What powercords do you use? Stock, middle budget aftermarket, best you can afford?

Just wondering what is the sort of powercords used.
No fuss over theory, or discussion. Just names and maybe prices.(and perhaps a bit of why you bought them?)

I use all Pangea Powercords for the detachable cords in my system.
I have a bunch of Pangea AC14SE for stuff like source components and my Plasma TV.
A few Pangea AC9 like the four meter one to my bryston 4B-SS², and a three meter on to my PS Audio P-600 conditioner
And a few Pangea AC9SE to my Furman REF20i Conditioner, and to two preamps.
I like the long ones.. So I have some four meter a three meter, and a few two meter powercords.
The four meter Pangea AC9SE cost $300 each on sale last August.

The most noticable changes were the cord to the Furman REF20i being changed from the Pangea AC9 to the AC9SE (I had changed the Furman's 20 amp IEC to a heavy duty Furutech 15amp IEC so i could use standard powercords on it) I was really suprised at the positive change.
The first pangea on my now sold Forte 4a
And on the Plasma TV


I first tried a Pangea because they were really cheap (even more so than now when first introduced) And as cheap as i could make. So I tried one and was suprised i coule hear the difference right off on the amp i had then, a Forte 4a.. Before then I relly did not think a powercord could be 'heard'. I bought a few more.. and after a long period of waffling, I finally sprang for the more expensive Pangea AC9SE.. though I did return one which was no better than the AC9 in that position. (for the Bryston amp.)
So I am pretty much set for powercords. And have no futher plans to experiment any further.

 

Mainly Cardas right now, very happy with them.

 

Mostly Shunyata now. I really like them. I noticed better bass and lower noise once installed.

 

Nordost Valhalla's for my monoblocks, Nirvana for my cd player. A stock PC for my Octave preamp.

I could get the Nordost for relatively cheap (a colleague was eager to purchase Nordost Odin's and he had to finance them partly by selling his Valhallas)

I purchased the Nirvana because I needed a good and, even more important, very flexible powercord which had to be connected through a small space at the highest level of my rack (a real construction mistake in my rack)

 

all stock, except for I do have an audioquest one someone gave me (maybe $90-$100 msrp) I do use it because it seems to fit better and not fall out like the stock one I don't remember noticing a diff in sound.

 

Hi, Elizabeth. I used a variety of modest cords back in the late 80's-early 90's. I switched out to various Shunyata stuff in the early to mid-2000's, using some of the pricier stuff that i bought used, with a mix of the less expensive stuff along with their earlier versions of the power conditioning boxes then on the market. Once I redid the electrical system with dedicated lines, I was able to eliminate the power conditioning (my amp manufacturer recommends against any power conditioning) and eventually transitioned to Kubala cable throughout the system (with one exception, i use the entry level Shunyata on my turntable motor control box, which I consider to be the least critical in my system).
There is a lot to be said for 'same brand/house sound' wire throughout the system. I did upgrade one link to the top tier Kubala interconnect in the step from phono stage to line stage, but all else Kubala is the Emotion, not the Elation, power cords, interconnect and speaker cable (which had previously been MIT, then Cardas and van den Hul) . I've been very satisfied with these Kubala cables and other than the phono stage cable upgrade, haven't made any changes in 6 or 7 years on the wire front. I think the degree of improvement may vary, depending on the gear, and some cables seem to be more sympatico with certain systems/components than others.

 

Synergistic Research for me.

 

Stock. I have it in mind to experiment with upgraded ones one day , for interests' sake, but don't currently (ha ha...) get any kind of sense that the stock ones are hampering things. In all honesty I'd be surprised and amazed if I found that they made much difference, but could well be proved wrong!

 

Signal cable here for pwr cords, IC also have MIT/XLO . Luv the Signal cable for the price can't be beat! IMO> Frank is a pleasure to deal with located in NYC.

http://signalcable.com/silverresolutionpower.html

sean

 

I use stock AC cords unless the Hoover eats one. In that event, I go to the electrical section at Sutherlands and look for a replacement of the same size and rating. I do have a freebie Pangea from AudioAdvisor that I've never had occasion to take out of the box.

 

I have a number of Signal Cable Magic Power PCs. To be honest I did not notice any SQ differences between them and the stock PCs. I put the stock PCs back in place due to thickness of the Magic Power PCs. They were just to difficult to use in my system as I have limited space to route cables. I also have a few Zu Audio PCs (forget the model) that I still use as they are much easier to mange than the Magic Power PCs. As with the Magic Power PCs I notice no obvious SQ differences with the ZU Audio PCs.

When I first tried these PCs I wanted to hear SQ improvements when they were added to my system. But in all honesty I couldn't hear any differences. If I could I highly doubt I would be able to chose which was which in a A-B comparison.

I don't doubt what some say regarding the improvements in the SQ of aftermarket PCs in their systems. I just do not think I have the ability to discern fine SQ differences in my system. Either that or my system is not as resolving as others.

Bill

 

Pangea. Happy with them at this point. But who knows when upgradeitis might strike? However, paying for a new kitchen keeps those devils away for now.

 

I have Shunyata Zitron Viper power cables on my SACD player, main power amp and phono stage. A Shunyata Zitron Cobra P/C feeds my prepro, and a Synergistic Research cable supplies wall A/C to my Synergistic Research conditioner. My power amp for my center/surrounds is hooked up with an old Audioquest cable. The rest of my system (Oppo player, turntable, A/D converter) uses stock cables.

The main improvements were a much lower noise floor and quicker, less constrained dynamics. The soundstage gained some depth too.

 

I first discovered the value of power cords with the PS Audio xStream series, the Prelude (low end). When the PerfectWave series came out I found a used AC-12 and was just bowled over. Now I am trying to wire my whole system with AC-12s which I am trying to get used at decent prices. I just need two more and will have them in time. Currently I'm using AC-10s in those two spots.

Just an amazing cable, shoulders above others I've tried (even the AC-10). Great open sound with accurate tonal balance and imaging.

 

The Black Sand Statement One between the line conditioner and the wall and the Silver Reference MKIV to the power amp. I had tried others, Cardas, Anti-cable and Blue Jean, but they either did nothing or had a smearing effect. Funny thing is... when these two PCs are reversed they don't have the same magic.

 

I don't "believe" in power cables, but I've still ended up buying some brand name ones when I could get them really cheap, just because they look cool. Got some QED, Supra, Cardas etc.

 

I'm another satisfied Pangea user. Very happy with them in my main rig and am planning on adding them to my 2nd system in my office.

 

I use Nordost Shiva power cords. They were a big improvement over the stock Belden style power cords that came with my equipment.

Scott

 

DIY consisting of DH Labs Power + cable and Marinco male and IEC. Then cryogenically treated. About $75 each and I find it to be an excellent all around cord (as in good on all components) and better than a number of commercial offerings that I experimented with up to the $400 or so price point. In use on my line conditioner, integrated, phono stage and blu-ray player.

 

I have Audience Au24, Crystal Cable Ultra and Shunyata Venom 3 in my system.

 

Stock. I spent a few bucks on two 20A dedicated circuits. That's about as far as I care to go...

 

Stock. If the wires in the walls of my house are nothing special, I see no reason to spend extra money on the wire that carries the electricity the last 3-6 feet to the component.

As long as the wire is properly rated to carry the correct load, I'm good.

 

Stock.

-Bill

 

Several Cardas Gold Reference and several Nordost Heimdall 2. As good as they sound, the Nordost QX4 and QB8 take them to another level.

 

Costly power cords have amused me for a while. Folks could have dedicated circuits for less money in several cases. Renters are out of luck in this regard, oftentimes.