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I find my current system lacking in "weight". Therefore I'm on the hunt for a power cord that, for lack of a better word, has a "beefy" sound. I want to hear the guitar strings "twang" and drums "thud" with authority. I have an airy sounding presentation currently, with plenty of resolution. Weight is what I need.I'm presently using the stock power cords on my equipment. Everything is connected to a Shunyata hydra 4 and the Hydra is connected via Vh Audio's AirSine to my wall outlet.
Opinions? Recommendations?
Follow Ups:
I meant that I had the cords on the ASL Hurricanes, not the Hales (wouldn't THAT be a good trick!)
The older Shunyata, particularly the King Cobra V2, has an enormous sense of weight. Weight, as I've experienced it, is a function of the midbass authority inherent in a component. Without midbass weight, the presentations lack a fully rounded three dimensional sense of things. Upper bass also helps.
The older Shunyata line had, like the old NBS cables, considerable weight from the lower midrange down, similar to Rowland's earlier products, such as the Coherence I preamp, and the Model 5 and 7 amplifiers.
While I agree that the Nordost has great bass clarity, that is not the same thing as "weight." The Nordost (and I've owned it) has great bass dynamics, transparency and low-level detail, but the poster specifically mentioned "weight." The Nordost will, in my experience, NOT have the sense of weight of the King Cobra V2s. I owned two of them, and had them on my Hale Rev 3s and they were superlative. Whatever else the flaws of the older Shunyatas (a slightly sucked out upper midrange, which takes the bite out of viollins), they have the midbass weight that gives authority to brass instruments, which, without that weight, will not have the "golden glow" that bespeaks accurate reproduction of sound. This is why Conrad Johnson products are superb at reproducing brass: they never "slight" the midbass frequencies. That is part of their trademark sound, and Shunyata leans in that direction, too, at least with the older products. I'm not as sure that the current products have the same sense of authority, an idea borne out by the most recent review in Soundstage, which unambiguously points out that there is less bass than in other products, although it was asserted that the bass was extremely clear.
So, Shunyata is my vote (older, I must emphasize). Python is good, but the King Cobras, which I may yet again purchase, are the Kings.
Check out DCCA Audio power cords. I tried a Ref-1 not too long ago that I would describe as contributing to a very full sound - particularly in the mid range - but yet with a very nice balance top to bottom. They often sell their demos at Audiogon and all their cables come with a evaluation period.
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Nordost Valhalla is THE power cord for lightning fast bass. It has high resolution with a DEAD BLACK background, which reveals even more resolution!If the bass doesn't make you say OMG then there must be something wrong with your system, this cord is very revealing! After plugging them into my amp and CD player it has made me curse every day.
I thought they were overpriced at first, but a year later I made an honest comparison to other cables and heard the truth. The power cord makes a bigger improvement than the Valhalla interconnect. IMO, it's the component that's the closest thing to PERFECTION in this hobby, it does nothing wrong!However, if it isn't in your budget I would get PS Audio xStream Statement. I have 3 of them and they give a HEAVY sound but they are slow.
Hi Patrick,I could not agree with you more! I also found that having both the Valhalla interconnects and speaker cable one can attain a more realistic portrayal of scale and weight. This weight is brought about in the way of "real depth of texture" in the low frequencies that I feel other cables obscure.
IMO I think we audiophiles tend to confuse a fat mid-bass with weight of tone when it actually hides the real detail, richness of textures and timbre that hide beneath. For me the complete Valhalla cabling was a learning lesson in what neutrality really is.
All the best,
Tom
The HT PC sounds weighty and transparent.
Cardas is definitively laid-back and mellow.
I hope this helps
There are lots of different aftermarket power cord designs, and the details of their interactions with your equipment are beyond any ability to determine ahead of time.However, there is one basic effect that you should explore first.
The wire gauge in the power cords should help determine your system's tonal balance.
14-gauge gives a good treble/midrange balance. 16- and 18-gauge favor the treble and diminish the midrange. Not only is this bad for warmth, it may also give you the impression of weak bass.
You can get 14-gauge shielded Volex cords for reasonable cost. If you are otherwise happy with your sound, these may be all you need to get a tonal balance you like.
I tend to agree with the insights you mention based on typical stock and hospital grade PVC power cords. However, high performance audiophile quality power cords often have an unpredictable tonal balance based on effective gauge, IME.
If you upgrade your stock power cords with high performance types, you might find that your system's gestalt will change in a manner that has nothing to do with using a power cord with a "beefy" sound. The bottom end should open up if you select well matched high performance power cords...If you move in the other direction; DH Labs Power Plus is a next-step-up from typical stock power cords, has a punchy bottom end, and a level of bloom. It's inexpensive when bought per bulk length for DIY projects, but if you don't do DIY a few sellers offer a premade version that costs less than half-the-price of a factory terminated version. I'll post links if you wish.
They are expensive, but there is no doubtly this attribute.I should note that I have nothing that you enumerate in my system, so your results may differ. I would suggest giving IsoClean a listen, however.
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the increased presence of my low end was amazing.Instant and immediately apparent opening of the bass response.Can't beat it for the dough.
Before the power cord, make sure you have a lot of power at the outlet.You can go a long way running 10 guage (12 min) up to a hubbell receptacle dedicated for your amp.
CD players benefit a lot from this as well (not sure why) but turntables less so. I have 2 dedicated lines. Both of them 10 guage. Not easy to do many times but well worth the effort.
IME, the PS Audio Lab ll Power cables will deliver exactly what you are looking for. Even though they are no longer made, I am sure there is still stock left and you could pick it up at a deep discount.Try http://www.fatwyre.com/
Good luck,
kenster
nt
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