Accuphase E-5000 factory power cord good enough?

Good luck on trying different power cables as i didn't think they made much difference until I tried a much better one, quite a surprise for me!

  Been in the game for 40 plus years  took the last 10 years when I experimented to find out,

Unfortunately going to the wall doesn't work for me so into my TOT 50 as power where I'm renting flickers as I'm in my room .

The E-5000 is a wonderful integrated as I bought it after having the Esoteric F-05,

Best, Bob 

@megabyte Thanks

I’m not of the opinion that differences can be heard between well made power cords of suitable gauge and decent quality. But my Hegel h390 came with an 18 AWG cord, which while probably adequate, I felt might be slightly thinner than ideal. So I found a 14 AWG AQ nrgz3 new, open box for 150. Does it make a difference? Probably not. But I feel better knowing it’s heavier gauge and likely made better than the 18g generic my amp came with. 

@jl35 I agree, thank you!

I've found that used power cords hold their value extremely well, especially from companies that don't change their models very often...

duketbrd88

Thank You for the update. Staying tuned.

Happy Listening!

@jafant Still looking around. Looking at used and saving some money up. Not in a rush, it sounds great at the moment.

Write to Accuphase Japan and ask if a different power cord will make the sound better (lift more veils, add more organic serums, etc) than the cord they gave you. Ask them what cord you should specifically buy. Since they designed and built your amp, they could be more qualified to give you an answer than Agon power cord, AC outlet and fuse specialists.

duketbrd88

Where are you in your PC quest?

Happy Listening!

donquichotte

Thank You for citing your Cables/Cords. Accuphase gear already has robust power supplies (even their Disc spinners) so I have not felt the need to upgrade my DP-65v stock PC. At audio shows,  it would be of interest to learn brand(s) Accuphase exhibits.

Happy Listening!

An MIT Z Cord lll, non networked cord might be beneficial. New near $1900, used 1/2 or less. I like mine.

@danmar123 thanks! 

Look into ''Ice age cable". Good pricing for what they are.

@gibsonian $1,000 for a PC that is fatter than the internal wiring in the e5000 and the wiring in the home? 3'-6' of a power cord? I don't have the extra money like I did at the time of buying the e5000.

@tattooedtrackman 

👍👍

I’m of the opinion that power cords don’t really alter the sound of a system, unless it’s poorly made or not of suitable gauge.

That being said, if I have 10k let’s say in my integrated amp and speakers, I’d still spend a few hundred on a PC just for peace of mind, knowing my amp isn’t being even slightly hamstrung by a cheaply made cord.

So I found an open box but new Audioquest NRG Z3 PC and replaced the cheap 18 awg generic that came with my amp. Cost me $175.

Do I hear a difference? I can’t really tell if I’m honest. But I feel better knowing it’s a quality cord, that is well made and heavier gauge.

I did the same with my speaker cables. Bought a pair of Worlds Best Cables ultimate. 7 AWG. Well made, shielded, robust and high quality gold plated connectors that are solidly attatched and make a very tight connection in their receptacles. I had a pair of AQ Rocket 22, I found the banana plugs to be somewhat flimsy and not a very tight fit, and I’m happier with my WBC, for 1/3 the price.

To each his own. I’d like to believe you can drastically improve sound by upgrading a cable. But for me, it’s just about ensuring I have a certain minimum standard of quality in the power cord and speaker cables so as not to have a weak link. And I’m super happy with my system.

It’s all relative I suppose. If I had a $500k system, sure, I’d spend a few thousand on higher end cables, why not? 

my friend used to work for a very well-known HiFi manufacturing amplifier company, and they spend nothing on power cables because they just wanna prove it will turn on. They know no one will actually use them, and they just include them to prove to the dealer, the unit is functioning!!!

the only company that gives you a decent power cable is Boulder

if they gave it to you for free it’s worth nothing!

they just include a power cable to prove that the unit will turn on and demonstrate to the dealer that it’s not dead on arrival. 

