koestner-
The candidates I have so far are: Pangea AC-9 SE Mk ll, Audio Envy Ocean
3, or a PS Audio AC10 (used for about $300). Any thoughts?
I think nobody answered your question. The way to choose between these (or any) power cords (or anything else for that matter) is to read listener impressions and select the one you think is the best match with your personal preferences.
So if you prioritize air and extension choose the one people say has air and extension. If you prize imaging go for the one with a deep and wide sound stage. Or if you want great bass, etc.
This is what you do because contrary to conventional wisdom power cords (or anything else for that matter) do not "match" with other components. They work and sound just the same no matter what they are used with.
I have one right now, a guy sent me to evaluate. It has really outstandingly good image focus, palpable presence and detail, quite good midrange, a lot of top end extension (a little too much, tipped up) and weak bass. When I told him this I was a little surprised to hear him say his focus with building this was really good imaging.
So he knew it had good imaging. From listening to it with his system. Which is entirely different than mine. So these things do perform the same regardless of where they are used. No amount of repeating the same false contrary opinion will ever change this simple fact.
This works because the idea that nothing upstream of a power supply matters is bunk. Clearly, obviously, bunk. The power supply in virtually every component out there, virtually every component ever made, consists primarily of some caps and diodes. The diodes convert AC to DC and the caps store the DC. The idea being the caps store so much power they can never be drained and so will provide an absolutely perfectly stable and steady source of power.
This never happens. Oh, it gets pretty close. It is real easy to measure and say it varies by only some microscopically tiny amount. Problem is, virtually all our sense of exactly what and where something is comes from the most delicate fine details. Such fine detail is easily lost.
This is why no matter how big or great or fine the power supply caps, the difference in diodes is easy to hear. Super easy. Freaking obvious! First electrical mod I ever did, $8 for diodes, blew me away!
Power cords are no different. Power supply caps don't result in perfect power, so we can hear diode changes- and also power cord changes, power conditioner changes, AC outlet changes, AC wiring changes, breaker panel changes, on and on.
This is by now so obvious and well known there really are only two kinds of people who still waste time arguing about it: those who haven't bothered to try and actually hear, and those who have but did so with either crap systems or crap comparisons.
I have seen examples of both. So I don't even have to resort to the third alternative, that people can't hear. Everyone in my experience can hear. Have yet to find the exception. They sure do in my system, which is so fantastically resolving you have to hear it to believe it. And they do with my comparisons, because I know from experience which are easy for anyone to hear and which are close enough to call for my skill level to discern. The way I do A/B it is simply not a problem.
Come and listen. You will see.
