cables always sounded muddy and boomy. They had less resolution and more body, but that extra body came from the boominess, it didn't come from more information in the music, everything just blended together which made everything appear bigger.
The differences are huge between power cables, but I found that they only change the flavor of the sound, they don't improve it. I liked the sound of the 6awg PS Audio xStream Statement because the bass was heavy, but the boominess was fatiguing after half an hour so I had to unplug it fast and keep using the 16awg Valhalla. I liked them both but I liked Valhalla the most. I wished I could get both flavors at the same time, it would be perfection to get the best of both worlds. But was it even possible? Since the flavors between power cords are so different, it should be possible.
Vibration isolation is 95% of the sound in my system, I'm using Magix magnetic levitation feet under the components and books on top for mass dampening the internal vibrations, the improvements were huge! Since the AC power is vibrating it would make sense to mass dampen the power cables too. So I got a few Genesis power cables to try if it works, and it does!
1) Changed the 1meter 16awg Valhalla+Oyaide 037 cable between wall and Quintet into a 9feet 6awg Genesis.
First impressions: Fuller sound with more information. More subtle movements in the soundstage, everything is moving around instead of stays at the same place. There is more bass and it has more information in it, it's not muddy but it makes some of the background bass transients less apparent. The highs are very silky and liquid, it sounds very analog.
2) I experimented with removing the Premier Power Plant and using only the Quintet for my DAC. I daisy chained two Genesis power cables and plugged them into the Quintet, I didn't like it because it sounded empty and edgy. Then I added the Premier between those cables and got more resolution. I didn't like the Genesis for my DAC, perhaps because it was too warm and I needed to get used to it.
3) Added the 4th Genesis between Quintet and CD transport.
First impressions: It used to sound very thin with the stock power cable, but after I changed to the Genesis I got instant synergy! There was more body and resolution. The 4th Genesis I added made as big improvement as the 1st.
Impressions of full Genesis setup: It sounds both heavier and tighter than before, there's a new world of low-level detail and those sounds are very quiet. The decay continues forever...there are many tweaks where you can get this same effect from, but they all tone down the surface layer of the music to make the deepest layers more apparent, it makes it sound grey, muddy, lifeless and slow. The Genesis doesn't do this, it improves the deepest low-level details while increasing the clarity and speed on the surface.
Everything sounds very analog like, it sounds very sharp but there isn't any edginess. It's both smoother and sharper than before. I don't hear any weaknesses, it just increased the resolution. Vibration control for power cables is the way to go, I'm keeping the Genesis in my system!
