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Power Cord: Need to choose from these, please help

Friends,
I am on a quest to buy a nice power cord for my source.
To start with I do not believe in Shielding theories as I have heard quite a few unshielded power cords being more silent and clean than shielded ones. Moreover I have also found a lot of shielded power cords sucking the life out of music making it slow and boring.
So, I have a budget of around $500, give or take 20%. I am equally at ease buying used and new cords. I am not looking for a power cord to equalize sound, so it has to be neutral and true. After some research, the power cords I have shortlisted are:

1. Cardas Golden Reference
2. ESP Essence Reference (used)
3. Omega Mikro Planar Active (used)
4. Purist Audio Dominus (used, this can still overshoot my budget)
5. Telwire (used)

I have heard none of them :(
But I have only heard the ESP cord among these and liked them quite a lot. But they are rare in the used market. Cardas is the most commonly available cord among these and I am surprised to see them getting sold within couple of days of getting listed, are they that special ?
Omega Mikro looks like another brand which is highly spoken about in circles and the used market price does fall in my budget well.
Purist is in this list simply because it has got such rave comments in this forum that I really could not stop considering them and I am waiting for what you guy have to say about Dominus in the company of other good cables (some of them over achievers).

Kindly suggest and if possible give me a comparative signature sound of these so that I know what to expect from each. I understand that at the end system synergy is the key but I feel my system is fairly neutral and a brief idea of the sonic signature of these cables can help me decide one among them a lot more easily. Also do feel free to add your recommendations to this list.
pani
pani OP
1,219 posts
 
I do not live in US so I cannot get cables through Cable company. I will try the AA cords.
But from all the posts till now, I did not get any overview of the cords I have listed :(.
stereo5's avatar
stereo5
6,407 posts
 
I would add Shunyata to your list, blows away most cords.
bob_bundus
1,834 posts
 
Synergistic Research cords are known for neutrality,
so just pick some within your budget and try them. I've tried them all myself but I favored their most expensive, which is perhaps not where you're looking to start out.

Sonic signature of cables is not something describable "out of context" meaning that it depends upon how the cable synergises with your rig's components. Also it depends upon your listening preferences. It also varies with the specific component (a good cable for your CDP may not work so well on your PA or pre or tuner) or then again it just might. It also varies within the context of any other cabling you have in use - some flavors mix togther better than others. So this is very complex and it's a difficult process, no way around it. For these reasons its basically almost impossible for someone to tell you "how a cable sounds" because that can vary so considerably.

I've eventually accumulated quite a collection of cords that I like, which I experiment with in various combinations from time to time. Take notes and play around with it; this can be a lot of fun.

Cardas I found them fairly lame in my rig although others like them a lot. So you see how this can vary, and why the only way to find out is to experiment. CableCo is not a very good way to try out cables because they can take a long time to settle in, even when used. You have to run them for awhile for them to stabilize, sometimes quite awhile. I tried their service a couple of times, but quickly learned that leads to nothing but frustration. Also they claim to know which cables match well with which components, but in reality they don't know.

Virtual Dynamics is one vendor that sells new or used direct to you, and they will even take back cords for credit or refund (within 30 days I believe). I have a couple of theirs, a Nite 2 and a Nite 3.

Purist I have a couple of theirs. The Dominus Rev B fluid works well on my CDP; good spacial depth. I also have an Anniversary Contego which is presently sitting idle, but is a good very quiet cord and quite neutral too.
clio09
3,355 posts
 
From your list I have had the Tel Wire and Purist Audio Dominus in my system. Today I only use Tel Wire power cords. The PAD cord I had used the Ferox shielding. It is a very nice cable but quite hefty and hard to maneuver. I found this cable sounded best on an amp, not my source components.

I was not able to do a side by side comparison of these cords, but from recollection the sound was darker using the Dominus in my system. The Tel Wire is a very neutral cable. The lack of shielding (at least in the traditional sense) had no adverse effect in my system. It is also a very flexible cord. Unfortunately the Dominus will show up used more often than a Tel Wire cord.
foster_9
1,638 posts
 
this can be a lot of fun.
04-17-10: Bob_bundus
There can also be a lot of frustration in what I sometimes call the "power cord jungle." They make a difference, but finding the ones that make a "positive" difference is not always a walk in the park. Takes patience.
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