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In Reply to: Re: Hi Billyjo posted by Billyjo on April 24, 2002 at 20:03:24:
I started with the PLC and then focused on power cords, but that may not be the best approach for you. The difficulty you seem to be facing is the ability to try out the product that we might recommend before you buy it. Purchasing a power cable or any component without the benefit of home audition first is extremely problematic. Also, it is true that many PLCs don't have the power or current handling capabilities to work well with amps. My PP-1 does, I believe the Hydra does and there may be a few others that do.I think if I were in your position, which is limited access to US products and looking primarily for a power cord for your amp, I would start by emailing Virtual Dynamics to see about purchasing one of their cables with a money back guaranty. Tell them as much as you can about your system and needs and see what they recommend.
You could also call them. I have done that and they are very willing to help.
The reason I'm suggesting Virtual Dynamics is due to the fact that you don't currently have a PLC and the VD products may be one of the best for running directly from wall to amp.
Of course, I've never heard VD cables, so my advice is of limited value. However, there have been a number of positive comments posted here regarding their power cables.
Back to something I have tried, if there were any way you could obtain a Platinum Power PP-1 to audition and it were in your budget, I strongly suggest you try it. I run monoblock Rowland Twelves, the 400 wpc subwoofer amps of my Vandersteen Fives and all my source equipment off it with stellar results.
Follow Ups:
I wrote that last response right after I got up this morning. Now that I’ve had a good slug of coffer, I’m going to try for a little more clarity.Logically, it seems to me that only two things can happen to power between the wall and the equipment – either (1) damage (to the power in the cable or to signal in adjacent cables in close proximity) or (2) filtering.
You and I have both been exposed to technical arguments over the type of damage that can occur as a result of power cables and its audibility. Even though my experience tells me that some power cables do less damage than others, I’m not convinced that the yeasayers have made a convincing technical argument that explains why some cables will do less damage than others that leads to sonic differences.
But I think everyone agrees that the power coming into our homes carries with it RFI. There is disagreement over the capacity of our equipment’s power supply to filter out RFI obviating the necessity of further filtering of the line current, but at least there is common agreement that RFI leaking into the signal stage is a bad thing. In addition, most PLCs employ traditional methods for power filtering (transformer, capacitive filter circuits, or both), rather than the voodoo magic that seems to surround the power cord issue. The issue with filtering seems not to be whether it is real, but rather (1) how to do it without creating adverse side effects, such as compression of dynamics, and (2) is filtering of the line current necessary.
My own experience tells me that further filtering of line current beyond what my equipments’ power supplies are capable of produces significant sonic improvements.
Now, as to your situation, you are looking primarily at your power amp. As I previously said, not all PLCs have the capacity to handle power amps. Some people believe you are always better plugging an amp directly into the wall. With my PP-1, I have found that running amps off of my PLC is superior to coming straight out of the wall. However, if I were starting from scratch today, I would probably try a power cable for my amps that claimed effective filtering before going to a PLC for my amps, because this is the simpler circuit for getting power from wall to equipment and there is less chance on inserting additional problems in the process. That is why I’m suggesting you consider trying to audition Virtual Dynamic cables.
Other cables, such as TG Audio cables, may also claim to provide filtering. Since I’m primarily concerned with getting power from my PLC to the equipment I have not really focused much on cable company claims regarding the filtering qualities of their cables.
Since Bob Crump and other cable manufacturers can’t discuss their products here unless someone asks a question, I’ll pose this question to Bob and any other cable manufacturer who cares to respond: do your power cables provide filtering, and if they do, could you explain how they accomplish such filtering?
During my stint at AR, I grew accustomed to peppering my posts with all sorts of disclaimers. So, I include the following disclaimer with this post.
DISCLAIMER: The preceding post was written by a lawyer who, when discussing technical issues, has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. Anyone who relies in any way on the foregoing should be committed.
Thanks again, IMO i think the the PS Audio is a little inefficient. But it's widely available both in UK and HK, maybe i'll give that a try. However i'll still get myself a decent PLC even if they're not suitable for amps. I think the front end, CDP, turntable and pre benefit the most from a decent main power. I'd love to try my NBS PC with my amp but sadly it wouldn't fit into it's 16A IEC socket. When i bought my Nordost RED Dawn speaker cables, i asked them if they can custom-make me one for 16A socket, and they refused. My dealer found me a manufacturer that is happy to do one for me, they're not exactly expensive ones (about $300) buti'll give them a try anyway. He also said that there's alternative to PLC, which is using a $500 main distribution device with filters but no caps and transformers. He's still trying it on their system and see i they're worth recommending to me.
The bulk of the filtering is built in the low inductance/highly capacitive wire I have made up, but do use a little network in the IEC to tune the cords differently as respects frequency balance....If you have gotten past the two week suckout on the SLVR cords then I think you will agree that they don't make a mess of dynamics like most all line filters used with large amplifiers....I do think it is possible to build a line filter that will work with amps, but the tough part is breaking the things in as most all amps present a variable draw on the line so at low volumes, in class A, an amp might draw 300 watts and this might go to 800 or 1,000 watts at full tilt on a fast moving peak (I use big amps here too!) and it will sound different and normally less dynamic on the peaks....Sound familiar? So if one believes in state dependent break-in one would need to use 1,000 watts to break in the line filter for thirty days or have problems with dynamics....
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