[JwangSDC]

Hey everyone out there with WA6 SE's, want to chime in on power cords you guys have/tried out? I was thinking of the statement one by black sands until I realized I'm not made of money.

Any info would be helpful, I didn't realize I'd be needing a nice power cord...

 

[atbglenn]

I personally think expensive high end power cords are a total waste (snake oil) especially on low current drawing headphone amplifiers .... But hey, you don't have to listen to me.

 

[sillysally]

I use a Black Sand Violet Z1 power cord. http://www.blacksandcable.ca/cords.html

On my WA6SE maxxed.

 

[Gradofan2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JwangSDC /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey everyone out there with WA6 SE's, want to chime in on power cords you guys have/tried out? I was thinking of the statement one by black sands until I realized I'm not made of money. Any info would be helpful, I didn't realize I'd be needing a nice power cord...

I suspect you get to the area of "diminishing returns" pretty fast with power cords - that any perceptible improvements come at a pretty high price... and... are pretty subtle - perhaps too subtle to justify the price.

I realize many reviewers claim perceptible improvements... but... I'm unwilling to "take that bet." I'm satisfied with Iron-Lung Jellyfish, or Signal Cable Magic Power Cord, or similar cables - which reportedly do a fine job.

 

[JwangSDC]

Anyone have thoughts on the volex? I hear the newer ones aren't so good, but a $16 cord that is awesome sounded pretty appealing to me.

 

[Spareribs]

I would pick the Signal Cable cord because that particular model was designed for amps and recieved good reviews. But the main reason why I would pick Signal Cable is because they are made in Queens New York, just like the Woo amps! I think that is cool. But right now, I am using a Volex cord for my Woo amp and it's a very attractive cord too.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

This a terrific cord for 50 bucks PS Audio - Punch Power Cable-Audio Advisor

Peete.

 

[peanuthead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pricklely Peete /img/forum/go_quote.gif This a terrific cord for 50 bucks PS Audio - Punch Power Cable-Audio Advisor Peete.

That's what I use with my 6SE. Good, affordable, no nonsense.

 

[moodyrn]

Expensive cords do make a subtle difference(IMO). But the hundreds of dollars power cords cost will bring bigger improvements when used towards purchasing better components. Either the ps audio punch or the jellyfish would do fine. If you can find an older volex, that will be fine as well.

 

[WittyzTH]

I use the cheap VD Power3. It's pretty good although it's quite stiff.

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanuthead /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's what I use with my 6SE. Good, affordable, no nonsense.

At $50 for a power cord, I think we have VERY different definitions of no-nonsense

 

[koruki]

Just curious about a few things that I hope some of you in the know can explain. How does the powercord effect the amp? Headphone cables I understand as its the link between amp and phones but power cable.. wouldnt that mean any low quality cable from the source(wiring in the house etc) would render a high quality power cable from your socket to amp useless?

 

[Currawong]

AJ Van Den Hul, who manufactures audio cables and wire, reckons that cables have some kind of filtering effect on the signal. He will only sell a power cable with a minimum length of 1.5m for this reason.

There's a huge review thread by markl which covers his 5 years of experimenting with power cords. My own experience throwing a couple of $75 power cords on my DAC and amp respectively was that they gave a solid $150-worth of improvement. I don't know how well that translates between brands, but if so, then it'd be worth trying a basic Virtual Dynamics, Black Sands, Signal Cable or similar power cord.

 

[Beefy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong /img/forum/go_quote.gif AJ Van Den Hul, who manufactures audio cables and wire, reckons that cables have some kind of filtering effect on the signal. He will only sell a power cable with a minimum length of 1.5m for this reason.

Does he elaborate on what the power cord can do that an IEC filter, toroid, rectifier diodes, snubbing caps, pre-regulator smoothing caps, regulator, and post-regulator reservoir caps are incapable of doing?

 

[achristilaw]

If you want to improve/change the SQ of your Amp, play with different rectifiers and enjoy the improvements from that aspect. It's much better than what could be had with the choice of a power cord.