Told this story before but in the spirit of "Trying anything once" I actually tried two different aftermarket power cables. Nothing super expensive but I expected a $150 power cable to sound better, not worse. Each cable made my amps sound worse.
I dont think better or worse apply really. What you thought was worse in your system maybe better in mine. But whats important is that its different. Cant try 1 or 2 power cords and make a judgement. Every single one sounds different and each component will sound different with each cord. If one is good on your amp it may not be on your DAC. Most cheaper ones and cheaper brands put little to NO efforts into actually listening to them. they make them, they look good and the specs are right so their job is done - but its NOT. When a company makes cords that lots of people like its because they actually listened and listened and listened on different gear and different rooms till they find something they want to sell and put thier name on. Its a reason why I dislike the cheap cable makers - they aren't listening to anything and are of no use to me. Its pot-luck if they sound any good at all. One day try 3-5 different $1000 power cords and tell me how you feel afterwards. I apologize in advance for the very large and deep rabbit hole that it is.
Stick with reputable cable maker like Cullen, signal cable etc. and call it a day. BTW you will spend more than 150, but you don't have to. People have had good luck with Amazon cables though...... DIY is also a good route if you want to
definitely chifi though. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074GP1KM...t_i_RS32XN0RDG704Z1ZX7D6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 never even thought about ul listing but theyve been great. a bit stiff though but they look nice. a rats nest, i know. but im always tinkering.
I agree. Excellent power cables, I’ve Supra LoRad 2.5’s connected to 5 of the components in my sound system (CD player, line stage, phono stage, power amp and headphone amp). They’re manufactured here in Sweden and holds hospital (and even military) grade level. An affordable option, I’m very happy with my LoRad’s. Highly recommended!
It might be difficult on that budget, even just one cord at $150 would only start crossing the threshold were any change is worth it. Why don't you consider buying second hand a board like the Isotek Polaris. You might get better bang for your money instead of having a very tight budget for 3 cords and even that, still would bring only a small change, so keep your expectations in check.
FWIW, in USA the local Fire Marshall will determine fire causes not an insurance adjuster. Below is a link to DH Labs audiophile grade bulk cabling sold by the foot. Generally speaking shielded 14 AWG is adequate for source compnents & unshielded 12 AWG is best for power amps, so for $90 plus shipping you've got cabling that has historically been recommended as great 'entry-level' value by a LOT of audiophiles. https://silversonic.com/products/bulk-wire-and-cable/ Here's a link for some decent looking plugs, although I haven't heard how well they actually sound. Vanguard For Audio Pure Copper Gold Plated IEC connector C-320G + P-320G US plug | eBay Best of luck to ya.
I also use Supra Lo-Rad 2.5 and 1.5 and the are very good indeed. Also use the Belden 19364 with my Naim gear. Last week ordered some Gotham 85025 for my digital sources (recommended by Alvin Lee, of Denafrips) All are DIY terminated with audio quality plugs.
I recently replaced all of my cords with the Supra LoRad MkII cords. What a game changer these are! You can't go wrong with these.
The only reason you would spend extra on a power cable (over the stock cable your stuff came with) is for gonzo or smart shielding that fully nullifies any stray fields from screwing around with nearby components, interconnects, speaker cables, etc. The price will depend on a) how much of a "patriot" you are and b) how much you care about the "country of origin", of course. Good luck.
I think DH labs does a nice job for a good cheap neutral power cord same with Cullen. I found power cables made no difference until my system got to a certain level of transparency and suddenly it was obvious.
I got suckered into buying massive girth expensive power cords and interconnects when I bought my system four years ago. Ended up selling them all and replacing them with Blue Jeans cable. Can't hear a difference but that's just me. For power cords I bought Iron Box brand from PDU Whips for inexpensive rugged high quality cords that don't break the bank. StackPath
I definitely believe that. I once made a really fancy DIY power cable with thick braided copper shielding and it was worse than generic. Synergy is important. My advice to the OP is to buy a bunch of used ones, keep any that you think are worth it, and re-sell the rest for essentially what you bought them for. That way you can get a breadth of testing in without losing much or any money.
All my power cables were picked up on the used market. Many different manufacturers,all within my budget. My favorites are Virtual Dynamics.
I’ll let Benchmark know that their power cables are deemed insufficient and that they need to up their game. Being the clueless doofs that they are, they’ll surely be grateful for the advice.
I'm thinking about changing my power cable as well was going to give this one a try https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2572/6926/products/XIEC_web.png?v=1659630546 But I was wondering about the wall worts for my rega phone stage a speed controller for my p6 they seem to be very cheap. I think they are Unshielded. I know ifi makes have had any experience with these.Thank you in advance. sorry not good a linking emotiva brand
A blast from the past! Never used their power cables, but enjoyed their David speaker cables for many years.
I picked up 35 feet of 12g extension cord from Loews. Cut the length in half, stripped the outside jacket and braided the three wires. Added an outside sleeve, Hubble connectors, and sounds good to me. Cheers, Doug
You cannot go wrong with Jenving Supra LoRad 3x2.5 shielded power cables. Tommy Jenving, the founder of Jenving is a former Ericsson engineer who approaches cable design from a pure engineering standpoint, and Jenving designs and manufactures their wire and cable. There are many boutique cable manufacturers who do not manufacture their own wire and cables. They contract manufacturing to others and charge outrageously high prices for superficial features. Jenving started the whole idea of high performance audio cables based on rational engineering measurements and data, not on abnormally large wire diameters, filler fluff, and colorful sleeves. There is a great YouTube video on how to construct your own Supra LoRad power cables, and I definitely recommend using the optional crimp sleeves to make assembly much easier. You will need to use a digital multimeter (DMM) to verify the cable connections are correct (L, N, G) and insure they are secure. DIY saves money, but as others have said, you better know what you are doing. Next best power cable to these are the hospital grade 14ga power cables available through Amazon seller CableWholesale.
From my listening experiences my tube power amp and tube preamp don't like shielded power cords. Shielded power cords suck the air out of the music. They also rolled off the high frequencies. My guess is your tube power amps won't like shielded cables either. As for the phono preamp you could experiment trying shielded vs a non shielded power cords. As for a 2ft shielded power cord from everything I have read it would not provide any RFI or EMI shielding. It's too short. Going from memory 3ft is bare minimum. 4-1/2ft to 5ft will provide better rejection of RFI/EMI. Just a suggestion you might want to try out renting some cables from The Cable Company first before just buying cables and see how they sound in your system. https://www.thecableco.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItOSUi8_v_AIVMwetBh1ifgI0EAAYASAAEgJRPfD_BwE Power cords can and do make a difference on how audio equipment will sound in an audio system. Sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. The biggest change in sound from power cords, from my listening experiences, is when used to power digital equipment. FWIW I am a believer in solid core conductors over stranded conductors. (Solid core Hot and neutral conductors being multiple 16ga or 18ga individually insulated wires paralleled together making an equivalent higher gauge conductor for the Hot and neutral conductors.) For your power amps a minimum equivalent wire gauge of #12ga. .
Audioquest and WireWorld have some good offerings in this price range. https://www.thecableco.com/cables/power-cables.html
This one is really good and one I still use in an upstairs system…if you can stretch a little. Shunyata - Venom V14 Power Cable
