Power Cords

Signal cable makes good power cables for a very good price. I have a 5,000.00 power amp so ........... How much to spend for a cable ??
200 to 300 seems about right......

ricred1 > I listened for a couple hours, changing the power cords a couple of times.
> After inserting the Sigma's I just don't understand how anyone that listened to different power cords could conclude that they can't hear a difference.
> Would spending $6K or just changing amplifiers yield similar results?
> is there a power cord out there that has the benefits of the Sigma's and Wireworld Silver Electra's?


Blindjim > Hi. Sigmas. Very cool.

I have 2 questions..
What made you feel the Sigmas were the answer for your apparently desired performance gains?

… and why put them onto only the amps?

Wires and tubes will often hide what they are reallly all about upon first listen. Both need several hours of play before they begin to completely unfurl. This is of course once they have been settled into the arrangement for some time.

I’m thinking this is why so many wire makers and cable lenders offer a minimum of ten days to as much as 60 for in home auditions.

If wires were more readily able to perform, I’d think the time frames would be far far less extensive. Right?

I doubt seriously you had the Shunyata PCs in the rig long enough to fully hear what they can do if only a couple hours of intermittent play was the case.

My EXP with Shunyata is definitely not the last word at all, but as with most any highly resolving cables, inserting one, and extracting it, and reinserting it again a bit later on and so forth is not really giving it/them a real shot at revealing their actual influences.

Put ‘em in. leave ‘em lay. Listen lightly the first 24 hours, then get more picky about their performance over the next few days. I’d not be confident giving any appraisals before any PC had been sitting in the rig for a week or so. Other questions could be like, Brand New PCs? Well used? The latter situation would be able to more quickly aid your decision making, if it was allowed to lay up in there undisturbed for a goodly while..

I bought IEC to NEMA adapters so I could keep PCs energized and well warmed up, usually stuck on the refrigerator or a fan.

Still bending and twisting it about caused it to require being left alone in the system for at least a day.

I always took notes when I compared cables.


. … how can’t one hear a diff and ignore it?
Indeed. It has always amazed me and I can only surmise folks haven’t fully allowed the cable to get well settled in, or never actually heard it once it was. Its mystifying.

> $6K on wires, or new amp?
Hmmm. A big recurring quandary.
Assuming these Sigmas do get fully integrated into the rig and let run a more adequate time frame so a more educated account can be made, I’d opt for a new amp. Lol sorry. 6K is six freakin thousand frogskins man! Wow.

Well, not really. If I loved what the amp and system were already doing, and the after PC results improved upon it in areas I truly enjoyed… I’d be forced to do the $6K PC dance.

However… there is another solution you alluded to. Try different pcs.

Talking with Shunyata recently on this series of power cords (and I would advise you to do the same thing) a point was made that two Alphas could well be the better option than doing one sigma… or for you, two sigmas. Possibly.

Shunyata feels as do I, putting a high performing cable on either end of the rig is another way to audio heaven.

Here is where everything gets really hariy. Which PC will be next?

My EXP says, call whomever. Talk to them explaingin what you seek and or just ask what this or that model usually provides as its normal attributes.

Probably not the most insightful or original theory but its better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick… and has helped me in the past. Some.

One last thing I’ll input, many cables, power or ICs do well from mid bass up. Gaining improvements way down the bandwidth is not so common. Each Shunyata pc I’ve tried thru the years has shown itself quite adept at improving things in the bass… and extending things up top.

It did not take using the top tier Shunyata pc everytime to satisfy either.

Nor did adding in a great pc just on an amp (s) alone, always yielf the desired or best results. Ty putting a Sigma onto the source.

Very good luck in your journey.

I only had one day to evaluate the power cords and I've already returned them. He loaned me two cords. I used one on my amp and the other on my DAC. Both cords were to short to use on my power conditioner. The dealer agreed to allow me to try them again next Friday for three days.
Why did I try new power cords? My components are set for now; however I want to tweak my system. Out of all of my cables, my humble opinion is my power cords are the weak link. Although not the ideal evaluation,  it provides a window into the effects of changing power cords.