Best bang? New power cord or power conditioner?

It's decent enough to benefit from power tweaks imho.

 

This because I got more bang for the $

 

Basically, I'm buying a multi outlet conditioner to organize my cords. Just wanted general feedback and I got what I expected: 75% good information and 20% Mr. Obvious answers ( why not try one yourself? Etc). I have not bought into the replacement cord thing yet. I have not compared nor will I until I get better equipment. However, audiophiles that I have personally talked to told me the cord thing is overrated. I'm thinking, if top audiophile companies in fact do use top line internal components and wiring inside their components, why would they include just a standard power cord? Especially if there isa noticeable improvement. You say to keep cost down? Then why not cut cost somewhere else?

 

Abery, my experience with PCs is that they are absolutely NOT overrated. A very good PC yields a big improvement in sound. I upgraded the PCs on my amp, phono pre amp, and my conditioners. But not all PCs yield improvements. I've borrowed $100 to $300 PCs that were fully burned in, and some of them sounded horrible--no better than the $2 cord that comes with equipment. So not all audio grade PCs are worthwhile.

 

And, perhaps more importantly and certainly less expensive, proper placement of listening position and speakers.

SEE HERE

 

What level of power conditioners (price, brand, etc) are worth buying. I really do not see myself spending over $700. First I need multiple outlets and good surge protection. Second, I need it to last years and NOT be the size of a giant Subwoofer. Anything else is a bonus.

 

I think the type and quality of the cord or conditioner is more important than which one to get first. As Liz ( above ) has already stated, inexpensive or poorly designed cables and conditioners are a waist of money.
My own opinion on power cords is " go big or go home ".

 

I looked at your listed system, aberyclark, and don't see an amplifier listed. If you were to try some after-market power cords, where would you put them?

 

Without beating a dead horse the more revealing your system is the more power cords and conditioners will make a difference - some times the change will be good and some times it won't. Whether or not the power cord/conditioner has been broken in can make a pretty big difference too.

You can try out different cables pretty cheaply through The Cable Co when you're ready to do some experimenting.

 

What is being broken in, and can you speed up the break in process?


Steve

 

You can certainly speed up power cord break in.

Put them on something else for a month - like a refrigerator, vacuum cleaner (assuming you use it a lot), an electric fan etc. I put them on big Unix servers at work for a month before I take them home.

 

When my Hydra 6 and Diamonback power cable came I ran a window AC unit through it for a week. Anything that pulls decent current will work.

 

Hey Geoff, would higher current be better than less as far as time is concerned?


Steve

just saw cabbagetowns response. Thanks

 

I agree with Geoff. I put my PCs on my dehumidifier for about a month. That's how I break in my IECs too.

 

Like I stated in an earlier post, I was just throwing the PC out there to see which best bang for buck. Also, like I stated in earlier post, my main objective is a conditioner.

 

How many outlets do you need? If it's 4 - 6 you can definitely get a decent LC for your budget. I really like the Richard Gray power RGPC 400 Pro myself.

 

Tried a lot of the cheaper Conditioners and some more expensive ones and found Running Springs or Shunyata to work best for me, my rig, and my room. If you wait and time it right, you can get a great deal on a used one if MSRP is too daunting.

Conditioner + Power Cords can make a system shine. But don't forget about placement of equip, seat and of course acoustic room treatments (one of the best bang for the buck changes)

 

What about the quality of cord that leads to the conditioner?

Mine use 12/3 type SJ FT-2's with a twist lock at the conditioner.


Steve

 

At your budget level, I would not do either.

If you know how to solder, perhaps you should look into making your own power cords and interconnects. Much more labor intensive, but lots of bang for the buck.

You shouldn't buy anything that you have not had listening experience with first.

ccm

 

I wrote Mcintosh and asked about upgraded power cords. The response was, "the designers of Mcintosh products have concluded that using aftermarket power cables will yield no sonic benefit".

This looks like they have actually studied and tested aftermarket cords. I would like to see more details of their study

 

Well I just don't know what to believe any more. This turns my world upside down.

[assumes fetal position on floor, rocks gently back and forth]

 

Same here! Perhaps you can ask Mac exactly what cords they tried and if they have a results sheet we can view.

No kidding, every power cord I've tried has a different sonic signature to it.

I agree with this completely and any reputable cable manufacturer will allow an in-home trial before purchase. At least that's been my experiences.

 

Unfortunately, they happen to be wrong.

In my experience with power cords and distributors over the last two years, more is better. In other words, you will receive a much better overall improvement using 4 $125 Shunyata Venom3 power cords on four components than 1 $ 595 Shunyata Black Mamba. A really good power distributor, like a Shunyata Hydra 8 can bring a component-level improvement if your system has sufficient resolution, but I found that the improvement that a Hydra 4 brings is comparable, or slightly less than having multiple power cords. But if I were to do one at the "entry level" I would opt for as many cords on as many components as possible first, then add a good distributor as budget allows.

And the reason they work is not directly correlated with the quality of AC power coming into the house. They primarily work by reducing the EMI and RFI noise that spills out of all your components in your rack from getting INTO the cord to be amplified by the connected component as additional noise, 2) preventing EMI and RFI from the cord pulling AC from getting OUT of the cord into other (unsheilded) components to be amplified as additional noise and 3) providing sufficient current during dynamic swings.

 

Great post Puma and I agree.