Which Power Cords: I Need Some Informed Guidance

with my limited experience, i'll certainly agree with knownothing and digsmithd. you can get the taipan helix nicely discounted from retailers, or from the cable company, or right here. i bought mine from agon for $350 (1.8m), and feel it's worth every penny (despite having only a few listening hours, so far). additionally, folks here love this stuff, resulting in supply that is well cared for, and often times fully broken in.

scheduled to get the audience powerchord e today. will post my findings sometime soon.

. Knownothing, did you have a chance to comapare both of the Shunyata's with your DIY P/C, any inside thoughts?
. Digsmith, wow! I din't know the Helix lines weren't shielded. I gotta look'em up again.

Thats grants interpretation,Copperhead,diamondback,ect.They arent hand made, up to the braided helix design?Helix design not being made by machine.This hobby is not a poormans hobby...this has made me do some things ive regreted.This is one i can live with though.

Nasaman,

Did not directly compare because DIY cord is hard-wired to amp, i.e no IEC connector to swap. BUT in general, I would say that the DIY cord has a less sophisticated but very relaxed sound compared with any of the Shunyata cables. The music just flows now. If I was to try to rank performance, I would say I like the DIY "better" than the the Shunyata Venom, but don't think it can stand up to the Diamondback or higher cords. The Taipan Helix cords are clearly a much better choice with more air, better spatial cues and much tighter bass.

If I were to use better quality wire (say with Teflon dialectric and cryo treated) and connectors (say moderate to high level Furutech), I think its possible to make a rear-kicking cord for well under $200. I would call my current experiment (HA HA) with the amp cord a whim driven by how pleased I was with a recently purchased Shunyata cord for my CDP, and what I was able to find on the shelf at the local Home Depot. At under $18 and about 30 min. work, it was well worth the effort.

hi folks,

please, not wanting to distract from this fascinating diy discussion. i'd certainly like to hear more. where do you get plans for assembly, what raw materials and tools are needed, and how do you decide on materials. i would imagine that the materials are dictated by application.

i would also like to provide an update, and ask for more ideas...

hooked up the new powerchord "e" last night (utility --> conditioner), and got in about 2hrs listening. the taipan helix is conditioner --> integrated. boy was i disappointed. granted the powerchord is new out of the box and needs some time, but it seemed as if i took a giant step back in the direction of edgy narrow and shallow brightness. tried again this morning. now with about 5 hrs, the music is making a comeback. patience says to give it time, and i will. figured i'd test it a little though, so i put on leo kottke's "6 and 12 string guitar" to see what i'd get. well let me tell you, i can feel the wood character of the hollow body acoustic coming through on deeper notes. string plucking and strumming is coming through with definition, and the soundstage is opening up again. audience must burn in their cables prior to shipping, as i think this should be taking a lot longer. i know it still has a ways to go before plateauing.

so, i'm getting a bit out of control here, but changes need to be made, now that i've committed to the cable upgrade path. i bought some au24 speaker cables, and i'm very much looking forward to hearing them. i believe the choices have been spot on so far, and i will then happily get off that merry-go-round for a spell (knowing full well that there definitely must be many different stunning combinations available).

i now need interconnects, and would like to run some possibilities by you, in no particular order:

audience au24 (don't know if i would spring for the "e")
purist aqueous anniversary
kubala sosna fascination

consider this an official solicitation of your varied and welcomed opinions.

thanks,
gary