Pass amps + Power Cords ??

I have found after owning Pass Labs gear for years that the inlet connection is often to blame for any problems. Use a cord with a well designed IEC (jaw strenth) to avoid power cord mania.

years ago when I had an X250, one of the gentlemen at Pass Labs, in so many words, told me the 'stock cord was fine & lose the powerstrip, plug it directly into an outlet', which I took as 'save your money & stick w/the stock cord'

The stock cords sounded just fine to me in my original setup. When I moved my system, the stock cords were not long enough for the new placement. I purchased longer power cords from Signal Cable and they sound great.

On my Pass X150.5 and my friend's X250.5, here's our experience on powercords and also power conditioners:

The Shunyata power cords made a significant improvement on our Pass amps. Starting with the Copperhead, we went to the Taipan Helix Alpha, then Python Helix Alpha. Good improvement on each step and best with the Python.

But, plugging the amps into Shunyata Hydra power conditioners also made BIG improvements. We've used the Hyra 2, 6 and 8.

For those who say plug the amp into the wall, not a power conditioner, that doesn't hold, imo, with the Shunyata Hydras, which are not in any way power limiting, and the sound is much improved in many areas, detail, transparency etc.

There is absolutely no question on the above improvement.

I've tried some upscale power cords on my XA30.5 and XA100.5's that actually hurt the sound. Couldn't imagine why a 12 ga cord with heavy duty connectors would be worse than the black 14 ga molded Volex I was using but it was. Came to apprieciate the Volex, maybe one of the best $7 cords ever.

I found the perfect product for me, an Audio Art Power 1.
>Less than 250 for 2 meters
>12 ga shielded
>Gold over copper Furutech connectors (I don't get along with nickel)
>Good looking
>Great customer service

It made a small improvement, but I like a well made product.