Power cord for MHDT Havana


My system
Paradigm S4(fronts)
Rel Strata III sub
B&K 7270 200X7 amp
B&K ref30 preamp
Blue jeans cables ( interconnects)
Speaker cables (Blue jeans)
Transport Technics SL MC7(12 year old)
Recently purchased MHDT HAVANA.

No After market power cords purchased or tested yet.

It has been probably 150 hours of MHDT havana, while doing A & B switching, I dont see significant difference in the sound quality between with or without the DAC. I saw the bigger difference when I removed the grills from the speakers.

Now My question is what could get me best improvement from here on.

Let me know your opinions.

Thanks
Sandhya
sandhya
Yes I agree that if you aren't hearing an improvement with the Havana (I own one and think it is great sounding digital) then don't waste your money on a power cord. That said, I think the Electraglide Synapse II sounds really good on the Havana. They have a ridiculous list price but can be had for a fraction of that used.
Mingles,
Can you give more details about your upgrades. Also let me know the configuration of your system.
At the time, I had a Yamaha receiver and Dahlquist speakers. Switching to separate amp and preamp improved resolution, but the most significant change came when I had the right amp driving my speakers. If you don't get that synergy right, you'll waste a lot of time and money upgrading source components. In my system, resolution really came into focus with: Promitheus TVC preamp, Quicksilver Mid Monos, Alon Model I speakers, Rega Planet 2000. It wasn't an expensive system, but it was extremely satisfying.

You might want to take the advice of Notec and Ejlif to use a different transport to see if things improve. If you have a computer, try connecting it to the Havana and see how it sounds. When you import into your computer, use the highest resolution possible. If using iTunes, import as AIFF or Apple Lossless. Using your computer will be the cheapest way to test things. If you have questions on how to set that up, this is a good place to ask for help.
Well, I have strongly agree with Mingles. There is something in your system (or room/setup) that is not allowing it to show its full potential. I recommend doing a little experiment; pick up an inexpensive passive preamp (e.g., creek, CI)-even better if you can borrow one, and see what happens when you take the B&K preamp out of the chain. That might be your answer, or if not, move you one step closer to the cause. Good luck!
I tried to connect it to Computer using a USB cable. I didnt like it at all. It was lot worse than now.

I am out of budget right now. For the DAC I spent close to $1000, Dont see much improvement.

May be I need to learn about listening tests. How they need to be done. Can you suggest any reading material related to it.

I dont have any room treatment done. My house is built with Brick and cement and not wood. It is a rigid structure.

ROom treatment is difficult subject, hard to understand and predict.

My room is 17 X 13 X 10 fts.

One other thing I am contemplating is change the interconnects or Power cords. Havenot decided on any of them. These are also pretty expensive.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks
Pandu
Quite strange you're not hearing much of a difference with the Havana, I noticed a difference between my cd player and an inexpensive dac like the Maverick. Granted my cd player is a POS but the techincs your using isn't exactly reference material either, the rest of your gear isn't too slouchy though and you should definitely hear a difference. Are you sure there isn't some type of setting on your pre that may be bypassing the havana somehow? If not try swapping out or borrowing another pre and then experiment with another cd player. It's all process of elimination. FWIW I don't think a PC is going to make much of a difference. Good luck