If you don't drop a grand min on a PC you won't hear what your integrated can really do

@ghdprentice  +1 I just switched and purchased 4 AQ Dragon PCs. 1 for my ARC Ref CD9 source One for my ARC Ref 6SE source. 2 HC for my ARC Ref 750 mono amps 2 m ea. What an improvement. 👍👍👍Was using before Shunyata Sigmas for the Sources and King Cobras for my amps. 

Here’s my somewhat loaded but imo accurate answer. 
 

if it makes you feel good to have a hard core, above average cord, and spending the $ isn’t an issue then do it. It doesn’t even matter if you can hear a difference. There’s enjoyment and peace of mind that comes from these sorts of upgrades. Knowing you don’t have a weak link in your otherwise high end system is reward enough. 

@duketbrd88 : I'm using Copper Line power cords from a British brand called Clearer Audio on my amplifier (1 m long) and PC (a bit too long at 2.5 m thickening the sound a bit too much perhaps, I might shorten it to 2 m soon) - these are OCC copper - and a DIY copper cable with thick conductors that I bought from someone else (and I don't know what it's made of) for my SACD player / DAC. The connectors are also very important, I'm using one Furutech FI-E 38 (G) on the SACD power cable, one Furutech FI-28 (G) on the amplifier power cable and all the others are Furutech FI-11(Cu). Not the most dynamic, energetic sound, but dynamic enough for me and at the same time very smooth, colorful, textured, liquid, dare I say organic. It's very much a matter of taste and synergy, you have to try as many cables as you can in your own system.  

Dukebrd88,

These are the cables I can recommend, also a bunch of DIY.....but I'll only recommend these. The Zavfino models I use are the Majestic and Prima, the Majestic needs about 100 hours to settle in, the Prima about 150 hours.

Zavfino cables are OCC copper and Cryo treated, the Anti-Cables are OFC but rather large 8 gauge.

https://anticables.com/power-cords#!/Level-3-Power-Cord/p/14644872/category=3461168

.

@duketbrd88 I think you are good! Enjoi Accuphase sound! 

@vthokie83 do you happen to have any links to the ones you have?

@vthokie83 I will, setting some money aside, Thanks!

@westcoastaudiophile my stock cable is the same as you describe. Are you saying to get a better one?

my A48 Accuphase stock PC is heavy, ~12mm diam, 2m long. Cable with plugs measures 20mOhms, which is very low, comparing to other AC circuit elements, transformer alone is about 20 Ohms. Home pwr wiring has resistance btw 3..8mOhms/meter. Lower AC power resistance improves IR drop, and SN + dyn range at the end. 

Duketbrd88,

You have a $19,000 integrated amp, do yourself a favor and get a decent cord.....you have a bunch of really good recommendations here, some only $400 or so. Zavfino Majestic and Prima have been suggested a bunch, as have Anti-Cables Level 3; I own both and can highly recommend....all $350 to $550

@magnuman thanks

that's acoustic Zen this computer can't spell lol

if you're going to buy any power cords buy power cords made with OCC single crystal wire that is far superior to anything OFC on the market, zavfino is one of them, harmonic technology, acoustics then all these companies use OCC single crystal wire.

@jafant Thanks

duketbrd88

I, too, own an Accuphase (DP-65v) Reference player. So far, I have not felt the need to upgrade the stock PC. BTW, I am a firm believer in aftermarket Cables/Cords. Staying tuned to your thread.

Happy Listening!

donquichotte

What brand PC do you enjoy with your Accuphase E470 / SACD player?

Happy Listening!

I’m curious what everyone thinks about power cables with the molded ends like, PS audio prelude, audioquest NRG or a Pangea power cord?

@donquichotte Which ones do you use? Thanks

@duketbrd88 : I have an E470 Accuphase integrated and an Accuphase SACD player. Both of these machines benefit greatly from aftermarket power cords. Accuphase sound, if there is such a thing, is all about finesse, a refined sound with plenty of microdetail and timbral "rightness". Most of this is thrown out the window with the stock power cord. Also, a proper power cord allows for better macrodynamics, unleashing the dynamic potential of your mighty E5000.

@lalitk Thanks, I will try one sooner than later. I'm sure aftermarket one is better. Appreciate it!

