Hell, low-end cable improvements can make a dramatic difference! I recently bought a Belkin power strip for under $15, and it totally eliminated RFI (or whatever it may have been) that my headphones totally picked up. Buying relatively inexpensive Audioquest Evergreen interconnects also cleared up the sound of some of my pieces. I'm not sure about the power and capability of cables to add to the sound of stereo systems, but I'm totally sold on the fact that decent power and cable connections can at least clear up interference and other unwanted distortions. Hang wire, Bill
An affluent friend of mine has CARDAS CLEAR BEYOND AC cords and is very happy. Heard them in my system and was impressed but (due to $$) VFM will obviously be interpreted differently. I am quite happy with my DIY BELDEN 83803 terminated with Furutech rhodiums running my active ATC's Interestingly though...........I have found that different AC cables can sound better to me doing different jobs!!!! EG.......the BELDENS sound great running amps but no good on my DAC or transport whereas ACROLINK P4020-III was pretty much the opposite!!!!! DEFINITELY an area worth investigation IMHO and IME ............especially if you feel your system has nowhere else (realistically affordable) left to go........and you have already addressed the even more obviously beneficial stuff like room treatments.....etc.
I would concur. I have a Signal Cable cord that's supposedly made expressly for digital components, but when tried on my preamp it seems to make the sound thinner. It's always worth experimenting with the same cord in different places. And Signal Cables are very reasonably priced. John K.
Interesting, i was thinking of making some shielded cables as well and i was wondering if there was a consensus as to where to connect the shield. Personally i was thinking of connecting it on the device side and leaving it floating at the wall. This is how i do it with signal cables that have shields but your idea has merit too.
For interconnects the shield is connected at each end. For power only at the wall plug end. This is what I have learned. From what has been told to me, in the case of power the shield is a shield from external (as in RFI) noise. So you do not want that signal going back to the gear. My power cord is a 3 wire plus a shield. With interconnects it is "internal" system noise and you want it "to go to ground connection". Really you want to locate the source or cause of the noise and fix it. My unbalanced interconnects are two wire with a shield (I use Belden 8402 cable).
I recall an article about Japanese audiophiles where one had a separate power company pole, transformer and wiring installed at his house. Now that is a dedicated line.
When I first got an active system, I installed six 10mm twin and earth, separate spurs from a new fuse box - the sub-station was just outside the garden fence. You could actually hear (and measure) the improvement of the separate spur, with a £100 amp and speakers.
Along the same lines of the importance of connectors, I noticed that when I added the Shunyata HC with the PS8, The beefy power cable did not want to stay plugged in due to the weight of the cable. Because of that I changed the outlet to one of the hospital grade outlets and it has a much tighter grip on the plug.
I am curious what you upgraded to. I have often wondered if the more advanced shyunata products made a big difference in a setup that costs less than the house. I know for me, over a grand on power related products was a bit of foolish move, but I have been happy with the decision.
Back in the 80s in the UK, some would replace the 13A wall outlet and 13A plug, with fuse, for the older 15A type plug and socket. The 15 amp plug, didn't have an internal fuse, and many noted an improvement. Gold plated sockets and plugs were available, and some simply polished the lacquer from the plugs. Totally agree about the importance of connectors and cables.
I don't have noise problems, it's more that i am curious to try out shielded power cables. Cheap enough to try for ****s n giggles. And yeah i connect the mantle on both sides of course if it's a single core cable. Makes sense to dump any rf right back into the ground of the wallsocket. Recently made some unbalanced to balanced cables and there a 2 core cable would have the shield floating and connected to the amp/destination only. That's where my reasoning came from
I remember a deal a couple of years back at Music Direct, $99 each IIRC. Meant to try a couple if them but never did...should have
Upgraded to better Shunyata cables and have Synergistic Research cables in the house for review. The SR cables are around $3K per ac cable. The upper end Shunyata cords go high too. I only have the Alpha in the system and it is excellent. Many say the Shunyata Sigma is much better.
I just changed out my very old service line—stranded copper with a rusty shield in places—for a new, solid aluminum line that is about twice as long (the location of the meter was changed). I also brought the grounding up to code. Changes are not subtle, but there are a couple of factors working. If I had it to do again, I might have splashed out for a copper line.
When Jim Weil from Sound Application visited us in the early 2000's, he checked the quality of the juice coming from our lines. He said it was the cleanest power he'd ever seen in a non-customized setup. I told him everything was fairly new and all wires were underground. He told me the line was quiet, constant and I didn't need to make any changes whatsoever. I guess that was a first for him. Now, when Tom Port had a dedicated line put in, I didn't like the sound. When he went back to the old line I liked it better. He put a kill switch on the thing so when playing music, everything else was unhooked, refrig, etc. That made a difference. But the dedicated line we didn't love.. So there ya go..
My aluminum wires were quite noisy especially if the clothes washer was running. Copper was so much better in my system.
I've been window shopping and reading up on PCs. Probably gonna buy a Wireworld Silver Electra 7 for my Parasound Halo integrated, being offered a really good "pre" Black Friday price right now. The other brand I was looking at is Cullen Cable the Crossover Series II power cord, there are for sure many brands out there, it can get confusing.
This is the one item in high end audio that just flabbergasts me. Power cords CAN'T POSSIBLY make a difference. All the wire from the power plant to my home, all my house wiring, all my components' internal wiring. And 3 feet of fancy power cord can make a sonic difference? I agree with the skeptics: NO WAY. BUT it does. My ears hear differences. And if I and a friend write secret notes on paper, during a comparison, our listening observations agree. So no matter how illogical the manufacturers' explanations are, and no matter how much sense the nay-sayers make, what I hear rules my opinion. What each of us hear IS our truth. If some don't hear the difference, I envy them for the money they can save. With MY ears, the differences are real and I would love to read a truly logical explanation.
