Power cord replacement! Is it worth it?

[Suave]

Sorry for the late reply boubou. I'm glad to hear that you also ran dedicated power lines to av gear - this makes a tremendous difference in the quality of the sound and video that you're getting.

Of the various brands of cables that I've listened to, Nordost is definitely the one that provided the biggest improvement in sound. I'm actually thinking of upgrading the power cables in my systems to Nordost in the next few months (particularly my 2 channel system).

If you're thinking of upgrading the power cord of your MRX receiver perhaps the Nordost Vishnu would be a good choice:
http://www.nordost.com/Vishnu-Power-Cable-P38.asp

or a cable from their recently introduced Leif line up:
http://www.nordost.com/brands.asp?BrandCatID=36

[Suave]

With TAVES just around the corner, I thought this might be a good chance to bring this thread back to life.

If anyone would like to hear what difference upgrading various cables can make on the sound of an audio system, you should definitely check out one of the cable manufacturer rooms at TAVES. From past shows I know that Nordost runs amazing demonstrations, for both cables and other accessories. A Canadian company called Onda Systems has also told us that they'll be doing some nice cable comparisons/demos at the show.

[Spudso]

Sauve - did you ever upgrade your power cables, and if so which ones did you wind up getting?

[Suave]

I've been using upgraded cables in my 2 channel system for some time now Spudso - a mix and match of a few different brands.

With that being said, I've heard some really good things about the Nordost Leif line of cables and in fact will be ordering a number of them tomorrow (you asked at just the right time!). The idea is to outfit my whole system with the Leif cables and see how it sounds. I'll post my findings as soon as the cables arrive

[Spudso]

Thanks Suave. Looking forward to hearing your experiences with the Nordost cables.

[SoundGame]

I've been using upgraded cables in my 2 channel system for some time now Spudso - a mix and match of a few different brands.

With that being said, I've heard some really good things about the Nordost Leif line of cables and in fact will be ordering a number of them tomorrow (you asked at just the right time!). The idea is to outfit my whole system with the Leif cables and see how it sounds. I'll post my findings as soon as the cables arrive

I'm very interested in hearing your impressions on the Leif cables in your system. I personally attended the Nordost IC demo at TAVES and was impressed with how noticeable the improvements were as you move up the line.

Which Leif model of cables are you considering Suave - I've heard lots about Blue Heaven and Red Dawn.

[Suave]

I'm still trying to decide which line of Nordost cables I'm going to go with for my system.

In the meantime, we're also working on a Nordost giveaway which will be announced soon I will keep you guys posted.

[pharsyde]

I purchased a PS Audio power cable some time ago. I sensed an improvement. Plugged directly into the wall socket, than unto my AMP. I thought it was a sensible price to start too < $ 100

http://www.psaudio.com/ps/products/d...es-accessories

[Mogiemo]

It was the Nordost and ONDA systems room that openned my ears- ears! If that makes sense. I enjoyed the simple demo that the Nordost room did, and from that point I made it a mission to up grade the power cords on my gear. The fellow at ONDA Systems was also very knowledgeable - and not simply about pushing his product.

Albeit I went a little crazy - I ended up changing the interconnects and the speaker wires - this hobby is a nutty one for sure.

I had a new found friend Jon introduce me to some wonderful products from Silver Circle Audio, and each change was minor to wow. His skill and knowledge of pro audio and hifi was great. Jon spent the entire afternoon showing me and making minor tweaks in position and room acoustics - and by swapping cords and IC's....sorry I am deviating from the power cords, but his passion about audio it left me speechless. So let me continue.

I tried a combination of things with him - and I noticed so much difference with each movement and swap. Ok I am thinking perhaps placebo effect? I don't think so, with the resultant changes of all the power cords left me a believer, and the final test was the IC's - but 2 more ears are better than 1 I brought my understanding wife and she sat there in the room listening to the tweaks - SHE APPROVED!