@duketbrd88 

IME, the ‘stock’ cord is serviceable at best but not at same level as some of the aftermarket cords being suggested to you. Ultimately, only you can decide if aftermarket PC’s are worth the money. I have experimented with few cords on my Accuphase Integrated and each of them bettered the stock ‘black’ powercord. 

@retiredfarmer Damm, thanks! I'm pretty happy withe Equi=tech Son of Q balanced power supply I have had for years. Everything is dead silent with the "black background" that everyone talks about. I have a 200 amp service. Was just bored and started reading into power cords. It has four filtered outlets and 6 that are not. The filtered are for dacs and cd players etc. So, pretty damm happy with the sound for now.

Well here is a backwards way I think about power cords. I tried a bunch of power cords found some I liked. I ran dedicated  20 amp circuit s to my room six dedicated ones in fact. I ended up trying a furutech  top of the line receptacle  that was a mistake  if you want to save money. Lol so I bought five more in fact I bought extras  that were gold and rhodium  plated lol auditioned receptacles. I bought furutech ends for the powercords the top of the line ones and bought some second from the top gold plated ones then compared ends. And different  plugs into different  receptacles. So.e components  I like better with a rhodium  plug and a gold receptacle  some vise versa some with the same plating material.  As far as factory cords go my levinson  33h  has captive cords on them same thing can be said about there products  as accuphase  that the factories  spend time and dollars on there designs of equipment  but changing  the plug ends on the factory  cords was a huge difference.  Changed fuses very good improvement  I have not compared fuse to fuse yet but likely  will. Now for a big change that was awesome  but is way out there lol I upgraded  the service  into my home. I went from a 100 amp service  to a 200 amp service but what I really did or what I think made the difference  there was while I was at it the underground wire was aluminum  and I paid the extra 2k to have it replaced  with copper instead of the lower Guage aluminum. Lol that was huge not sure it would have showed as much without all the other power improvements. Personally  I am not a fan of any power conditioner. Everything g is direct I to the wall. The next things to look at will be upgrading  the power wire from the box to the receptacles. And cyro treated breakers. Perhaps  they work Perhaps not. That is the  life of the audio file  spend money to try things out and just because  you spend money doesn't  mean it will be good. Lol I have a closet full of wasted hi-fi  dollars. You sell it when you can and move on. There are times though when you make a change and try a piece you rejected in the past and with the new combo it sounds better not often but once in awhile.  The dhlabs redwave the generation  before the current  one I really like and the second from the top bulk furutech  I really like that is a great amp cord. Make sure you use the top end iec and plug ends on them. I have tried a bunch of ends and the higher you go the better basically.  That has been my experience.  Lol a thousand dollars  on the plug and iec before  you add the cord in there is worth it. 😉 

@jjss49 Yeah, It's crazy, Even looking is crazy because there are so many options. 

@westcoastaudiophile What Accuphase high grade power cables? The facory black one with molded ends is decent, i would say a bit thicker than some other standard ones I have seen.

@macg19 Thanks, yeah I understand what you are saying. Thanks

@westcoastaudiophile I have not. The OP didn't mention he had a "high grade" power cable. No mention of this in the specs either. Is this an optional item? 

@macg19 have you seen Accuphase high grade power cables? 

buy a used pc and try it... asking here will bring absolutely no clarity in your mind regarding the question ... you will hear replies all over the map and confusion and doubt will remain

@duketbrd88 great, your system at y9our usage mode is not sensitive to power connection resistance increase! Surge protection (xtra) is good, I’ve seen damaged equipment w/o it! 

enjoy the music! 

As a former naysayer, the answer is probably no. Everything matters.

However great quality can be had for a reasonable price and Zavfino is one of many good examples as they sell direct to consumer. Take out the distributor and dealer margin and you get a $1500 cable for $345.

Or buy used.

It should not come as a surprise that many high end audio manufacturers don't supply anything but a 50 cent power cable; it's a throw away item for those in the know, and a cost savings for those that are not.  

@westcoastaudiophile I did try plugging it into the wall outlet once and noticed no advantage.