Being the pessimist and wanting to make sure my ears were not blinded by the new baubles that now adorned my gear - I invited my friend who is typically trying to disprove things that do not make sense, and i felt he would be perfect - unbiased and extremly analytical. So I managed to pique his interest to run a demonstration of my madness, and to see how a skeptic would react. The resultant next 3 hours proved to be entertaining for sure.

So with all the wires in place I ran the same test. I removed all of them and set the system to stock manufacture plugs and Monster Cable IC's and a simple speaker wire called "STAGE" and unleashed it upon my engineer friend....can you say Skeptical??? Medicine water, hogwash, baloney, there is no way it will make a difference.....

To keep the conditions the same I ran the test playing the same track from Diana Krall

So i proceeded to do the test from the power plug all the way to the wires...I ran the system with everything in place - then I removed them and made it stock - the first word was it sounds ok - but its sounds smaller....something is definately missing....not impressed...

First a regular power cord to the Anthem D2 -switched with a Reference 3a immediate reaction a raised eyebrow...and a hrmmmmm. I took the same cord and installed a Silver Circle Audio Vesuvius. 2nd reaction - did you turn the volume up? ..NOPE.....

Then I replaced the Power Cable on the Cambridge Audio bluray player - the next reaction was sounds fuller...this time the cable was a simple Silver Circle Audio power cord...I could see the gears turning......

The next change was the Rotel amplifier first was the Reference 3a - again - did you change the volume? Then I switched it to a another Vesuvius - whoa what happened there? Has more detail and seems to have more clarity?

Here comes the fun part - I have a Paradigm Seismic 12 hooked up - I replaced th power cord with another Vesuvius - his reaction was Holy bass.....where did that come from? It sound fuller and not boomy - it has PUNCH...You must have turned the volume up! The bass now rolls, not thuds ----nope!

To finish off the test in terms of the power cords I saved the best for last - I plugged the Anthem and the Rotel directly into a brand spanking new Furutech GTX-D Gold receptacle. Before I did this my friend and I engaged in a interesting conversation of how can a power receptacle make any difference? The power wires come from the same source- the difference from your super bling socket and a Home Depot special- NO WAY! - I plugged it in and proceeded to play the track....his reaction in a utshell was - OK that simply does not make sense.....it does sound fuller, more clear, faster?? It appears the gear does not see the wires and the hundreds or thousands of feet. But the first thing it sees IS where it starts - the wall socket.

I could go on and on, but yes the Power cords do make a difference and 3 sets of ears can hear the difference, some subtle, but for sure this was no placebo. I do not have trained ears, nor do I say i am a professional listener...but my ears are much happier. My friend certainly can agree, that there was changes - some created a muffled sound, to a larger stage, more clear voice, and sweet highs. That audition certainly has put ideas in his head to crunch - and now theorize why? I am also curious to see if my Silver Circle Audio Vesuvius power cord would make a difference on his MRX-500, unfortunatley he is running off a power bar - hopefully my 6 ft Vesuvius can find a its way to a receptacle.

Thanks to the TAVES show, and a few brilliant and helpful vendors - i have ventured into and aspect of home audio I never thought I would ever change, and i will never look at a regular power cord the same. I found myself hunting and researching IC 's and power cords more than the gear itself. I have been enlightend with some simple theories: The sonic characteristics of each companies cable is derived from the materials, the construction and the isolation and shielding, each companies product should yield a different sound.....a wire is simply not a wire - but a conduit to which can be manipulated to create an individual character......Ok I am a believer.....
It appears some of the vendors would be happy to supply demo cables -hopefully you are able to demo before you purchase. There seems to be which is better?...When one should be looking for more of what sounds more pleasing to you?

The quest continues.. Apologize if this reply was a long winded one but this topic was something that struck a cord with me - pun intended...

Have fun, I know I am. Next step dedicated powerline to the Furutech GTX-D! And the sub woofer.